St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane

Photo caption: The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt, Dean of the Cathedral, accepts the awards from Five Leaf Eco-Awards Director Jessica Morthorpe. Photo credit: Kerri Setch

Press Release: Cathedral Wins QLD First Environmental Awards!

Sunday was a day of celebration at St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane as the community celebrated the presentation of two prestigious Five Leaf Eco-Awards, making them the first church in Queensland to be recognised for their environmental achievements.

The cathedral received the Five Leaf Eco-Awards Basic Certificate and Eco-Worship Awards in recognition of their extensive work for the environment, including their energy efficiency measures, chicken coop and beehive, native plants, multiple worm farms and water tanks, the solar panels they installed in Beaudesert, their birdbaths around the precinct to encourage birds, plantings of bird and butterfly friendly plants, their participation in the Season of Creation, the integration of environmental themes and eco-theology into their worship services and the work the cathedral has done to promote more sustainable lifestyles in their own community, those who visit the cathedral, those who follow their social media accounts and who use their resources.

Director of the Five Leaf Eco-Awards, Jessica Morthorpe, travelled to Brisbane for the presentation.

She told the congregation, “I already love sharing the story of your cathedral bees and chickens with other congregations and inspiring them to see how all kinds of church communities can make a difference for the environment.”

“I hope these awards will encourage you in the environmental work you are doing, and that I can come back soon to present your Cathedral with more awards!”

The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt, Dean of the Cathedral, accepted the awards on behalf of the community.

“It is very encouraging to receive these awards, and we are keen to pursue more,” he said.

“It’s particularly exciting that this is the first church in Queensland to receive an award,” Ms Morthorpe added. “Hopefully this will encourage lots of other churches in the area to pursue an award and be recognized for their environmental care.”

The Five Leaf Eco-Awards are an ecumenical environmental change initiative for churches and religious organisations founded in 2008 to assist, inspire and reward churches for environmental action. The Five Leaf Eco-Awards are non- competitive, with churches completing task from a list of flexible criteria to earn each certificate. There are currently six awards of varying difficulty available. The Five Leaf Eco-Awards operate nationally and across denominations. More information on the Five Leaf Eco-Awards is available at www.fiveleafecoawards.org

All photos by Kerri Setch.

Check out her work on Instagram: @kerrisetch or on her website: www.kerisetch.com.au