wfn.org | MVSers work to improve environmental conditions

[BethAH@mbm.org]

March 28, 2001
Beth Hawn
Mennonite Board of Missions
(219) 294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

March 28, 2001

MVSers work to improve environmental conditions

ELKHART, Ind. (CHM/MBM) – Karla Stoltzfus catches a glimpse of
abundant life every time she plants a seed or turns topsoil with
local community people on the gardened plains of Kansas. Two
thousand miles west of Kansas, along the coast of the Pacific
Ocean, Derek Wentorf kayaks on the Puget Sound in pursuit of
water samples, in the hope that the water condition has improved
from his last outing.

Mennonite Voluntary Service is a place where people can become
passionate about a cause, and for Karla and Derek, that passion
has rooted itself in the issues of environmental care.  For the
past eight months, Derek, an MVSer in Seattle, has been working
as a program assistant at Puget Soundkeepers Alliance (PSA), a
grassroots organization that acts as a watchdog for the Puget
Sound.  As Derek works at maintaining a water source, Karla works
at bringing people and the earth together through community
gardening projects.  Karla, in her second year of MVS in Topeka,
Kan., works with the Kansas Rural Center, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture and
rural culture.

Derek’s interest in marine biology, along with his degree from
Goshen (Ind.) College, drew him to the Seattle assignment and so
far has provided him with an array of opportunities to be
involved in the care of God’s creation.  PSA works to ensure that
the quality of water in Puget Sound is maintained at a healthy
level.  Therefore, much of Derek’s work involves researching and
reviewing pollution permits that industries submit, and he’s also
taken on the role of coordinating volunteers for various programs
PSA maintains.  Derek’s occasional kayak outings remind him of
the necessity of his work as he collects water samples, and
observes the effects of the industries that surround Puget Sound.

Karla’s experience with community gardening in Canada with
Mennonite Central Committee, and her studies at Eastern Mennonite
University in Harrisonburg, Va., led her to pursue community
gardening with MVS.  Karla coordinates the Topeka Common Ground
Project (TCGP), a program that creates sustainable food systems
by establishing urban gardens, and connecting urban consumers
with rural farmers.  In any given week, Karla may visit one of
the 10 community garden sites and, during gardening season, work
with people to plant, maintain and harvest the gardens.  She
involves the communities in lessons on composting, nutrition,
food systems or gardening, and she often leads cooking or craft
projects.

“Community gardening is really as much about growing people as
growing food,” she said.  Karla especially enjoys organizing
monthly garden gatherings where the local community is invited to
share “great, fresh food and fellowship.”

The negative impact humans have on the earth has become more
evident to Karla and Derek as their involvement with issues
surrounding the environment continues.  The delicacy of the
ecosystem has become more apparent to both of the MVSers, which
provides added incentive to seek out ways to preserve the
resources they work with.

Karla’s contact with rural farmers has continued to increase her
awareness of the rapid depletion of the earth’s land resources.
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are used on plants and
soil to produce cheap food create a more expensive and
long-lasting effect on the land.  Sources of topsoil are lost,
groundwater is contaminated, and cancer rates among farmers and
communities escalate.

“Not only does our highly mechanized, petroleum- and
chemical-dependent food system hurt our environment,” Karla
observed, “it contributes to the unraveling of the fabric of our
communities.”

What has been most discouraging to Derek is the amount of work
toward conservation and cleanup that is not being done.  Small
grassroots organizations like PSA often take on the brunt of
cleanup efforts for messes that huge multimillion-dollar
industries leave untouched. Sometimes, the task of preservation
seems overwhelming.  “It’s hard to stay upbeat, truthfully,” he
said, “but you do what you can.”

Derek points out that one reason so little is being done, when
there are so many sources and products harming the environment,
is that it is expensive to change.  Industries nationwide have
been operating under certain systems for years, and for some, it
is hard enough to meet federal or state regulations, let alone
reduce their pollution to safe levels.  Another reason is that
people often pit the environment and the economy against each
other. “The economy always seems to override the environment,”
Derek said.  “They should really go hand –in-hand.”

According to Karla, a healthy economy depends on a healthy
environment.  “Communities can be strengthened, pollution can be
reduced, land can be restored, and satisfying jobs can be created
through gardening and farming in ways that respect all creation –
people and earth,” she said.

The idea of “abundant life” encourages Karla in the work she does
and gives her hope for the future.  She said she is often amazed
by the process of a tiny seedling growing and emerging to become
a hearty plant-bearing fruit.  “The created world is beautiful,
amazing, fragile yet resilient,” she said.  “The gardens and the
people I work with are God’s creation, and they proclaim to me
God’s relational nature, generosity, beauty and love.”

Derek said that when it comes to caring for the environment,
every little bit counts.  “Recycling, composting, washing your
car where it won’t drain into clean water sources, being aware of
where you shop and what kinds of products you buy, considering
alternative transportation options … all of these create an
attitude of environmental care and concern,” he said.

Filling people with food and nourishment, creating a healthy
environment, and seeing that humanity is cared for, are all
evident in Karla and Derek’s work and service.  Despite the
overwhelming task of environmental protection, both MVSers hope
their work can make an impact, even if it’s as small as planting
a seed.

Mennonite Voluntary Service is a joint program of the Commission
on Home Ministries of the General Conference Mennonite Church and
Mennonite Board of Missions of the Mennonite Church.
      * * *
Jill K. Landis for MBM news