Pope Francis calls young people “to care for creation not only as responsible citizens, but also as followers of Christ!” (Address to the Sri Lankan and Philippine youth on 18^th Jan 2015).   

Jesuit schools are committed to action in the healing of and reconciling with creation. In the newly released Keynote entitled “Caring for the Environment at School” the Educate Magis community shares some of these inspiring stories from around the world. We can enjoy the diversity of the network by watching students and teachers, presidents and parents present ecological and sustainability projects at their schools. We hear from Guatemala, USA, the D.R. of Congo, the UK, India and Australia. In this Keynote we only had room for one keynote video from each of the six Jesuit Regions of the world, but there are two more excellent videos from schools in the Videos section in both English and Spanish.

Fr. Joseph Carver, S.J. introduces and concludes these regional keynotes linking Ignatian Spirituality and Ecology, inspiring us to take the long-view in our care for creation. 

Fr. Pedro Walpole S.J., environmental scientist, shares his experience of working with children and students in the Philippines and the wider Asia Pacific region, teaching them about both the science and practice of caring for the environment.

As a bonus, we have a further extraordinary contribution by Pope Francis via the “Pope Video” entitled “Care for Creation”. Through this video we are all invited to a conscious awareness and committed action to “take good care of creation – a gift freely given –cultivating and protecting it for future generations.” This video is published courtesy of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and La Machi Agency.

Enjoy and share these keynote videos in your school or organisation to inspire more sustainable and environmentally friendly school communities.