The Franciscan Earth Corps will put its roots in 16 cities this fall and bring its Syracuse chapter back to life.

As an ecological justice initiative, FEC created its first local chapter in Syracuse in 2003, but hasn’t been active in recent years, according to the organization’s website.

The FEC is a branch of the Franciscan Action Network, which is a nationwide organization for social justice. The group works on campus through the Syracuse University Catholic ministry, said Sr. Caryn Crook, action commissioner for FAN and Franciscan ecology coordinator. The group carries out environmental service projects, promotes social and ecological justice and hosts activities such as clean-up projects, community gardening and hiking, Crook said.

The group’s first service project will be on Saturday, Oct. 5. It will work with the youth group in the Brady Faith Center’s community garden while teaching about ecological justice.

Crook said the group believes that all people should have proper access to healthy natural environments.

“Environmental degradation tends to affect marginalized poorer communities the most, which can essentially lead to continued social degradation,” she said.

With the expansion, the group hopes to increase the number of young people involved and raise awareness for addressing climate change on a national level, Crook said.

“More numbers is more power, and with more young people we want the group to have a more balanced view of the world and approach to problem solving,” she said.

FEC Syracuse had its first meeting last week and currently has about five student members, said Stephen Terzolo, an adviser for FEC Syracuse. Membership is open to both SU and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students, he said.

“We want a new presence among young adults and university students,” Terzolo said. “We have campus ministries, but we’re pushing for something beyond that.”

The new chapters will include cities such as Little Rock, Nashville, New York City, Long Island, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Charlottesville, he said.

Terzolo also worked with other FEC leaders in Washington, D.C., during the summer to carry out “guerrilla gardening,” he said. The group went to an abandoned lot in a poor neighborhood, cleaned the area and created a community garden, he said.

While one can give money or donate time, helping improve the quality of the local natural environment has a “powerful, more permanent impact on the communities’ quality of life,” he said.

Angela Copes, a second-year student in the architecture program, said she joined Syracuse FEC as a way to make substantial improvements to her community.

“I wanted to physically help people out instead of just talking about ideas,” Copes said.

Though the FEC is affiliated with the Catholic ministry on campus, it welcomes all faiths or non-denominational faiths.

“You don’t have to be Catholic or even religious to be a part of the group,” Copes said. “Anyone with an appreciation for nature and a desire to improve their community will enjoy it.”

 

 

lawilson@syr.edu

Published on October 2, 2013 at 1:28 am

Contact Lydia: lawilson@syr.edu