Northwest Iowa Environmental Conference Report

Caring for the Environment:
Putting Biblical Principles into Practice
October 26-27, 2007

Christians, in all walks of life, are called to be good stewards all aspects of God’s creation. That was a central theme in an October 26-27 conference for residents of northwest Iowa, devoted to the topic Caring for the Environment: Putting Biblical Principles into Practice. The primary sponsors for this event were the Center for Public Justice (CPJ), Dordt College and Northwestern College.

The featured guest speaker at the conference was Dr. Cal DeWitt, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Recognized nationally and internationally as one of the world’s leading Christian environmental scientists, Dr. DeWitt delivered the keynote address on Friday night, October 26, at Dordt College, on the topic “The Bible and the Environment: Biblical teachings on Creation Care.” With approximately 225 persons in attendance, Dr. DeWitt stressed the teaching of Genesis 2:15 that Christians are called to “serve” the natural creation as good stewards of this gift from God.

On Saturday morning, the venue shifted to Northwestern College. Based on the principle that caring for the environment is the responsibility of all persons and groups of persons in society, sessions were held for the following categories: individuals & families, schools, churches, businesses, and agricultural operations. In each category, a panel of residents of Northwest Iowa told their stories of how they have carried out good environmental practices, intended to motivate and inspire members of the audience, about 100 in number, to initiate further good local practices in the future. The range of current good practices was fascinating, including small steps carried out by families, like bringing canvas grocery bags when shopping (to reduce the usage of paper and plastic), to a major recycling initiative by a large corporation (Pella). A number of the practices exemplified what some have called the 3 Rs of environmental responsibility: reduce, reuse, recycle.

The closing session on Saturday was devoted to the category of local government. Dr. DeWitt gave a talk titled “My Town: How We Transformed Ourselves into an Environmental Stewardship Community.” He described the ways in which as Mayor of Dunn, Wisconsin (a town of about 5000 residents), he provided leadership for a land stewardship commitment that led to agriculture, natural landscapes, and human settlements achieving an ecological integrity that is now recognized as a national model.

The initiators of this conference were the members of a Northwest Iowa CPJ Network, under the leadership of Dr. John Hulst, president emeritus of Dordt College. A planning team from this network started with a “guideline on the environment” that was recently formulated by CPJ (which can be accessed along with its other nine guidelines at Guidelines for Government and Citizenship). The idea was to “give local feet to these guidelines,” so to speak, to uncover ways in which residents of Northwest Iowa can put these guidelines into concrete practice.

We were very encouraged by the financial support for our conference that we received from a number of local co-sponsors, which included the American State Bank of Sioux Center, Demco, Northwestern Bank of Orange City, Orange City Area Health System, the Orange City Council, Pella Corporation, Pizza Ranch, the Sioux Center City Council, Sioux Pharmaceutical, Vogel Paint, and private donors John Cox, John & Louise Hulst, and Ronald Oostra.

Attendees at this conference expressed deep appreciation for the proceedings. So much so, that a common concluding sentiment was that this must just be the “tip of an iceberg.” From among the panelists and other attendees, we now have compiled an impressive list of residents of Northwest Iowa who wish to be very serious about taking future expanded measures for caring for our environment. The task now is to mobilize these enthusiastic residents for further environmentally responsible initiatives. Therefore, the northwest Iowa CPJ network is now taking steps to develop a Sioux County Environmental Initiative, starting with the formation of a Steering Committee, drawn from conference panelists and other attendees, to design and oversee the implementation of such expanded initiatives for caring for the environment. Dr. DeWitt has graciously offered to serve as an advisor as we embark on this next exciting venture. We will keep you posted as this new larger county wide initiative develops.

We learned a great deal in planning and implementing this conference. There is great potential for similar conferences to be run in other regions of the USA and Canada, both in rural regions, like ours, and in urban areas. If any reader of this report, whether affiliated with CPJ or not, has an interest in embarking on such an initiative in another geographical region, we would be happy to serve in an advisory capacity. To explore this possibility, please contact Harold Heie, the Chair of the Planning Committee for our conference, at hheie@orangecitycomm.net.

Harold Heie
Northwest Iowa CPJ Network
November 6, 2007

[Read the preconference announcement.]