Creation Care & the Kokua Conservation Club
A few weeks ago we sat down with Molly Sharpe, the president and creator of the Kokua Conservation club (Kokua is Hawaiin for "mutual assistance" or "pitching in"), to chat with her about creation care on campus and real things we as a community, and as individuals, can do to help care for the environment. Molly has always been passionate about the environment and really started to take initiative after her “save the earth” project in elementary school. As a result of that project, she and her community were able to plant two community gardens. She then started to bring the “go green” movement into her home, which her parents were happy to do since often times it saves money. Molly has continued to emphasize the importance of taking care of the environment as she completed high school and now as she has come to college.
Molly’s passion in creation care has taken root in the Kokua club. The club’s motto is “coming together to admire and protect the handiwork of God.” She emphasizes how important this is in today’s culture. Often time environmental care is labeled as liberal, but the reasoning behind Christian environmental care is critical. Molly referenced one of the chapel speakers from earlier this semester as having a good way to describe our responsibility as Christians. Ben Lowe was careful to talk about how we should take care of the environment because it is a gift from God. Molly stressed that we are to care for the environment, and by doing so we are caring for people. The environment has a great impact on the future generations. By taking care of it we can help to keep them healthy.
The challenge as a community is in things that TFC can do to make a difference. One person alone is not going to change the world. We asked Molly her thoughts on simple things individuals can do to take care of the environment. The biggest way to impact the environment that Molly stressed was to simply start a conversation. Kokua is a big supporter of making people aware of environmental issues. They have meetings to discuss issues and then that have projects in which they take action, like the Curahee clean-up day earlier this semester. Joining one of the Kokua discussions or just having a conversation with a friend will increase awareness of environmental issues.
Another thing Molly said that could be helpful is to use an item to its full use. That means buying clothing that will last and making the decision to use items that are durable. Buying second hand clothing or borrowing clothing also helps. There is not as much clothing that needs to be made or thrown out if it is used well. Reducing waste by using reusable items or actually putting things in recycling when they are not needed anymore has the potential to make a huge difference in the environment as well.
There are a lot of things that we as a community can do to help the environment. The most important thing we can do is create discussions and ask someone who knows about the issues to help spread awareness. The Kokua club will also be holding events next semester that students can be involved in. They will be holding a campus clean-up day, a movie night, and a Luau at the end of the year. They will also continue to hold regular discussion times to promote awareness on campus.