|Photo by Whitney Kane|

Christians are called to be good stewards. As the leader of Earth Shepherds, junior Abby Hagger, has noted however, such a mindset is almost exclusively applied to material possessions like life, job, house and family.

“We’ll glorify God for these things, which is good, but then we take being a steward to mean that we should go out and buy more things because of this blessing God has given us,” Hagger said. “Granted, there are people who give to missions, but few go beyond themselves.”

Although still in its growing stage, Earth Shepherds is a campus-based group committed to going beyond the campus in sustainable development. Being concerned only with one’s current situation and not looking outwards is a thing Hagger likens to neglect of resources.

“This is where environmental activism comes in,” she claims. “Obviously, we can’t make the environment the focus because that’s unhealthy. But, it’s worse to neglect it altogether.”

Earth Shepherds was started two years ago by senior Jason Bates and became a group discussion and Bible study that would occasionally take trips to farms and such. Formerly known as Good Shepherd, when Hagger came into the group, it was already known informally by the new moniker, Earth Shepherd.

“We added the ‘s’ at the end to reflect the members,” Hagger said.

The group has gained support from many of the faculty and staff in the various departments on campus. Ormston and Muffitt dorms have been recycling on their own for quite some time, reports Hagger, but other buildings are a little harder to the cause.

“It’s not that they don’t want to [recycle],” she says. “It just that recycling bins are hard to fit in some hallways, like in Delta. They would be considered a fire hazard if we left them in the halls. That’s not good.”

However, as the University continues to provide an environmentally friendly atmosphere, Earth Shepherds is ready to provide ideas for what green-conscious people need in knowing what to do, according to Hagger.

Some have said that environmentalism nowadays is nothing more than a passing fad; that efforts to make a positive headway will be swallowed up by the more frivolous popularity to the cause. However, being a good steward in relation to others and to one’s use of resources is a common theme championed by influential speakers like Tony Campolo, and Shane Claiborne.

“We’re not 43% of the world,” Hagger says in response to Campolo’s recent lecture during chapel. “Why are we using 43% of the world’s resources?”

Environmentalism may be somewhat of a fad, she agrees, but it will still raise awareness about the issue of waste and keep interest high among the curious. Students who want to know more, or who perhaps want to debate the fad status of environmentalism are encouraged to attend the group’s meetings, and follow the group on Facebook.

“Our primary goal,” Hagger says, “is not to turn SAU into a ‘green’ campus, but to help people change possibly destructive habits, not only here but in their future. People will impact their jobs or businesses differently depending on how they view the world they live in.”