Where Faith Meets Conservation: The Creation Care Alliance at Work

Many of you know MountainTrue for our work protecting rivers, forests, and communities. But you might not be as familiar with our faith-based program, the Creation Care Alliance (CCA). We invite people from all faith traditions across the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains to care for nature and our neighbors.

We do this by building a network of Covenant Partners—congregations ready to take the next step in environmental stewardship. We support these faith communities with educational resources and training, and we connect them with opportunities to get involved in MountainTrue’s broader mission to protect the environment, tackle climate change, and build resilient communities.

Our Covenant Partners have been busy. Here is a look at what we have accomplished together recently:

Restoring Riverbanks
We partnered with the WNC Presbytery Youth Council for a live staking event in Burnsville on March 7. We also hosted Restore Reems Creek Day at Reems Creek-Beech Presbyterian Church in Weaverville. Volunteers handed out native plants and planted live stakes along the water. Live staking involves planting dormant cuttings that grow into native shrubs and trees. Their roots anchor the soil and prevent sediment pollution.

Advocating for Farmworkers
St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville hosted a September 10 screening of “Without Shade, Without Rest“—a documentary film about how agricultural workers are on the front lines of climate change and face increasingly dangerous heat and humidity in the fields.

Recycling Electronics
Sharp Memorial United Methodist Church in Franklin hosted an electronics recycling collection on August 15. This effort keeps dangerous heavy metals and toxins out of local landfills and prevents them from leaching into our soil and water.

Replanting After Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene caused massive tree loss across our region. We are teaming up with the Tree Protection Taskforce of Asheville to offer tree equity grants to local congregations—helping restore our canopy to reduce the heat-island effect and beautify public gathering spaces. We are currently planning planting events with New Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church and Faith Tabernacle Christian Center.

Join the Movement
We want to help your congregation grow its creation care ministry. Here is how you can get involved:

• Talk to your congregation’s leadership or green team. You can join more than 20 houses of worship working toward a more sustainable and just world.
• Check out the event calendar on our website for upcoming Creation Care Alliance events in your area.
• Stay tuned for our 2027 CCA Symposium. Once we finalize the details, you can RSVP online.

If you have other ideas for collaboration, please reach out. Contact me at lehman@mountaintrue.org to get involved.