Students enact “Care for Creation”

• By Dylan Friberg
• Published: March 5th, 2013

Recycling — Bins around campus give students the opportunity to recycle various materials. Photo credit: Ruth Bibby

Members are reviving a former Liberty University club known as Care For Creation Association (CFCA) this semester with a fresh drive to encourage the stewardship of God’s creation and to promote an environmentally healthy campus.

According to club President Robert Morris, CFCA existed in 2010 before becoming inactive following the graduation of leading club members. Morris said that as the club returns from inactivity, members have been making a push to help make students and the university more environmentally conscious.

According to Morris, first among the objectives of the revitalized club is to promote stewardship. This idea is based on the command found in Genesis 1:28, when God blesses Adam and Eve with dominion over the earth and all that lives in it. Members of CFCA believe that God has given humans the earth and placed us in charge of taking care of it. Morris believes that taking care of the earth begins with respect for the environment.

“We’re supposed to be good stewards of our bodies, good stewards of our relationships, and good stewards of the environment,” Morris said. “We want to be good stewards of creation, and we believe that this is mandated.”

Club Treasurer Caleb Vance said that a primary goal of the club is to have recycling bins placed in every dorm. The club also hopes to place bins in other public centers, such as the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall and the Tilley Student Center.

“Most people wouldn’t normally recycle if they had to go out of their way to find recycling bins, but if they were placed in hallways, or in a convenient location, people would be more likely to recycle,” Vance said.

According to Morris, members of the club are currently discussing practical plans with Liberty’s administrative offices. Morris said that the goal is not just to find out how to increase environmental efforts on campus, but also how to do so economically.

Morris said that in the long run, CFCA hopes to help the university set up a simple way for students to monitor their utility use. Hundreds of other university’s around the country use utility measuring devices to keep students informed of needless waste. According to Morris, not only is such a system good for awareness, but also for environmental contests and activities that challenge students to save as much as possible.

During preliminary talks between the club members, they agreed that overall awareness is a large pillar of what CFCA wants to achieve on Liberty’s campus. Members believe that many students would act more environmentally conscious if they simply knew the changes they could make.

“The impact that we are leaving doesn’t just stretch to our kids and grandkids,” Morris said. “It stretches to 10-15 generations, and even further along. Is that the impact that we want to leave, or do we want to be good stewards to leave the environment better than we received it?”

Morris said that the club plans to change its name to Students For Stewardship in the near future to clearly and publicly state the purpose of its members.

For more information, visit the clubs and organizations page at liberty.edu/studentaffairs.