Upper Peninsula Earth Keeper Initiative

(Marquette, Michigan) – The latest news about the Upper Peninsula EarthKeepers in northern Michigan. In connection with Earth Day 2009, the EarthKeepers planted 12,000 trees across the Upper Peninsula during May with help from... [more]

(Marquette, Michigan) – The latest news about the Upper Peninsula EarthKeepers in northern Michigan.

In connection with Earth Day 2009, the EarthKeepers planted 12,000 trees across the Upper Peninsula during May with help from thousands of volunteers of all ages at over 100 churches and temples representing 10 faith traditions.

The interfaith northern Michigan EarthKeeper Initiative has removed nearly 400 tons of hazardous waste from the environment - most of which was recycled - and involves the congregations of over 150 churches/temples from ten faith traditions in 50 communities, American Indian tribes, college students and other youth.

The Upper Peninsula (U.P.) EarthKeepers were founded in 1994 by Rev. Jon Magnuson, executive director of the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette and Carl Lindquist, head of the Superior Watershed Partnership.

In 2004, the bishops and other faith leaders signed the original EarthKeeper Covenant - pledging to actively protect the environment and reach out to Native Americans. The religious communities include Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and most recently the Quakers.

The group teams with Native American tribes including the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC). Another major partner is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that sent representatives to the collections

From 2005-2007, the group of adults and youth held an annual EarthKeeper Clean Sweep each Earth Day during which over 20,000 northern Michigan residents turned in household hazardous waste at 20 free collections sites across a 400-mile area involving all corners of the pristine Upper Peninsula.

With a message of encouragement from their faith leaders, enthusiastic congregations turned out during three-hour collections:

In 2005, over 45 tons of pesticides, herbicides, lead-based paint, batteries and many other hazardous substances from northern Michigan homes was turned in by residents during the first clean sweep. Partners included landfills and local governments.

In 2006, over 320 tons of electronic waste was collected including computers, keyboards, hard drives, other computer related components, televisions and cell phones. Nine semi-trucks transported the vast majority of the electronics to a recycler in the Lower Peninsula.

In 2007, over one ton of pharmaceuticals was turned in including more than $500,000 in dangerous narcotics. Pharmacists and law enforcement agencies were among the clean sweep partners and staffed each of the collection sites as required by federal law. The drugs were properly disposed in high-tech EPA-approved incinerators.

In 2006, the faith leaders and the head of the KBIC tribe gathered for a news conference with college students to announce the creation of the Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper Student team. It was the first time these bishops and other faith leaders had been in the same room and many met for the first time. The press conference was widely covered by the news media.

The students participated in the clean sweeps and used their energy to start new projects including spreading the “Earth Keeping” message to younger students. Among the student goals is creating teams at three other U.P. universities.

The EarthKeepers captured the imagination of the news media. The group has been covered in hundreds of stories including magazines, newspapers, radio and TV. The Associated Press wire service ran several national news stories.

National publications doing feature stories included World Magazine, Lake Superior Magazine, Mother Earth News, Environment Magazine, the Lutheran Magazine and several others. The team’s interfaith environment work was also covered by the national religious media from all the faith traditions The team has an extensive internet presence including dozens of videos on youtube, bliptv and other sites.

The EarthKeepers held an energy summit in Marquette in July 2007 and created the Boreal Chamber Symphony involving classical musicians from across the Midwest. Conductor Craig Randal Johnson of Minneapolis debuted the symphony and new works during a 2007 Lake Superior Day concert in Marquette.

The EarthKeepers were honored by the Michigan Sierra Club, the Lake Superior Binational Forum, Lake Superior Magazine and Michigan's governor. Organizers have been contacted from as far away as Texas and Washington State by residents hoping to start similar efforts in their communities.