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13/04/2010
The Inter-Faith Forum volunteers gear up for their day of environmental action
The third in a series of environmental action days by volunteers of different faiths took place on Sunday 21st March in the Lady Pit area of Beeston, south Leeds. Members of Leeds Faiths Forum along with British Gas employee volunteers and Police Community Support Officers joined forces with Groundwork, a local environmental regeneration charity, for the spring clean which was funded by EHRC Faiths in Action and Leeds City Council’s Inner South Area Management.
The volunteers were based at the Sikh Temple on Lady Pit Lane for the days work on the surrounding housing estate. Several streets were targeted and two large skips were filled with rubbish, litter and cuttings from shrub bed maintenance.
Other areas across Leeds to have benefitted from this environmental action includes Halton Moor in east Leeds and Armley in west Leeds, ensuring that the impact of the volunteers’ work is felt by a wide range of communities. These previous events have also featured in Leeds City Museum’s ‘Environment in the City’ films currently showing in the main arena of the museum, helping to highlight the valuable work undertaken by the volunteers.
The programme of action days was developed following Groundwork’s attendance at the Inter-Faith Conference on the Environment back in March 2009 when attendees were asked to sign up if they were interested in taking part in voluntary environmental work. At the conference representatives from eight different faiths spoke about how the environment featured centrally in their religious beliefs. Apart from providing support to local communities and improving the appearance of sites across the city the activities are a means of showing how people from different religions and ethnic backgrounds can unite and work together in a common goal.
John Cummins, Safer Stronger Communities team leader at Groundwork, says:
“It’s been wonderful to be a part of something that initially started as a suggestion a year ago at the Inter-Faith Conference and to see all the volunteers’ ideas and enthusiasm translate into three days of environmental action.”
The Rev’d Charles Dobbin, vice chair of Leeds Faiths Forum, says: “It’s really good that people of different faiths are working together like this. I think it has opened people’s eyes. When much publicity tends to focus on differences and problems, this is showing that there are many people who practically work together to put their faith into practice and help make the community a better place.”
Further environmental action days are being planned so if you would like to know more then contact Groundwork on 0113 238 0601.
