Engaging with nature
By Reverend Andy Fleming, Associate Chaplain
Many of you may be aware that tomorrow is the start of National Science Week. Our students will engage in many activities that will spark their curiosity and wonder. It is the theme of this year’s National Science Week – Decoding the Universe – Exploring the Unknown with Nature’s Hidden Language – that has sparked my sense of wonder.
It is fantastic that students have the opportunity to participate in activities that help them to understand the complex way the world works. Year 7 students, for example, are currently looking at how animals adapt to their environment.
Since travelling around Africa in the early 2000s, I have found animals intriguing and love discovering more about how they live in their environments. For instance, the way penguins huddle in the frozen temperatures of Antarctica and how water buffalo work together to keep predators away.
One of the ways I enjoy spending my time is being in nature and engaging with creation. It is a space where I see God’s presence. Whether it is playing with pets, walking through bushland or looking at expansive views, it is a joy to be a part of creation in these moments. The wonder and joy found by so many of us when engaging with animals or in nature reveals a desire to ensure creation is preserved.
There are many interpretations of God’s call in the Bible for humans to be stewards or custodians of creation. In effect, it is God’s call to us to look after this awesome and life-sustaining gift.
I believe those of us raised in Western cultures have much to learn from the way Indigenous peoples interact with the environment. First Nations communities embody a deep ethic of stewardship, grounded in the understanding that they belong to the land – not the other way around. For thousands of years, they have shared the earth’s resources with care, showing respect for what they take and living in ways that are both simple and sustainable.
My hope is that we can all adopt a loving, ethical approach to interacting with God’s gift of creation.
Go in peace,
Rev. Andy