M.A. Center New England

Green Friends

GreenFriends is the international environmental initiative of Embracing the World, seeking to inspire people to serve and protect nature. The GreenFriends of New England have volunteered at various nature preserves and organic farms in Massachusetts. Individuals grow their own veggies, compost their kitchen scraps, plant trees, pick up litter, recycle waste, conserve water and electricity, and find many more ways to protect the environment and respect planet earth.

New England MA Center Veggie Garden

For quite some time, Amma has been encouraging people to grow some of their own food. Our newest GreenFriends initiative is to grow food at the New England MA Center. Part of the Center’s beautiful grounds are being used to plant vegetables. Some of the plants we will be growing are peas, beans, carrots, lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, peppers and kale. Companion plants will attract and support beneficial insects.

Our goals are as follows:

  • Grow vegetables in designated areas of the Center grounds
  • Eat the vegetables we grow at Satsang meals
  • Share any extra vegetables at our Mother’s Kitchen programs
  • Provide volunteers the experience of growing vegetables in partnership with Mother Nature
  • Share techniques to encourage people to grow veggies at home

Many thanks to the volunteers who have donated money and pledged their willingness to spend time working in the gardens!

InDeed Campaign

The InDeed Campaign was launched on Amma’s 59th birthday in 2012. It consists of six easy commitments that, if taken, will help to restore the lost balance between humanity and nature. What can you do, right now, to protect nature? You can begin by watching the InDeed Campaign Video at http://www.embracingtheworld.org/indeed/. Then, read about each of the six action steps you can take to join in this worthy effort. These six areas of commitment are to:

  • Conserve Water
  • Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
  • Plant a Tree
  • Grow Your Own Veggies
  • Carpool
  • Preserve Biodiversity

Once you have decided on an area that you’d like to take action in, you can take the pledge online and gain access to a colorful pdf file filled with detailed information to inform and assist you.

InDeed Challenge

Our spiritual community of the New England area has taken on the “InDeed Challenge.” Many of us have taken a pledge to do something new in our lives that involves protecting the environment. In 2015, 8 individuals and 4 families (consisting of 10 individuals) planted trees, grew their own veggies, fed the birds, took shorter showers, line-dried clothes, and turned off the kitchen faucet while doing dishes. We documented our efforts in a PowerPoint and gave it to Amma. We also made a map of where we live to facilitate carpooling. This year, we are planning to continue with additional pledges.

For more information regarding any GreenFriends initiatives at the MA Center New England, please contact: Victoria at v@victoriataftsgarden.com

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