Peterborough: Faith In The Environment

18 July 2012, 13:26 | Updated: 18 July 2012, 17:28

Around 200 people from Peterborough's different faiths have worked together to create an exhibition on climate change.

Their paintings and sculptures, all made out of recycled materials, will be displayed as part of an exhibition about the environment at Peterborough Museum from the 21st July to 16th September.

Since 2010, Hindu, Mulsim, Sikh, Christian and Buddhist groups have been taken part in workshops run by the charity Peterborough Environment City Trust, to learn more about climate change and being environmentally friendly.

The art work was put together during these workshops, consisting of materials that would otherwise have ended up in landfill.

Project Officer from PECT, Karen Lawrence has led the delivery of the project. 

She has also just been appointed as the first environmental representative on Peterborough’s Inter-Faiths council. 

She said: "Most faiths have religious teachings about preserving the environment and this project helped people to practically apply those teachings and make a difference. 

It’s usually the poorest people of the world who are hit first and hardest by the effects of climate change, for example by extreme weather conditions like flooding and drought. 

The everyday actions of people living in richer parts of the world directly contribute towards climate change and impact on those living in the poorest parts of the world. 

Raising awareness of this fact has encouraged faith groups in Peterborough to change their behaviour to live in a greener way."

The project has been funded by the Department for International Development.

A report published last year by national sustainability organisation Forum for the Future concluded that ‘religious leaders and groups can be critical intermediaries in the promotion of environmental messages’.