I live in the woods on a pond with my husband and young son and two dogs and dozens of other species above and below and all around us.

More than 100 years ago, a group of wealthy white men started a pit mine in these ancient woods. They dug for months, pulling stones rich in iron ore out of vulnerable Earth. Once they left, our Mother began to heal herself, to transform destruction into an opportunity for life-giving, filling the vacant space with rain. With the water came the deer who drink and the turtles who swim and the groundhogs who dig and the birds who hunt. There are fish in our pond now and wild blue heron who stand as still as the ancient trees who have survived too many violations, the trees who bear witness to the fragility and the regeneration of the forest.

And in the woods is my family, living gently on the edge of the pond, grateful to Earth that we can be part of this living body and knowing our job now is to be lovers and fierce protectors of all the life that blossoms here.

As we enter Climate Justice Month, may we all be lovers and protectors of life.

Rev. Peggy Clarke is the Minister at the First Unitarian Society of Westchester in Hastings, NY. She is also the Racial and Social Justice Consultant for the UUA Metro New York District and on the Steering Committees for the Green Sanctuary Program, UU Environmental Justice Collaboratory, and Commit2Respond, as well as the chair of Food Justice Ministry. She is also a Senior GreenFaith Fellow.

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Today’s practice is to talk with a loved one about how you are a lover and protector of the Earth, or share on the Commit2Respond Facebook page or elsewhere on social media using the hashtag #commit2respond how you have acted to love and protect the Earth.

Today’s resource for deepening this message are two powerful short videos from Sustainable Human that show how wolves and whales, respectively, are “ecosystem engineers.” Rejoice in the truly awesome power of all creation’s interdependence as breathtakingly showcased by the Earth’s ecosystems: “Wolves Change Rivers” and “How Whales Change Climate” (below).

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Commit2Respond's Climate Justice Month intends to take you through a transformative spiritual process leading to long-term commitments to climate justice. At the end of the month you will be asked to SHIFT to a low carbon future, ADVANCE human rights, and GROW the movement. Learn more and start thinking about how you will #commit2respond to climate change.