Around 25 elements of the Lusophone Scout Group of Macau, including leaders, explorers and pioneers, marked World Earth Day last Saturday, with a visit to the Residence of Our Lady of Fátima, home of the priests of the Company of Jesus in Macau.
The trip had a very specific purpose: to provide the young participants with a deeper knowledge of the circumstances behind the current environmental crisis, as well as to familiarize them with the composting techniques adopted by the local mission of the Society of Jesus. The celebrations of World Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, were this year subordinated to the theme “Planet vs Plastic” and it was about plastic pollution that Father Fernando Azpiroz, SJ, spoke to an attentive audience, before proposing to give a new life to some of the waste that is most common in the kitchens of homes in the territory.
“The objective of this two-hour activity was, first of all, to help these boys and girls understand what is behind the current environmental crisis, and that it is a culture and a lifestyle dominated by production and consumption , often based on resources and cheap labor. Unrestrained production and consumption generate large amounts of waste, which is responsible for the pollution of soil, water and air. Plastic pollution is one of the most significant,” argued the Superior of the Jesuits in Macau.
After explaining to the GELMac elements the risks and implications associated with plastic pollution, Father Azpiroz tried to demonstrate that even the most harmful waste can have a second use after being recycled. “What would have been, at first, organic waste thrown into the trash has become compost, full of beneficial bacteria and nutrients. And what was a plastic box, which would also be thrown into the trash and would become toxic waste, became a very simple, but very effective, self-irrigation system," explained the priest, adding: "The explorers worked Together, they combined these two components to create a mini-garden of vegetables, which they brought home and which can be irrigated with the droplets released from the air conditioning.”
The initiative also served to make young people aware of the foundations of the Church's environmental doctrine, as defined by Pope Francis in the encyclical Laudato Si'. “In his encyclical letter Laudato Si', Pope Francis defends that the Earth is not something we use and throw away. It is, however, a living system that serves as our common home. It is the place from where God created each and every one of us, along with other organisms. He is the brother who protects us and keeps us alive. This communion with the Earth and with the rest of Creation is a fundamental part of our human identity and, although children are not necessarily aware of the Pope's teachings, they absolutely understand that in each of the decisions they make throughout “Throughout their lives they are deciding if they want to be part of the solution or if, instead, they want to become enemies of the Earth,” defended Father Azpiroz.
