Green Team
At Cumming First United Methodist Church, we are committed to being stewards of God’s creation through environmental responsibility and sustainability. Our Green Team works together to create a sustainable future through initiatives that honor our faith and care for the Earth.
Pastor Matt discusses the Rewilding Project and other greening efforts at CFUMC with Chuck Pugh of the Leadership Board.
Nature Trail & ReWilding: Connecting with Creation
We are developing a nature trail around our church campus that will connect to the Sawnee Mountain Preserve Trail System, providing a peaceful, natural space for reflection and prayer.
This trail will be a place to experience the beauty of God's creation, promoting mindfulness and environmental education for our congregation and the local community.
How You Can Help:
Volunteer for trail-building and landscaping
Donate to support project costs and materials
Food Forest & Gardening: Cultivating Sustainability
Our Food Forest and Gardening initiative promotes sustainable food production and teaches practical ways to grow our own food. We hope to establish a food forest with fruit trees and bushes, native flowering plants, and build raised bed gardens for producing fruit, vegetables, and herbs.
We aim to transform our church grounds into a vibrant space of organic gardening, where church members can learn, grow, and share produce to support those in need.
How You Can Help:
Participate in our garden workdays and help plant and maintain the garden
Donate gardening supplies and materials
Share from your home gardens to help us expand our garden plants
Take these examples of permaculture design best practices and implement at home to multiply the impact and benefit to our environment
Water Preservation: Protecting Our Most Precious Resource
Our Water Preservation initiatives focus on reducing water usage, implementing rainwater harvesting solutions, and improving the efficiency of our irrigation systems to ensure that we are using water wisely and sustainably.
How You Can Help:
Volunteer to help with water-efficient landscaping projects
Donate funds to install water-saving devices on the property
Multiply the impact by implementing best practices at home
Energy Conservation: Powering Our Future
At Cumming First United Methodist Church, we are focused on reducing our energy consumption and carbon footprint. With a goal of improving our energy efficiency by 25%, we have already made significant strides, thanks to the generous support of our North Georgia Conference and grants we received from Georgia Interfaith Power and Light’s PowerWise Program and Interfaith Power & Light Cool Congregations Challenge.
What We’re Doing:
Installing energy-efficient LED lighting
Upgrading HVAC systems and insulation for energy savings
Upgrading and extending our building automation system to cover both buildings and reduce energy use
Ongoing evaluation of solar energy options to produce clean energy on-campus
Climate Justice: Advocacy & Action for a Just Future
Our Green Team is committed to advocating for climate justice—fighting for the most vulnerable communities affected by climate change. We believe that climate action is a moral issue, and as a church, we are stepping forward to raise awareness and provide recovery programs for those impacted by environmental change.
What We’re Doing:
Advocating for climate policies that protect vulnerable populations
Educating our community about the impact of climate change on the poor and marginalized
Supporting recovery and disaster relief programs
Cool Congregations Award
We are proud to have been awarded the Cool Planner award in the 2024 Interfaith Power & Light Cool Congregations Challenge. This award recognizes our commitment to reducing energy consumption, saving costs, and decreasing carbon emissions. With the help of a $1000 grant and guidance from Georgia Interfaith Power & Light’s Power-wise program, we are making our buildings more energy-efficient, and we plan to reduce our carbon emissions by 94 tons annually.
Read more and see plans for future projects we hope to implement as we continue to raise funds and grow the CFUMC Green Team!