At Camp Friedenswald, we have been working on environmental, social, and financial resilience and sustainability for a number of years. We’ve made some good strides for environmental sustainability in a variety of ways, including reducing energy use, paying more attention to food waste, adding clean energy, protecting Camp’s ecosystems, serving more vegetarian meals, and educating campers about our interdependency and kinship with all of creation. In 2023, to help focus our goals and be explicitly part of the collective effort to limit climate change, we began writing our “Camp Friedenswald Climate Action Plan”. In 2024 the Camp staff and board approved the plan, and the executive summary follows below.

As a result of efforts on Camp’s part AND cleaner electricity from Wolverine Power (our utility’s electric supplier), in 2024 we emitted 66% FEWER greenhouse gases (GHG) from our electricity, propane, gasoline, and diesel consumption than our baseline year of 2015. To see our plan for reaching our goal of 75% GHG reduction by 2030, you can read the entire Climate Action Plan here.

Camp Friedenswald Climate Action Plan 2024-2030 Summary

Rationale
Camp Friedenswald (CF) acknowledges that climate change and other interconnected environmental and social crises (a polycrisis) are threatening human and non-human life across the globe. As a faith-based Mennonite organization, Camp Friedenswald views broken connection with self, God, others, and nature as a spiritual root of the polycrisis. It is from a deep commitment to peace, justice, and spiritual wholeness that Camp Friedenswald will continue to play its part in the collective global effort to stop climate change. Camp Friedenswald is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and working to engage staff, campers, and guests in climate actions. In order to meet the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees, as described in the Paris Agreement, climate science calls for reducing GHG emissions 50% by 2030 (from a 2005 baseline) and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 (IPCC).

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Targets:
• 75% GHG reduction by 2030 against baseline year of 2015 for scopes 1 and 2
• Reduce indirect scope 3 emissions through purchasing, waste, food, and education goals

Strategy 1: Reduce Scope 1 and 2 Emissions: Fuel directly burned and electricity
Goal 1: Increase energy efficiency in buildings
Goal 2: Transition from propane to electric
Goal 3: Install more solar on-site
Goal 4: Reduce use of gasoline and diesel fuel

Strategy 2: Reduce Scope 3 Emissions: Indirect emissions
Meat Purchases
Goal 1: Reduce the amount of beef served at Camp
Goal 2: Increase vegetarian meals served at Camp
Local Foods
Goal 1: Spend at least 8% of the food budget on local food
Food Waste
Goal 1: Reduce leftovers that end up in compost by 20%
Goal 2: Educate campers and guests about food waste
Waste/Circular Economy
Goal 1: Maintain current level of waste diversion opportunities for staff and guests
Goal 2: Identify and utilize any additional waste diversion opportunities for CF
Goal 3: Reduce the amount of waste produced at Camp
Guest, Campers, and Staff Transportation
Goal 1: Reduce emissions from guest and camper travel to and from camp
Goal 2: Reduce emissions from staff travel

Strategy 3: Increase Education and Engagement on Climate Action
Goal 1: Incorporate climate action education into existing programming at Camp.
Goal 2: Create new programming or classes specifically designed to both educate campers about the impacts of climate change and empower them to be change agents.
Goal 3: Build climate change literacy into the culture of camp

Strategy 4: Conserve and Restore Land and Water
Goal 1: Maintain a minimum of 500 work hours dedicated to land stewardship each year
Goal 2: Maintain high quality Mitchell’s satyr habitat
Goal 3: Ensure successful reforestation of 16-acre tree planting
Goal 4: Use current best practices and climate-adaptive practices in land stewardship
Goal 5: Ensure commitment to preservation of the natural acreage of Camp Friedenswald