skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, May 23, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump administration says it's halting Harvard's ability to enroll international students; Post-George Floyd, MN communities drive Black wealth building; FL's fluoride ban sparks concerns over dental health; Despite barriers, TN adults want college degrees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A deadlocked Supreme Court prevents nation's first publicly funded religious school, House Republicans celebrate passage of their domestic policy bill, and Trump administration sues states for taking climate action.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Despite lawmaker efforts, rural communities still short of crucial broadband, new Trump administration priorities force USDA grant recipients to reapply, and Appalachia's traditional broom-making craft gets an economic boost from an international nonprofit.

New "Faithlands" Toolkit Helps Religious Groups Put Land to Good Use

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 29, 2021   

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Religious groups often own large properties but don't have the expertise to make them work for the community. Now, an online tool being released today can help them use the land for the greater good.

The free FaithLands Toolkit from the Agrarian Trust has practical advice and case studies on how to partner with a land trust or farm.

Ariel Luckey, development director for the Sogorea Te' Land Trust in Oakland, works to restore land to indigenous people.

"There's a lot of complicated logistical and political questions about how to best take care of the land," Luckey explained. "How to share it, how to move it. And this toolkit is going to provide a lot of really useful information."

Molly Burhans, founder and executive director of GoodLands, a nonprofit that helps map and evaluate lands owned by the Catholic Church and other groups, said religious groups own more than 8% of habitable land around the world, so their choices have a huge impact.

"Their land can play a key role in the future of humanity for climate change, for environmental stewardship, for food security and migration," Burhans outlined.

Darriel Harris, senior pastor of Newborn Community of Faith Church in Baltimore, said his parishioners cleared the trash off a piece of land in a blighted neighborhood and turned it into an organic farm, called Strength to Love II, in order to create jobs.

"Our faith says that we have to meet the needs of the least of these, meet the needs of the marginalized, and our neighbors needed employment," Harris asserted. "So we created a farm to give employment to people returning from incarceration."

The toolkit also guides groups on ways to promote equity and justice through programs such as community gardens.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Florida has become the second state to officially ban fluoride in public drinking water. (Pixabay)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Florida's new law banning fluoride in public water systems has drawn sharp criticism from dental professionals, who cite decades of evidence …


Environment

play sound

Tax revenue from marijuana sales in Montana will now support a wider variety of conservation projects, since Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed House …

Environment

play sound

Memorial Day weekend is the start of recreational boating season in Minnesota. State officials are encouraged by recent trends in keeping people safe …


Five years after George Floyd's murder, Minnesota government researchers say racial disparities are still a challenge, including a widening homeownership gap for Black residents. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

The racial reckoning spurred by George Floyd's murder got the public's attention about possible progress in ending wealth disparities. A Black-led …

Social Issues

play sound

A budget plan taking shape in Congress is getting attention for tax cuts and reductions for safety-net programs. Policy experts in South Dakota also …

In 2004, British Petroleum introduced the carbon calculator, reframing the climate crisis as a matter of personal responsibility, according to reporting from The Guardian. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service C…

Social Issues

play sound

May is National Foster Care Month, and Kentucky advocacy groups across the political spectrum say the state hasn't done enough to keep kids out of …

Social Issues

play sound

By Enrique Saenz for Mirror Indy.Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public News …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021