When asked about the deforestation rate in his home country of Guatemala, Jorge Garcia's comment was succinct and telling: "Es criminal." Jorge is working with the reforestation and forest preservation efforts of Pastoral Social, a ministry of the Catholic Church and the Brethren partner for creation stewardship efforts in Guatemala. The need for fire wood and the encroachment of farms and ranches is causing the loss of forests at a breakneck pace, and threatens to further destabilize Guatemala's fragile ecosystem in the coming decades. The human and environmental cost will be great.

The Church of the Brethren role in creation stewardship in Guatemala is multifaceted. A BVSer works with Pastoral Social, sharing expertise and energy with this partner agency while providing a vital link with those of us in the States. The Global Food Crisis Fund helps Guatemalan families build wood-conserving stoves. These stoves replace open indoor fires typically used in Guatemala, and use 3-5 times less wood. An annual Faith Expedition, sponsored by the Brethren Witness/Washington Office, takes Brethren to Guatemala to observe Brethren programs and to experience the pressures on God's creation in this beautiful yet troubled land.

The General Board has launched If a Tree Falls..., an initiative to preserve rainforest and assist in reforestation efforts in Central America. In this effort, we join with Christian partners to protect God's earth both for its own sake as part of God's creation and for the benefit of humankind, whose well-being depends on a healthy global ecosystem. The current focus of If a Tree Falls... is a community-based reforestation project in Ixtahuacan, Guatemala.

Casuarina, guayava, papausa, gravilea, cuxin (coo-sheen')–these are just a few of the tree varieties we are helping to plant on the steep hillsides of Guatemala. They each provide a special contribution toward restoring the Guatemalan landscape and improving the future prospects of the Guatemalan people. Casuarina trees grow in difficult soil and climatic conditions and improve the soil by fixing nitrogen in the soil. Cuxin trees provide edible pods and firewood, serve as a windbreak, and fix nitrogen in the soil as well. Gravilea is a fast-growing tree that is a good firewood source, while creating shade for coffee trees and leaves to mulch the ground. And there will be mango, oranges, lemons, apples, peaches and pears, each planted in an area suited to its growth.

The goal is to plant 25,000 trees a year. The nursery is staffed by Guatemalans from the area who know the land and are best suited to implement this project. The nursery is also assigned a BVSer to assist in whatever way needed.

What you can do: $1 plants 10 forest trees. $10 plants 10 fruit trees. $25 plants lots of both! $250 pays a month's wages for a reforestation worker and plants dozens of trees as well.

If a tree falls in the forests or on the hillsides of Central America, will anyone hear it–or care that it has fallen? God, who created the earth, cares. Plants and animals that depended on that tree for shelter, safety and food will care. People who depend on the trees of their region for food, firewood, building materials, medicines, flood prevention, soil enrichment and stabilization, wind breaks, climate regulation, and natural beauty will care. And so must God's people everywhere, who have been asked to guard and keep this wonderful world, even as the earth in return provides for them.

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