Care for the Environment

Unitarian Universalists affirm and promote shared values, one of the most cherished being:

Interdependence.
We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it.

 

Participants of church clean-up day gather around a tree they have planted
Planting a Tree to Celebrate Earth Day

We demonstrate our interdependence through action and education, closely aligned with materials provided by the UU Ministry for Earth.

Goals include:

  • The wise use of natural resources through sustainable living.
  • Education through worship services, religious education and workshops.
  • The promotion of environmental justice.

 

Climate Justice Revival

In April 2025 Second Unitarian Church of Omaha held a Climate Justice Revival, joining hundreds of other UU congregations across the country who are working to revive their commitment to climate justice. The Revival was held on April 12, 19, 25, and 27, with 38 people attending, including members of First Unitarian and friends of Second Unitarian.

Word cloud created from 2U’s Climate Justice Revival

Revival objectives included:

  • Learning how climate justice and other issues of social justice interact.
  • Identifying individuals’ issues of climate justice concern and finding the common threads.
  • Giving Second Unitarian the tools for a new era of climate action — one that intentionally cultivates relationships that nurture collaborations.

You can find the full report here.

Community Garden

Our most visible initiative is our community garden, started in 2011. Open to members, affiliates, and neighborhood families, its vegetables and flowers enhance our grounds as you can see below. More about Ethical Eating.

Second Unitarian Church's community garden

Composting

Woman dropping her organic household waste into Hillside Solutions bins.
Composting organic household waste

We host two Hillside Solutions bins for organic household waste to help our community members attain zero-waste lifestyles. Ours is one of the many sites all over the Metro area that Hillside provides to its Hillside Solutions Compost Club members, who pay monthly or annual subscriptions.

Hillside accepts much more than regular back-yard composting can manage, such as dairy, meat, bones, paper products, practically anything that was once living. Club members keep their waste out of the landfill and get excellent garden compost in return. Just look for the green bins on the west side of our parking lot.