b'people are fully aware how much our youngerinterior lighting usage, and recycling habits. generationsand I hear it in the college studentsThey visited the Casa Maria community to ask articulating itare feeling climate grief andquestions and gather data. climate anxiety. Its paralyzing them and hasThe students presented their findings at a them very discouraged about the world thatresearch showcase, providing solutions for Casa were in.Maria to become more environmentally friendly.We have to take responsibility to really workThe project facilitated student-community with them, like working intergenerationally andinteraction and provided real-world experience, really showing we can still make a difference.Pruski said.Bro. Jesse agreed, stressing the importance of raising awareness among students to create a culture of care for the world. The project aims to create systemic change by raising awareness among young people who willinfluence future decisions, said. Bro. Jesse, who isthe provinces assistantfor education. The Encounters website(marianistencounters.org) features many stories about how the Marianist Family is living out the programs goals. Here are just a few examples: From top: Brother JesseSt. Marys University/Casa MariaONeill, SM, Brother Jack Ventura, SM In fall 2024, the Marianist Brothers Casa Maria community in San Antonio had been discussing ways to engage more students at neighboring St. Marys University, a Marianist university.To gather ideas, Paul Pruski (then an aspirant living at Casa Maria and now a novice livingMarianist Brother Tom Redmond and novice Paul Pruski in Dayton, Ohio) attended the October 2024divide recyclables for the Novitiate Community at Mount Marianist Encounters conference in Dayton,Saint John near Dayton, Ohio.where he met St. Marys environmental Marianist Environmental Education Centerdepartment professors Evelyn Mitchell andThe Marianist Environmental Education Center Dave Turner. (MEEC) cares for 100 acres of natural area at Mount When they returned from the conference,Saint John in Dayton. The centers programs Pruski and Turner discussed ideas and pro- integrate spirituality, ecology, and sustainability.posed an energy audit for Casa Maria, whichMEEC allows participants to connect lifestyle was approved by the community of brothersdecisions with social and environmental justice, and priests.becoming effective stewards of creation. With its St. Marys students developed and conductedpartners, the center provides resources for spiritual surveys about the communitys energy usage,development and personal and community action.water consumption, and waste management,The natural areas at Mount Saint John provide and included questions about shower duration,ideal space for integrated, experiential learning 18Call 1.800.348.4732'