Olive Tree Foundation funds environmental animation film at York University's CIFAL York Centre

The Olive Tree Foundation has announced the award of a generous grant to York University's CIFAL York Centre to fund the creation of an educational animated film titled 'Jonathan.' 

 This groundbreaking project aims to raise awareness among children, teenagers, and adults about the profound and devastating impacts of climate change on avian and other wildlife species. The film tells the poignant story of an elderly seagull named Jonathan, who tragically loses his son and daughter-in-law to plastic pollution, highlighting the dire consequences of this environmental issue. 

Through masterful storytelling and captivating animation, this film will deliver a powerful message about the urgent need to address climate change and its effects on our natural world.

 Peyman Naeemi, the Project Lead for 'Jonathan,' expressed his gratitude to Olive Tree Foundation, stating, "I would like to thank Olive Tree Foundation very much for their support. This movie is a call to action that reminds us of the power we possess to make a difference through peaceful protest."

The film has been selected to be presented at the Canadian pavilion at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai from November 30 – December 12, 2023. 

 Naeem Siddiqi, Vice-Chair of Olive Tree Foundation, expressed the Foundation’s enthusiasm for funding this critical project, saying, "Olive Tree Foundation is very pleased to fund this project and support the important work of CIFAL York. Climate action is a priority area for the Foundation. We are pleased that this project will engage and educate children and teenagers about the devastating effects of climate change and hopefully result in a better, more sustainable planet."

CIFAL York is part of UNITAR's global network of training centers for knowledge-sharing, training, and capacity-building for leaders, local authorities, and civil society. Established in 2020 as a partnership between UNITAR, York University and York Region, CIFAL York started its operation in June 2021 as the first CIFAL Centre in Canada.

Olive Tree Foundation is a philanthropic foundation that promotes community development through the collection of endowed funds and charitable contributions to fund services for the long-term benefit of the community.  

Greening Canadian Mosques: Program Launch

By Saba Khan

In partnership with EnviroMuslims and with generous funding from Olive Tree Foundation, Faith & the Common Good has launched Greening Canadian Mosques, the first program of its kind giving Canadian mosques the tools and resources they need to embed sustainable practices and policies within their facilities.

As is the case for many religions, Islam holds a high regard for environmental stewardship and the important role humans have as stewards of the planet. Muslims all over the world have a religious duty to learn about environmental issues and make changes both individually and collectively to protect the natural environment. While there is growing interest from Islamic leaders and mosques in Canada to engage on the matter, there is limited targeted guidance and support for them to lead the way on environmental stewardship. 

The Greening Canadian Mosques program aims to support Canadian mosques in developing and implementing environmentally friendly practices and policies. The program consists of two main resources:

 Toolkit: The toolkit features key statistics and Islamic references on environmental issues, helpful resources, inspiring case studies, and creative ideas to make mosques more environmentally and economically sustainable – reducing their impact on the environment while contributing to the well-being of local communities. The toolkit consists of different areas that mosques can focus their efforts on including waste management, water stewardship, energy conservation, sustainable transportation, community engagement, event management and environmentally conscious efforts towards greening the holy month of Ramadan. Each of these sections are divided into tangible actions that can be taken depending on their relevant costs (no-cost, low-cost, and high-cost). The toolkit also consists of policy templates, action plans, and resources to help gain the support of senior leadership.

Communications Package: The communications package consists of graphics and word templates to help mosques showcase their leadership and participation in the program. These consist of templates for newsletters and websites, as well as social media templates and graphics to communicate participation in the program.

Another important feature of the communications package is the addition of multilingual posters that can be displayed in Canadian mosques. The posters are in Somali, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic and Gujrati, and cater to the diverse Canadian Muslim population.

The Greening Canadian Mosques program is a call to action for Muslim community leaders to embed policies and practices within their mosques centering around the protection of the natural environment, and to encourage their Muslim congregations and community members to uphold their roles as stewards of the environment – protecting it from harm and leaving it in a state better than how we found it, for our future generations.

This piece was originally published on Faith and the Common Good on May 17 2021.

Greening Canadian Mosques

In partnership with Faith & the Common Good and with generous funding from Olive Tree Foundation, EnviroMuslims is proud to share the Greening Canadian Mosques program! The program aims to empower mosque management teams, as well as mosque-goers, to understand environmental issues and take appropriate action.

Want to get involved?

If you are a mosque-goer, please fill out this survey to help us understand what your expectations are from your local mosque when it comes to embedding sustainable practices within their facilities. You'll also have the chance to win 1 of 2 $50 gift cards at the end of the survey! https://bit.ly/34RK4Z0

If you are an imam or manager of a mosque facility, complete the survey below to tell us about some of your current sustainability policies and practices, and what types of resources you'd like to see as part of the GCM program: https://bit.ly/2KHbmdH

Help us spread the word - tag your family and friends, and encourage your local mosque to take action!

A Testament to Multifaith Collaboration

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The support of a leading community foundation for the charity, Faith & the Common Good (FCG), is a testament to the value of multi-faith collaboration said Dr. Lucy Cummings, Executive Director of FCG.

Cummings made the remarks on Sunday at the announcement of a grant to Faith & the Common Good by the Olive Tree Foundation (OTF).

“The support for our work from the Olive Tree Foundation is an important sign of support from a leading Canadian Muslim community foundation,” said Dr. Lucy Cummings.  “This is not only a deep honor, but a testament to the value of multi-faith environmental collaboration in Canada.”

The grant was announced at the Annual Awards Ceremony of the Olive Tree Foundation held at the Sayeda Khadija Centre in Mississauga on Sunday, November 30.

“The Olive Tree Foundation is very pleased to be able fund this important project of Faith & the Common Good,” said Muneeb Nasir, President of the Olive Tree Foundation, in announcing the grant. “This project will build upon the trust of Faith communities in helping vulnerable people in our society with compassionate outreach.”

Faith & the Common Good will use the grant to study how faith communities can act as neighborhood resilience hubs during the next extreme weather event. The project will develop a model that can serve as a template for future community-based responses to extreme weather.

The overall objective is to learn and understand what makes a “good” community resilience hub, specifically, what criteria need to be in place, for a Faith community to be successful in caring for the vulnerable, in the case of extreme weather conditions.

“To date, we have interviewed 12 Faith communities, from different traditions and geographical locations, in the city of Toronto, and their willingness to participate in this project has been immediate,” said Dr. Lucy Cummings.  “The Olive Tree Foundation grant will allow us to engage and mentor youth members to help us analyze neighborhood extreme weather needs at each of the faith community sites.”

“We will also lead a workshop to teach the youth volunteers how to write and present a key findings report on the topic,” she added.

Faith & the Common Good (FCG) is an interfaith organization that helps faith communities make the connection between their faith and care for the environment.

The Olive Tree Foundation is a philanthropic foundation that promotes community development through the collection of endowed funds and charitable contributions to fund services for the long-term benefit of the community.

This article was originally published on IQRA.caon December 2nd, 2014.