Molly Burhans had a stunning realization during her visit to a Benedictine monastery in Pennsylvania: The Catholic Church owns or stewards a significant amount of land — roughly the equivalent of the size of France.
As the United Nations Environment Programme detailed, many religious traditions call on their faithful to care for the Earth, and Burhans strongly believes in using land for good. Her first foray into restorative work involved guerilla gardening on the grounds of an abandoned home.
"It not only restored the land but it also transformed the entire neighbourhood in a radically beautiful way," Burhans said of the property in Buffalo, New York. "That was my first experience of really seeing the power of property and the way we use and manage our land."
Her revelation at the monastery ultimately led to the establishment of GoodLands in 2015.
"Grounded in science … and inspired by Christian values of stewardship and charity," per its official website, the organization helps the Catholic Church develop land-use strategies.
In turn, the church can mobilize more effectively to address some of today's most pressing societal issues, including food and water insecurity, community connection, and displacement associated with extreme weather events — supercharged by a warming climate.
With the approval of the Holy See (the government of the Roman Catholic Church), digital mapping became one key element supporting GoodLands' mission.
"You can't do surgery unless you've studied human anatomy—and you can't really do sound environmental work unless you've mapped the environment and landscape, and can visualize it," Burhans told the U.N. Environment Programme.
"If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a map is worth a million," she added. "We can map where ecological failure might trigger heavy migration. Or, where sea level rise might force poor communities to move. We can see where more trees could cool hot cities; where green spaces could bring health benefits in areas with high respiratory problems."
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Yes — it sets a positive example ⛪ In 2018, Burhans visited the Vatican to discuss her work and gifted Pope Francis a digital map. The following year, she was honored as a Young Champion of the Earth.
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As she told the U.N. Environment Programme, mapping data could help save tens of millions of lives every year. The Vatican may also consider launching a cartography institute. If it does, it would be the first scientific institute established by the Holy See since a 1930 observatory.
"I am hopeful regarding the developments surrounding my work with the Vatican," Burhans said, explaining that she's in the process of automating GoodLands' offerings and obtaining B Corp status — given to organizations that meet a rigorous set of environment and social guidelines.
"How can we leverage land and religion to become the solution to our crises? We must be at the forefront of these issues," Burhans said to the U.N. Environment Programme.
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