Creation Care

SWBC is committed to equipping people to care for God's wondrous creation and being responsible stewards of the natural resources we have influence over.

Creation care is missional, it is part of God's big story and restorative work. It is a natural outworking of a relationship with God.

SWBC is part of the Arocha ECO Church NZ network. The enviro conversation grows this kōrero within our church through: 

  • Supporting creation care theology to permeate the life of the church, so that it is a natural lens we look through as we make decisions along this journey.

  • Supporting systemic change within the church so that it is not reliant on ‘champions’. 

  • We hope to inspire individuals and families to do their bit for creation care.

  • Creating opportunities for practical outworking such as river clean ups, tree planting and workshops.

If this is something you are passionate about or want to learn more about, then come and join the conversation!

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Solar at South West

Installing solar panels and switching our buildings to solar power is future proofing for our church and our community. 
Our solar panels on the Lyttelton St site are now LIVE, thanks to your help! 

Environmental 
By switching to solar, we are doing our part in the nationwide shift to sustainable energy production. This will help unload the existing power network, and work towards a carbon neutral New Zealand.  

Switching to solar would also be the equivalent of: 

  • Planting 1278 trees per year 

  • Avoiding 21,234 litres of fuel use 

  • Avoiding 24,133 kilograms of coal being burnt

 Keep an eye on our solar power stats!

For those that are interested in checking out the impact our new solar panels are making, check out this website to see all our solar stats. Things like current power usage, energy balance, CO₂ savings and earnings through giving back to the grid.

 Economic
Switching to solar takes SWBC out of a market where the cost of power fluctuates dramatically – with this likely to occur more frequently in the future. The payback for solar panels is around 8 years and they have close to a 30 year lifespan.   

 Ethical
The solar panel industry is known for poor treatment of workers, so our Facilities Team worked with Garden City Solar, a local company whose labour and components for solar panels are ethically sourced.