This World Environment Day, URI communities across the globe showed up for the planet each in their own context, each with the same conviction: that caring for the Earth is an act of faith, community, and shared responsibility.
Europe: Sacred Earth, Shared Humanity URI Europe Assembly, Barcelona
Nearly 50 interfaith leaders, peacebuilders, and youth changemakers gathered in Barcelona for the URI Europe Assembly 2026 under the theme "Sacred Earth, Shared Humanity: URI Europe Responses to Violence and Harm." Participants drew on spiritual traditions, Indigenous wisdom, and local action to deepen our collective responsibility for the planet we share, leaving with renewed relationships and a shared commitment to keep building cultures of peace, one community and one ecosystem at a time.
Sri Lanka: Restoring Our Coasts, Empowering Our Future Green Unity 2026, Mount Lavinia Beach
URI Sri Lanka launched Green Unity 2026 at Mount Lavinia Beach, bringing together over 250 youth, students, and volunteers for a beach clean-up, tree planting, an awareness walk, and an inter-school poster competition. A powerful reminder that when faith communities act together, the impact goes beyond borders and generations.
India: Plant Trees, Save Lives Satyam Sports Trust URI, Gomia, Bokaro
At Nehru Sports Ground in Swang, Gomia, Satyam Sports Trust URI marked the day with a tree and environment exhibition, community education, and the planting of the first saplings of the season. With the monsoon approaching, a large-scale planting of Peepal, Banyan, and Neem trees is already being planned, each protected to grow strong and stand tall for generations to come.
From the coastlines of Sri Lanka to the forests of India and the assembly halls of Barcelona, URI's global community is proving that collaboration and environmental action go hand in hand. Together, we are building a greener, more peaceful world.
Our Collective Healing Poem
Authored by Intro Workshop Participants
With participants representing many Earth Communities around the world, TWO Intro workshops about Earth restoration took place in May, each with a team of newly trained facilitators!
At the end of the first workshop, “Earth Restoration and Collective Healing,” participants were invited to co-create art and healing with a spontaneous poem.
Each member of the group, contributed a line, inspired by the love and care they feel for the Earth Community where they live. Please enjoy!
I am the Adriatic Sea. I look amazing, even in my grey days
I am the water, powerfully falling, gently soaking, always cleansing
I am the Sun, I provide warmth even if I look so hot
I am the River am grateful that without me there is no life
I am a buzzing bumblebee and my superpower is helping the tomatoes to grow in your tiny urban garden
I am mushroom and I feed the soil and roots of trees everywhere
I am the land of Haiti, wounded by suffering, yet still carrying hope for future generations
I am the lion whose role is to protect the forest from all selfish predators
I am Table Mountain, majestic and attractive as always, a home to a multitude of animals and a refuge to the homeless;
I am the wind I communicate my resilience as a reminder of the forces of Nature
I am a water drop, I want to give life, health and hope.
I am the mountain that carries stories from ages past to ages to come.
