As an “ecology minister,” Ventra Asana believes in a simple yet powerful ordination, placing the value of what she calls earth care at the center of her ministerial calling. “I believe that the protection of nature is a divine mandate, not a holy suggestion,” she says.
The Rev. Dr. Asana is an ecotheologian and ecominister, who retired from ministering in Detroit churches after serving the community for decades in the African Methodist Episcopal and the United Methodist faiths. Now she pairs spirituality with nature, and partners with other environmentalists to create green spaces within resource-challenged urban communities.
Her current project is through the Detroit Bird Alliance and Michigan State University. Ventra is helping create a park with a bird meadow at the intersection of Linwood and Gladstone, with input from the LaSalle Block Club. It’s projected to also have a basketball court, a free library, benches, and a playground.
The alliance has broken ground on the space and this year is tilling the area for planting. Asana hopes the park will host its grand opening in September 2025.
The bird meadow is just one of 26 areas that will be constructed to attract birds and wildlife to the city. A few have already been established, including one in Palmer Park. “The program will create urban meadows in some of Detroit’s community parks to provide sanctuary for birds,” Asana said.
Ventra became interested in the plight of birds many years ago caring for her ill mother on the east side. (“I was appalled to discover that over four billion birds have become extinct over the past 50 years, and to learn about some of the causes contributing to their demise,” she notes.) Overwhelmed with her caretaker duties, Asana would listen to the vocalizations of a pheasant through her back porch window. One day, the bird startled her by appearing in her backyard.
“It seemed to show up at a moment when I was the most in despair,” she said. “It somehow seemed to me that it sensed my mood, and made its astonishing appearance to cheer my soul, to inform me that I was special in the calling I’d undertaken to be there for my mother in a time of suffering.” The pheasant to her was a symbol how important it was to establish connections with nature. This led to her serving with the United Methodist faith, a Christian community that has specific theological guidelines for the care of the earth.
There have been challenges with implementing the program, Asana acknowledges. Many people in their communities did not deem bird meadows a priority among other pressing social needs. Another challenge was the residents wanted traditional parks, with walkways and cut lawns which would increase their property values. An overgrown field did not appeal to them.
Asana addressed these concerns by talking to residents at social functions and community gatherings. Many participants shared their nostalgic bird stories with her which allowed her to recruit bird ambassadors and create community activists that entertained the idea of urban meadows. “These people have also shared with me that the inclusion of community benefit agreements – wherein improvements to existing areas as identified by residents – could serve as incentives to motivate them to care for meadows and to teach about their importance to urban ecology.”
Asana believes that these green spaces will improve people lives and health. Her goal is to make accessible spaces for residents to enjoy that they do not have to hop into the car and drive to. She is also hoping the gardens and parks will attract businesses and popups to come to the communities. Each month she writes a blog about the importance of natural world in urban settings for
Stand-Detroit, whose mission is to better understand the link between nature, staying active, and healthy neighborhoods.
Asana is also proud of her 15-year membership to
Keep Growing Detroit, an organization whose mission is cultivate community gardens where most vegetables and fruits consumed by residents are grown by residents. She has her own family garden and has used the group’s resources, from seeds to workshops on a variety of topics including how to grow mushrooms. She is also excited to be featured in a new book from authors Kelly Smith and Racheal Forbes titled “
Ecosocial Work: Environmental Practice and Advocacy”.
“As an ecotheologian and ecominister it is in the sacred space of these encounters that I feel a profound hope and encouragement to continue advocating for the creation of meadows as bird sanctuaries in urban spaces,” Asana says. “I see this as an important aspect of divine earth care, one that exemplifies this intentional practice as spiritual mandate and not as holy suggestion
, compelling us to continue to campaign for species that cannot do it for themselves.”
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