The Loka Initiative at the University of Wisconsin – Madison provides an education and outreach platform for faith leaders and religious institutions where they can listen, observe, gain knowledge, and act to protect the environment and avert climate catastrophe. Its mission is to support faith-led environmental efforts locally and around the world through collaborations on capacity building, project management, and public outreach with faith leaders and religious institutions focused on environmental and climate issues. 

Loka is offering a FREE 10-week online training experience for faith leaders as part of our mission to support faith-led environmental and climate action. This non-credit course will integrate environmental science with religious and traditional knowledge, providing participants with practical knowledge on key environmental and climate issues. A core objective is to train faith leaders globally to design and manage environmental and climate projects that are specific to their geographies, communities, and faith traditions. This project, Preparing Religious Environmental Plans, PREP for short, will be launching on January 5, 2026 - March 13, 2026. 

PREP will consist of a combination of recorded lectures and videos, some reading, lively discussions among learners, a faith-based home room that allows learners to congregate with other learners who share the same faith, and a live weekly lecture and Q&A session with one of the instructors. The course will culminate in an all-expense paid in-person convening taking place March 23-27, 2026 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, where more specialized training beyond the scope of the online course – including media and communications, campaign creation, and fundraising – will be provided.

How to Participate:

If you are interested, please fill out the application form! Please submit your form by December 5, 2025 to ensure timely consideration.

If you are selected to participate, we will be in touch on December 15, 2025!

Further Course Details:

The learning objectives of the course include the delivery of: 

• Science-based explorations of contemporary environmental issues 

• Examination of humanity’s relationship with the environment through the lens of diverse faith traditions, ontologies, and philosophies

• Assessments of environmental strategies and actions that can be initiated and managed by individual faith communities 

• Practicing of critical thinking and problem-solving skills including observing, reading, listening, analyzing, strategizing, teamwork

• Development of environmental and climate project plans that are designed to meet local problems, threats, and vulnerabilities within local and regional contexts

Course Layout: 

• Week 1: Life on Earth

• Week 2: State of the Environment

• Week 3: Personal Reflection 

• Week 4: Power of Faith

• Week 5: Introduction to Project Design

• Week 6: Dimensions of Project Planning 

• Week 7: Project Management Methods

• Week 8: Community Outreach and Partnerships

• Week 9: Communications and Fundraising 

• Week 10: What Next? Your Role as an Environmental Leader!