In the series ‘Stories of Women Leading Change’, the Women, Faith and Climate Network featured Good Samaritan Oblate Beth Riolo, who supports Catholic schools in their journey towards ecological conversion.
By Fariah Lalaikipian*
Beth Riolo has learned to think about climate work the way she thinks about faith: not as a grand idea you admire from a distance, but as something you practice steadily, intentionally, and in community.
From Wollongong, an hour south of Sydney, she supports 38 Catholic schools across the Diocese of Wollongong to turn care for creation into something concrete: plans, projects, prayer and daily habits that can last beyond one enthusiastic teacher or one short-lived initiative.
For Beth, this work is deeply personal. She has spent 38 years in Catholic education, and while her role is professional, she is clear that it is not “merely a professional thing”. Her motivation comes from a lifetime of formation and a spirituality that has shaped the way she sees the world: as sacred, interconnected and entrusted to our care.
Beth Riolo. Image supplied.
Beth belongs to St Therese Catholic Parish at West Wollongong and is a Benedictine oblate with the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, an identity that, for her, is not a label but a way of living. Benedictine spirituality has taught her a reverence that extends beyond church walls: “Every tool and vessel of the earth should be treated with the same reverence as we reverence the altar.” Creation, she says, is not a resource to be exploited. It is “sacred”, a gift we are called to tend here and now, so it can be left “for future generations in a good space.”
That conviction found a clear pathway in 2015, when Pope Francis released Laudato Si’. Beth’s school system wanted to respond “in a way that was very concrete, and very strategic and very intentional”, and she was asked to help guide that response. Over the next decade, her work centred on supporting schools through what the Church calls ecological conversion; not only changing behavior, but reshaping values, awareness, and responsibility.
Across the 38 schools, Beth helps communities develop School Environment Management Plans – three-year frameworks that guide ecological action. Many schools had always cared about sustainability, she explains, but the difference now is continuity. Before, she often saw what she calls an “eco-warrior model”: one passionate person would lead a project, then leave, and “it fell over”. Now, schools plan, document, and revisit their progress. Some are already on their third cycle (nine years of sustained reflection and action).
For Beth Riolo, formation is always the starting point. Image supplied.
For Beth, formation is always the starting point. She leads staff spirituality days and formation sessions that help teachers understand not only what to do, but why it matters. “If you don’t know why you do something,” she says, “it’s only half the story.”
Whether a school is improving waste systems, planting gardens or reducing water use, she wants people to understand the deeper reason: “The why is because I’m a human being on this planet, and I’m called by God to care for our common home.”
This approach resonates strongly with students. Across Catholic education in Wollongong, around 20,000 students and 3500 staff are part of this broader journey. Beth often tells young people: “You’re never too small to make a difference.”
Through eco-ambassador programs, students gather, learn and return to their schools ready to lead small but meaningful changes. It is peer-to-peer hope-building: children discovering that they can shape the world around them.
Practical support has also played an important role. Since 2018, environmental education grants have enabled schools to carry out projects connected to their plans. Over time, these grants have supported more than 80 initiatives, from recycling systems and vegetable gardens to habitat creation, irrigation systems, native beehives, and Indigenous bush tucker gardens that connect students to Aboriginal knowledge and care for Country.
One project remains especially meaningful to Beth: a 22-metre Cosmic Walk mosaic at a school entrance, tracing the story of the universe and connecting Scripture with the unfolding of creation. Students walk past it every day.
Her key learnings are practical as well as spiritual. This work, she insists, requires intention and resourcing; it does not happen from goodwill alone. It also requires shared ownership. “It’s not just the responsibility of a few,” she says. “It’s all of us.”
Sometimes, she jokes about her role. Schools are busy places, and priorities shift. So she compares herself to Jiminy Cricket, the small voice of conscience, “popping up every so often” to remind people: don’t forget about the planet.
Behind the humour is a truth she has learned over time: lasting change often depends on someone quietly holding the thread.
Beth also reflects on the role women play in this work. Teaching, like much care work, is still overwhelmingly female, and she speaks openly about the strength she draws from that presence. “There seems to be something intrinsic within women … this desire to tend, to nurture, to care.”
She is careful not to romanticise it, men nurture too, but she observes that many of the champions of ecological initiatives in schools are women, and that shared sensibility gives her strength.
Looking ahead, for Beth, the most important task is to sustain what has already been planted. Ecological conversion, she says, is not a one-time project but a long journey that requires continued commitment, leadership support, and the steady formation of new teachers and students.
Beth sees her role as an advocate and a reminder: someone who keeps the thread from breaking, who ensures that care for creation remains part of everyday school life rather than an occasional project.
Beth Riolo with Costa Georgiadis, host of ‘Gardening Australia’ on ABC TV. Image supplied.
The more Beth does this work, the more she feels its global reach. Conversations about climate and faith have connected her with people across continents. What strikes her most is how similar the concern is everywhere: a shared love for the world, and a shared desire to protect it.
She often reflects on the way Laudato Si’ was addressed not only to Catholics but to every person living on the planet. For her, that openness still matters. Climate crisis is frightening, she says, but one of its few upsides is that it can bring people into relationships, reminding us that “we’re all part of this home”.
Beth returns often to one guiding idea. She loves a quote by Jane Goodall about the world being like a giant jigsaw puzzle: “I like to envision the whole world as a jigsaw puzzle … If you look at the whole picture, it is overwhelming and terrifying, but if you work on your little part of the jigsaw and know that people all over the world are working on their little bits, that’s what will give you hope.”
In Wollongong, Beth’s piece is clear. She forms, connects, and reminds. She helps schools pray with their feet, through gardens and waste systems, mosaics and plans, student ambassadors and staff formation. And beneath it all is the same faith-rooted conviction that keeps her returning, year after year: caring for creation is not optional. It is part of what it means to live responsibly, to live in faith, and to leave the world in a better place for those who come after us.
*Fariah Lalaikipian is a Member and Communications Consultant of the Women, Faith, and Climate Network where this article was originally published. It is republished with permission with photos supplied by Beth Riolo.
