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“Hows” of a Rocha

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“Hows” of a Rocha ISSUE 38 | 2013 A ROCHA 06 CONSERVATION 08 EDUCATION 10 SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE The “Whys” & “HOWs” OF A ROCHA Inspiring Change. Caring for Creation. Photo: Brooke McAllister New immigrants to Canada get in on A Rocha’s harvest during Fun on the Farm. LIVING LIGHTER THE POWER OF WONDER When my nephew was small he thrilled at being outside. Just old enough to walk but not yet old enough to have gained the mastery of speech, he had just one word at his command: Dis. You would carry him outside and within seconds he would be shrieking at the top of his little lungs, “Dis!” as he pointed wildly at the seagulls circling overhead. And if he was under his own steam, he would fling himself to the ground - “Dis Dis Dis!” he’d bellow, pointing at a string of ants winding their way along the sidewalk. Inspiring Change. The world was full of miracles – ordinary, spectacular miracles! The bedrock of creation care is the experience of wonder at the beauty and complexity of the natural world. Caring for Creation. It is what motivates people to make sacrifices, live simply, and maintain hope. Ideas on how to ratchet up the wonder quotient in your family: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Keep a wonder journal. 2. Share wonder sightings over dinner. get Share your stories or photos INVOLVED of wonder on our Facebook page: Living Lighter 3. Create a wonder collage of your 03 facebook.com/arochacanada own “wonderful” photos. 04 A Message from the Director 06 Conservation 08 Education FREE eBook Download! Sustainable Agriculture This short booklet, written by A Rocha’s own Markku 10 and Leah Kostamo, explores the biblical foundations A Rocha Across Canada: Project Highlights of creation care as Christian mission as well as how 12 that mission is worked out in everyday life. Financial Information 14 LEAH KOSTAMO Download info: arocha.ca/ebooks-field-notes Brooksdale Environmental Centre Newsletter Editor 15 A Rocha Canada 16 Inspiration for Good Seed Sunday 17 The Pembina Interpretive Centre 18 Victory in Portugal 19 Restoring Dignity in Uganda Issue 38 2013 arocha.ca 03 A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR 2005 A Rocha International turns 30 this year! What started as a humble little A Rocha’s conservation centre on the Portuguese coast has grown into a family of 2004 Community Manitoba 20 projects around the globe – from New Zealand to Ghana to Brazil – each Shared Agriculture Centre opens uniquely caring for creation in their own contexts. Birthdays are good occasions project launched for taking stock of who you are and where you’ve been. In our case, it’s a good opportunity to answer the “why” and “how” of our own work in Canada. The “why” is simple enough: we work in creation care as an act of faithfulness to the Creator for the goodness of creation. Answering the “how” is a bit more complex, even though our own history in Canada goes back only twelve or so years. In a nutshell we work to transform people and places, but how 2004 we do that is wonderfully varied. At the risk of oversimplification, allow me to Environmental take you on a short pictorial tour which will hopefully give a glimpse into the MARKKU KOSTAMO Executive Director education many ways (the many “hows”) A Rocha has worked out our calling. A Rocha Canada programming 2008 connects kids Twitter.com/markkukostamo with creation A Rocha takes root in Ontario 1999 First of three Regent / A Rocha 2009 Conferences 2003 Just Growing A Rocha’s first links faith and environmental food security centre is in Winnipeg established in BC 2010 Good Seed Sunday launched, equipping 2001 churches across Conservation Canada to care studies begin FOLLOW A ROCHA TODAY 2010 for creation (Bertrand Creek, Brooksdale North Vancouver) Environmental Facebook.com/arochacanada Centre established Twitter.com/arochacanada Issue 38 2013 arocha.ca 05 CONSERVATION DIY: WILDLIFE GARDEN So, you want to steward the earth and you happen to own a bit of earth out your back door. Turning a corner of your lawn or garden into a Wildlife Garden is a wonderful way to provide habitat for birds, bats, bees and other creatures. Patrick Lilley, A Rocha’s Science Advisor, considers the The Canadian Nature Federation has developed the following criteria for “wildlife central role of conservation to A Rocha’s work. friendly backyards:” Chemical free organic soil (no herbicides or pesticides) (through use of compost, rotational WHY HOW planting, nitrogen-fixing plants) One of A Rocha’s core commitments is to the A snapshot of several of A Rocha’s conservation projects: conservation and restoration of the natural world. Both scientific research and practical conservation • Greater Toronto Area: We have been working water shelter with partners to steward and restore natural (pond, bird bath, creek) (bird, bat and bee houses, trees projects are a part of how we carry this out. Good with cavities, tall grass patches) stewardship requires an adequate understanding of areas on the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Moraine organisms, their interrelationships, and the habitats that is a major source of drinking water in the area and the headwaters of several rivers that flow through food support them. Our scientific work aims to provide (bird feeder, berry bushes, nut and fruit Upload a photo of the Greater Toronto Area and into Lake Ontario. get a strong foundation needed for informed protection trees, nectar-providing flowers; use native INVOLVED your wildlife garden to plants as much as possible) and management. Our conservation projects are • Southern Manitoba: We have been counting facebook.com/arochacanada aimed at slowing or reversing the trends of habitat migrating hawks and eagles as they travel loss that are affecting many species. northward through the Pembina River Valley From a faith perspective, our motivation for these each spring. This is helping to document the GETTING Started: activities comes from our belief in a creator God importance of the valley as a critical flyway • Choose native trees and shrubs which provide both who has called us to be stewards of His creation. for raptors. food and nest sites (see resources). For Christians, conservation work is an act of both • British Columbia: We have begun to work obedience and worship. In the developing world, with local landowners in the Little Campbell • Vary the height of your plants with various-sized trees with so many humans dependent on healthy, River watershed to identify sources of water and shrubs, vines and flowers to create layers. functioning ecosystems for food, clean water, pollution, to remove invasive species, and • Plant in groups of uneven numbers rather than in and even medicines, conserving the natural world to replant native streamside vegetation. The goal straight lines. is also strongly tied to alleviating poverty and is to improve water quality and habitat for fish, • Plant densely to create safer, warmer shelter and spreading justice. wildlife, farming, and shellfish harvesting. nesting sites. Even in Canada the connection between a healthy • Use groundcovers in place of lawn in parts of environment and the health of the human community FIND the garden. is being recognized since many conservation projects OUT have tangible benefits to local communities. Therefore, more • Emulate creation and embrace the mess! Wait to where possible, we work with local landowners and deadhead until spring; mulch well with leaves; stack fallen and cut branches to create a brush pile. residents to understand their concerns and collaborate Learn more about Conservation at: with them in the good act of stewardship. arocha.ca/environmental-stewardship/ • Create a safe place for wildlife by keeping kitty inside. Project partners: Vancity enviroFund, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Canadian Wildlife Foundation, Morden Area Foundation Helpful Resources: Canadian Wildlife Federation: (www.wildaboutgardening.org), Issue 38 2013 The Fletcher Wildlife Garden (www.ofnc.ca/fletcher.php) arocha.ca 07 EDUCATION EARTHKEEPING INSTITUTE JOINS FAITH & ACTION The Earthkeeping Institute, together. We finished our time together by sharing in Education Director Rick Faw ponders the role communion, an experience which grounded both our spearheaded by A Rocha’s Matt of education in A Rocha’s mission. theological reflection and the experiential learning of Humphrey, is a unique opportunity the week. Our Fall Institute focused on “Biodiversity, Species at Risk, and Care for Creation.” Building on our to participate in the community ongoing conservation efforts and the exciting restoration life of Brooksdale, to dig deeper in work happening at Brooksdale, participants joined local WHY HOW understanding the biblical basis for ecologist Mike Pearson and our conservation team in When describing A Rocha I often suggest that We articulate those connections for school kids on planting several hundred native trees and shrubs. We earthkeeping, and to experience new studied the biblical call to be stewards and caretakers of conservation and sustainable agriculture might be field trips and summer day camps (while also handing creation and reflected on how to respond to this call in the considered the “what” and “how” of A Rocha Canada’s ways of embodying this commitment those same kids sets of binoculars so the theoretical context of our local watersheds. work. What kind of bird is that? How do I restore a gets grounded in the practical!). And we make these in our daily lives. wetland? How can agricultural practices build soil connections for adults in pews and in classrooms, The first of our two 2012 Institutes focused on “Food and quality? In this light our education programming is learning institutes and internship programs, in the Faith” and featured four days of bible study, a tour of local FIND Stay tuned for additional the “why” of A Rocha. Why is earthkeeping biblical? hopes that the “whys” of earthkeeping will get OUT sustainable farms, fantastic guest speakers, and a “taste” more Earthkeeping Institutes in 2013: Why is habitat restoration or grocery shopping or biking translated into a wonderful array of “hows” as folks of the rich “food life” of Brooksdale – from growing and arocha.ca/earthkeeping part of following Jesus? A Rocha excels at inviting take seriously the call to care for creation.
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