Luke's Blog

Join us at the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust’s Starcliff Nature Reserve where we’re stewarding the property’s natural habitat. For this event, we’ll first continue our efforts at controlling the spread of the aggressively invasive garlic mustard plant; and then in a combined effort to (1) maintain the walking trail and (2) restore the areas where garlic mustard is being removed, we’ll transplant plants (shrub and tree seedlings, herbaceous species) to the weeded sections.

• All tools and equipment will be provided;
• Please wear closed-toe shoes or hiking boots and dress appropriately for the weather (unless thunder and lightning is forecasted within 2 hours of the event, we volunteer rain or shine!);
• Water and a snack will be available; and
• For complete details, including directions, please RSVP by sending an email to ontario@arocha.ca.

This item currently has no responses.

2012 Birdwatch – 8:00 am

Meet at the A Rocha Brooksdale Environmental Centre at 8:00 am, Mon. May 21st.

The Birdwatch is for beginner and expert birders alike. This year Lower Mainland residents can join us at five locations in the Little Campbell River Watershed, then return to Brooksdale to tally the birdcounts. Bring a bag lunch. Drinks will be provided.

For more information contact british.columbia@arocha.ca

Spring Festival & Native Plant Sale – 1:00 pm

Join us, this Victoria Day Monday, for a guided naturalist walk of the Little Campbell River portion of the Brooksdale Environmental Centre, site tours, conservation themed public talk (with Mike Pearson a local biologist), native plant sale at The River Tree Store and more family friendly activities like hayrides, face painting and live music.

This year, kids can participate in Surrey’s Environmental Extravaganza program (kids get a passport and stamps at different events over the month of May). Also, the theme for this year is Survivors–Mike Pearson will be highlighting species at risk in the Lower Mainland and A Rocha will be showcasing our conservation efforts on species at risk in the Little Campbell River watershed.

Feel free to bring dessert treats ready to share.

Dress for the weather – the event will be rain or shine.

For more information contact british.columbia@arocha.ca

This item currently has no responses.

A Rocha has been partnering with World Vision for the past three years to provide families on low income with programming that connects them to food, community and creation. We recently hosted “From the Ground Up” — a Spring Break day camp at our Brooksdale Environmental Centre that welcomed many children from the Umoja Operation Compassion Society in North Surrey. Umoja runs after-school programming for children from new immigrant families. We also hosted a couple of families who live in a local RV park.

The jam-packed camp included a cooking class, bird-watching, sing-a-longs, planting blueberry bushes and exploring a nearby forest. Interestingly, some of the children were afraid to go in the forest, making us realise that many of them had never in their lives walked through the woods! One spiritually savvy child even said, “We should pray before we go in there!” But the children conquered their fears, enjoying the sights and sounds of God’s creation, even in its wooded wildness.

This item currently has no responses.

This past winter and spring, A Rocha has run a monthly series of Wednesday night “talks” at both our Brooksdale Environmental Centre in Surrey, BC and in the Pembina Valley of Manitoba. The goal of both series has been to highlight the lives of folks who are living out an ethos in various contexts and circumstances, that matches A Rocha’s, giving the speakers a platform to share their own journey and their work.

The Brooksdale Series included:

- Steven Gnam, who presented an evening of conservation photography
- Rob and Ruth des Cotes, Brooksdale’s resident hosts, who shared about their Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago
- Rowenna Gryba, a Marine Biologist specializing in marine mammals
- John Mackenzie, President of Anita’s Organic Mill
- Mike Yankoski, author and activist who shared his journey to creation care

The Manitoba Series included:

- Bill Stilwell, an author and photographer who introduced his audience to “Manitoba Wild”
- Ruth Hiebert, a nature photographer who presented the “Art of Seeing Beauty Everywhere”
- Alex Scharf, an agriculturalist specializing in greenhouse gardening in Manitoba’s native communities in the extreme north
- Dr. Sheila Forsyth, a senior staff scientist with Friends of the Earth who has conducting the “Be True to Blue” research project studying water conservation issues in the Pembina Valley

Look on our Events page for future talks in your area!

This item currently has no responses.

Come lend a hand, find the perfect native plant for your garden and then enjoy a free, local meal!

Join us rain or shine Saturday, May 12th to help with special projects at A Rocha’s Brooksdale Environmental Centre. Our native plant nursery will also be stocked with new and colourful plants for sale for the gardening season (read more).

10:00am – Work begins
12:30pm – A Rocha Centre tour
1:00pm – Free lunch for volunteers
2:30pm – Native plant sale ends

To RSVP or arrange for large groups, please email british.columbia@arocha.ca or call 604.542.9006

Please enjoy browsing the newly renovated River Tree Store! Also, special offer discount on plantable wildflower seed coasters (0.50 cents each).

This item currently has no responses.

A Rocha is participating in the Surrey’s Great Salmon Run – a way to raise awareness and resources for conservation work in Surrey.

We are encouraging friends of A Rocha to run for the cause of conservation in Surrey. You can even get pledges for your run and the money goes directly to A Rocha. You can register & pledge below.

The goals of the “Great Salmon Run” are to increase community awareness, participation and support in Surrey’s volunteer organizations and to spark an interest in the general public to interact with and care for the watersheds that they reside within. “Surrey’s Great Salmon Run will bring the community together in Tynehead Regional Park to celebrate our freshwater fish habitat and our volunteer supporters that we’re so fortunate to have in our city,” says Mayor Dianne Watts.

How you can help:

• register to run and gather pledges for your run
• recruit others to participate
• make a pledge to support A Rocha
• cheer on the runners the day of the event
• bring visitors by A Rocha’s booth on location at Tynehead Regional Park

Support Your Salmon Stewards – Register Today!

For more information on the run and the Salmon Stewardship Groups it supports, please visit www.surrey.ca/greatsalmonrun

Event Day Schedule

9:15am – Shuttle service from North Surrey Secondary starts**
9:30am – Package Pickup / Late Registration Open
10:30am – 5km / 8km events start
11:30am – Kids’ Dash ‘n Splash starts
11:00am – BBQ starts
10:00am-3:00pm – Activities for runners and public
3:30pm – Shuttle service back to North Surrey Secondary ends**

**North Surrey Secondary is located at 96 Ave and 160 St

All event info located on the City of Surrey’s website (Click here).

Register Here. Pledge Support for a Runner.

Use code rocha-5off for $5 off!

This item currently has no responses.

June 10^th was A Rocha’s 10-year anniversary celebration. I had been desperately preparing the new website, signage and other marketing material for our big event.  Maybe you can even imagine my last minute print jobs, website tweaks and stress. Lindsey could share the story well from the perspective of an outsider.  Anyway, the day was beautiful and 400 people showed up at A Rocha to celebrate 10 years , to hear our founders speak, to eat great food and to watch salmon being released into the Little Campbell River (on the Brooksdale property).

One fellow in that crowd of 400 was Travis.  His sister-in-law was a friend of Lindsey’s and it was their first time to A Rocha.  Before I even knew who he was, he came over to our new website booth and was genuinely eager to take a look and encourage my work (and the marketing agency of course). We connected a few more times that day because he had helped install some of the signage that was designed by our marketing team.

It is now the fall of 2011 and Travis is on staff with A Rocha using his handy-man skills! He has made numerous renovations to our heritage buildings and was eager to participate in the call to care for creation.

This story is significant because Travis and I have become good friends.  What is more significant is that I did not realize how much I needed a friend like Travis at A Rocha.  I now know what it means to carry each other’s burdens because of the way I interact with Travis.  Travis shares a desire to communicate the oh-so-difficult essence of A Rocha to more Christians.

This item currently has no responses.

This item currently has one response.

Are you excited about following Christ and caring for creation?  The Earthkeeping Institutes are a chance to learn more and go deeper!  Join us for a weekend of biblical teaching, discussion, sharing meals, and hands-on environmental stewardship.  Bring home a new perspective and new practices to care for creation in your own backyard.

Food and Faith: Eating as Earthkeeping

July 6 – 9, 2012

This summer’s Earthkeeping Institute offers four full days of exploring diverse ways in which food links us to Creation and to the life of faith. Theory and praxis will come together as we go from morning bible studies into the garden to get our hands dirty and into the kitchen to prepare meals together. Participants will engage with all aspects of ‘food’ during the course – growing, weeding, harvesting, preparing, cooking, and most vitally – enjoying! We will explore not only the theological and practical but also the social, cultural, historical, and agricultural dimensions of food. Join us as we learn to live more faithfully as good stewards of our food.

Costs

(Includes 3 nights of accommodation, 4 days of garden-fresh meals, teaching, hands on activities, time for reflection, and an unforgettable experience)

Guest House: $450 (for shared accommodation in the guesthouse – space is limited)
Camping: $375 (participants will provide their own camping equipment)
Commuter: $300 (does not include accommodation)

Location

A Rocha’s Brooksdale Environmental Centre is a beautiful heritage estate made up of pasture, gardens, and trails alongside the Little Campbell River. It’s a unique setting that makes for a restorative and unforgettable experience. For information and photos please browse our website and Click here for address and map.

REGISTER NOW

Click here to be taken to a registration page.  Online payment should be made upon registration online or call 604.542.9022 to pay by phone or email us if you are mailing in a cheque.

All God’s Creatures: Biodiversity, Species at Risk, and Care for Creation

October 26 – 28, 2012

Our Fall Earthkeeping Institute will highlight some of the ongoing work of A Rocha in the Little Campbell River Watershed to protect species at risk within the wider framework of global biodiversity. We are called to care for the diversity of our local ecology within the context of a biblical framework of God’s love and care for all creation. Participants will spend the weekend in our guesthouse participating in morning bible studies, spending afternoons exploring the watershed and enjoying community meals in between.

Costs

Includes 2 nights of accommodation, garden-fresh meals, teaching, hands on activities, time for reflection, and a great experience

Guest House: $350 (for shared accommodation)
Commuter: $250

Location

A Rocha’s Brooksdale Environmental Centre is a beautiful heritage estate made up of pasture, gardens, and trails alongside the Little Campbell River. It’s a unique setting that makes for a restorative and unforgettable experience. For information and photos please browse our website and Click here for address and map.

REGISTER NOW

Click here to be taken to a registration page.  Online payment should be made upon registration online or call 604.542.9022 to pay by phone or email us if you are mailing in a cheque.

This item currently has no responses.

This item currently has one response.