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ECO CHURCH RESOURCES COMMUNITY & GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk Overview Of A Rocha Projects And Ways To Connect With em ECO CHURCH RESOURCES COMMUNITY & GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
Overview Of A Rocha Projects And Ways To Connect With Them
ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
Overview Of A Rocha Projects And Ways To Connect With Them
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Community-based conservation is a vital part of being an Eco Church. A Rocha UK and A Rocha International are active in a number of practical conservation projects around the UK and the world. Why not connect with one or more of these to broaden your horizons and deepen your vision?
The world’s most wildlife-rich sites are still being destroyed or degraded at a rapid rate – so the A Rocha family is expanding programmes in Kenya, Ghana, India, Peru and in the Mediterranean ecosystem, a hotspot under tremendous stress.
Such projects focus on resolving issues that threaten ecosystems and their biodiversity. A Rocha projects make a difference across the globe – and each year A Rocha involves thousands of people in its activities. Remember that also includes the various schemes associated with A Rocha UK.
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You can support Christian-based conservation work across the globe – first of all by praying for A Rocha UK and A Rocha International.Why not adopt an A Rocha initiative for your mission focus? There are plenty from which to choose. You could invite an A Rocha speaker to visit your church.
A Rocha UK publishes an electronic prayer newsletter to which you can subscribe.
ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
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Christians concerned about the whole of creation can help A Rocha in several ways:
– you can offer cash donations to fund Christian conservation work;
– you can volunteer to help at an A Rocha project;
– you can spread the message about A Rocha through social media.
There are plenty of examples of A Rocha initiatives that could be boosted by your support.
Restore an urban green space A Rocha UK was approached by the Metropolitan Police in winter 2012. For a number of years they had despaired at the amount of police resources being thrown at an area of wasteland known as Wolf Fields in Norwood Green, West London.
Community Manager Kailean Khongsai led a prayer walk around the site. ‘The site was filled with rubbish-waist-high in places,’ said Conservation Director Andy Lester, ‘including needles, bottles, oil drums, beds and burnt-out sheds. You name it – it was there.’
The A Rocha UK team decided to take on the challenge of working with the local community to transform the site from drug den to a wildlife-rich green space. Three years into the project and there are now new paths, two bee hives, a community food growing area, a bird feeding area with camera linked to a local school and a sensory garden designed by school children. Soon the project will have a community orchard with local fruit varieties, a wildflower meadow and pond – all on three acres of derelict land.
Every week up to 20 local residents join the A Rocha UK team to help plant, dig, mow, record species and talk to passers-by. Barriers are coming down, the area feels safer and hundreds of schoolchildren are now visiting the site each year for lessons and exploration. Here’s how you can be part of this revolution:
– if you feel you’d like to contribute with a cash donation, contact the project director at [email protected];
– if you are local and want to volunteer on site, contact the Community Manager at [email protected];
– alternatively, log on to the A Rocha UK website to find out what else is happening near you. arocha.org.uk
ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
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Serve one of A Rocha UK’s partnersA Rocha UK partners with a wide range of other organisations across the country. There are currently nine Partner In Action projects around the UK. Here’s how you can connect with them:
– if you want to find out which one is nearest you, e-mail the Partners In Action Manager Hannah Pearson: [email protected];
– explore the Partners In Action network on the A Rocha UK website;
– read all about three of the Partners In Action projects below. Why not contact them and see how you can help?
Hilfield Friary – a Franciscan lay and monastic community in Dorset working for peace and reconciliation of land and people through practical, local actionThere are opportunities for retreats, conferences and holidays-whilst joining in with an amazing range of community-based events.
Adventure Plus – a brand new outdoor bounds centre with a differenceRun as a Christian community in the heart of rural Oxfordshire, the vision is to transform young peoples’ lives and transform land for God’s glory together. A new 50-acre site is being developed to provide a balance between provision for outdoor activity and fantastic wildlife conservation. There are plenty of ways you can get involved and volunteer if you live nearby.
PARTNERS IN ACTIONarocha.org.uk/our-activities/practical-conservation/partners-in-action
HILFIELD FRIARYhilfieldfriary.org.uk
ADVENTURE PLUSwww.adventureplus.org.uk
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ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
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Lee Abbey – a Christian conference centre on the edge of Exmoor in North DevonThe vision is to make Lee Abbey a place of best ecological practice –from renewable energy through to recycling and from a new marine conservation programme to woodland management. At the same time, Lee Abbey has two communities – nearly 100 resident volunteers from all over the World and a constant stream of guests for breaks, conferences and longer holidays.
LEE ABBEYleeabbey.org.uk
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ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
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Change the world, one project at a timeThe global A Rocha family run various projects around the world. You can connect with one or more of them, to make a difference. Here are just some of them…
Plant hope in KenyaA Rocha Kenya provides eco-bursaries which enable local youngsters to have a secondary school education, and involves their families in conservation activities – such as tree planting and litter clean-ups.
The Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-Tourism Scheme (ASSETS) is a programme initiated by A Rocha Kenya in 2001 to conserve biodiversity and increase the benefits local communities receive from sustainable eco-tourism activities in Mida Creek and the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.
Support is mainly given in the form of secondary school bursaries, eligible to any child living within 3km of the forest and creek. If an ASSETS student maintains a satisfactory academic and disciplinary record – and their family refrains from any illegal exploitation of the forest and creek – they will be supported throughout their four years of secondary school.
Communities around the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest are being persuaded that this site of outstanding conservation importance is worth protecting for themselves and for future generations.
Your support can help provide secondary school scholarships to needy children, while promoting the conservation of two of Africa’s most important wildlife sites.
ASSETS PROGRAMMEkenya.arocha.org/projects/assets
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ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
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Restore wetlands in FranceA Rocha France has been working with the communities around Vallée des Baux in Provence to change attitudes to wetlands. Half the valley has now changed from intensive farming to various forms of more environmentally sensitive management, including wetland restoration.
Many volunteers are involved in A Rocha’s research and monitoring work in the Vallée des Baux, which demonstrates the impact that human activities can have on the renewal of the wetland.
Studies include a long-term monitoring project of the European Roller (Coracias garrulous), evaluating its conservation status in France and its role as a bio-indicator, aiding the understanding and promotion of sustainable farming in the Mediterranean region.
The team also works with a wide range of local people – including landowners and government representatives – to engage them in conservation issues and to manage key sites in sustainable ways.
A Rocha France’s two field study centres – Les Tourades in Provence and Les Courmettes near Nice – provide bases for scientific studies, as well as community environments for welcoming and educating numerous volunteers, students, school children and local groups.
The centres take in volunteers who wish to help staff with their projects all months of the year. Expertise in environmental fields is not a requirement. A Rocha France welcome people with skills in conservation, environmental education, communication, gardening, DIY, administration and housekeeping.
A ROCHA FRANCEfrance.arocha.org/en
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ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
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weblinkSow seeds in CanadaA Rocha Canada help churches honour the Creator by learning about, celebrating and even caring for creation. Their Good Seed Sunday has grown into a movement. Their website is full of downloadable resources that can help kick-start a creation care movement in a church and neighbourhood.
A Rocha began work in Canada in 2000, establishing the first Field Study Centre in one of their conservation target areas – the Little Campbell Watershed, in British Columbia.
In addition to restoration and conservation work on the river, the work focuses on research, community agriculture, sustainable living, and environmental education programs, hosting more than 2,000 students every year.
One of British Columbia’s top 12 endangered rivers, the Little Campbell flows right through A Rocha Canada’s Brooksdale Environmental Centre. The centre trains 30 interns every year and is a living classroom where people come from all over the world to get their hands dirty in creation care.
Their team studies the Little Campbell River Watershed, located at the centre of the Salish Sea (or Georgia Basin-Puget Sound Ecoregion) and runs from Langley in the east, through South Surrey and into White Rock, where it enters Semiahmoo Bay.
The Little Campbell River Watershed is home to five species of salmon and trout, and a high number of endangered species. The watershed is facing pressure just like other watersheds in the larger Salish Sea and suffers from poor water quality, low water levels during the summer, loss of wetland habitat and loss of forests due to urbanisation and agricultural development.
The goal of A Rocha Canada’s Little Campbell River Watershed Stewardship Project is to protect biodiversity and improve watershed health through research, education, and practical action. Your support can help restore habitats and transform communities living around the Little Campbell River in British Columbia.
LITTLE CAMPBELL RIVERwww.arocha.ca/little-campbell-river
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ECO CHURCH RESOURCES
COMMUNITY & GLOBAL
ENGAGEMENT
www.ecochurch.arocha.org.uk
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weblinkHelp people and animals co-existIn and around Bannerghatta National Park, A Rocha India is protecting Asian elephants and supporting the communities that live nearby. The park lies just outside Bangalore, and the sprawling growth of the city is causing human-elephant conflict with casualties on both sides, as elephants leave the forest to seek food in neighbouring farmland.
A Rocha India is addressing these issues through careful science and environmental education. One innovative and successful project involves the use of ropes soaked in a brew of oil, chilli and tobacco, which provides a sensory barrier to keep elephants off crop fields. Schoolchildren from nearby villages have also been involved in nature camps that highlight the wealth and importance of the local wildlife.
Please help A Rocha India as they work with communities to protect the elephant populations of Bannerghatta National Park and the livelihoods of local farmers.
ELEPHANTS AND FARMERSwww.arocha.in/resources/elephants-and-farmers-can-they-co-exist
A ROCHA INDIAwww.arocha.in
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