Bounce-Back

Bounce Back

Bounce Back, the fourth installment in A Rocha’s ‘Elements of Hope’ video series, asks us to examine where we find our hope amidst environmental disaster, such as extreme wildfires or terrible floods. The film explores the idea of ‘refugium’, defined as an area in which a population of organisms can survive through a period of unfavourable conditions, especially glaciation and fire. In the example of Mount Saint Helens in the USA, after the forests were destroyed by a volcanic blast, ecologists were surprised to see regeneration happen much faster than expected. They attributed this to small pockets of refugia that were able to persist and help the rest of the ecosystem recover.  

Forests do not regenerate without fire, and, like our own personal walk with Christ, we too must face challenges and be pruned and refined to grow in our faith. Loving God’s creation comes with lament and heartbreak for the things that are lost. But there is hope. Reflecting on the devastating wildfires of 2019, A Rocha Australia National Director Stuart Blanch states, ‘The word of God points us to the importance of creation care. I want to be optimistic, not naive, and hopeful, determined. That’s the mindset we have to have. If we give up, we’ll just lose more…. Christians needs to be the forefront of caring for creation and nature. It’s not a distraction from the gospel; it’s where we demonstrate that we are committed to loving our neighbours and loving God who gave us this good world.’ 

Learn more about finding hope amidst disaster in Bounce Back and please share with your church, school, bible study or youth group. You can find the accompanying discussion guide here and download the video from our Vimeo channel here

Natural Dye Canada

A Rocha Artists Around the World

Everyone has a part to play in conserving God’s creation, including artists! Art is a powerful tool to inspire action for nature. Read on to learn about more of the creative activities happening around the A Rocha Worldwide Family this year: 

A Rocha Ghana – Solutions to Plastic Pollution Art Sessions

A Rocha Ghana has recently introduced their ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution Art Sessions,’ in which they visit local schools and empower students with the knowledge and skills to transform everyday plastic into recycled artworks. A Rocha Uganda also encourages young people in schools to think of alternative ways they can use plastics by transforming items like water bottles into dustbins, gates, watering cans and more. 

Ugandan students make a waste bin from recycled plastic bottles

Inspired by these young artists and architects? You can be a recycling artist too! Cindy Verbeek runs A Rocha Canada’s Buck Creek Hatchery and Nature Centre in Northern British Columbia, but she is also an ‘upcycler’ extraordinaire: ‘I love taking what would normally go into the landfill and turning it into fun, beautiful, practical things that help me reduce my impact. I also love sharing and challenging others to do the same.’ Here you can see a selection of Cindy’s practical and decorative treasures, including a notebook used for nature-journaling. Cindy teaches children to make these notebooks during A Rocha NBC’s nature camps: they use magazine or calendar pages to decorate a piece of cereal box for the covers, then bind the inside paper themselves. This one-of-a-kind journal will help them continue to connect with creation.  

Cindy Verbeek – Crafts

While ‘upcycling’ crafts turn trash into treasure, crafting with natural objects deepens our knowledge of the things growing around us. A Rocha Canada has hosted two natural dye workshops this summer using plants they’re growing on the farm (pictured above). 

Photo by Nick Davis

Have you ever tried your hand at nature photography? Capturing the dynamic beauty of nature in front of us can be tricky, so it’s easy to appreciate the artistry of our co-founder Peter Harris’ bird photography and the underwater animal portraits of A Rocha USA’s marine intern, Nick Davis. 

Photo by Peter Harris – Downy Woodpecker

Creative actions like these grow a love for the Creator and all that he has made. If you, too, care for creation through art, share what you’re doing for nature on social media using #IAmAConservationist.

Photo credit: Andrew Simpson

Spiders matter too!

Katipō, NZ’s only venomous spider

Katipō Latrodectus katipo is New Zealand’s only venomous native spider, classified as ‘in serious decline’ by the Department of Conservation, and only one of two native spiders fully protected by New Zealand law. It is a coastal sand dune specialist and has suffered a dramatic decline in numbers. Jim O’Malley has been surveying Katipō populations in the Wellington and Wairarapa coastal areas and shared his findings at A Rocha’s Wellington Local Group Winter Kōrero in July.

Spiders can be sensitive to habitat loss and degradation. For the Katipō, destabilised coastal sand dunes have led to a massive reduction in appropriate habitat. This was a result of stock grazing, competition from an accidentally introduced spider Steatoda capensis, climate change and sea-level rise, and the disturbance and vegetation burning that accompanied European settlement, followed by ongoing commercial forestry, recreational use of dune systems and other activities. The introduction of Marram grass Ammophila arenaria, a plant which stabilises sand, exacerbated the problem over time: Marram grass initially stabilises dunes and provides good habitat for Katipō and its invertebrate prey, but over time can become so dense that web construction is difficult and the quantity of prey decreases.

In a nation-wide survey of Katipō in 2002, Katipō were found at five coastal Wairarapa locations. This has now declined to two. However, another population was discovered in Wellington Harbour. Through systematic surveying, we are finding increasing numbers at these sites – an encouraging outcome, despite there being fewer populations over time.

Of particular concern is the increasing effect of climate change and sea-level rise upon these Katipō populations. Where the foredunes are low in height, storm surges penetrate the rear dune areas, washing away everything in their path, potentially adversely affecting Katipō populations. While these events have of course occurred historically, storm surges have increased in frequency and intensity. The survey methodology has been modified to measure these factors and better understand these effects. 

Two locations with currently sufficiently high foredunes to withstand storm surges have been identified – these will be managed as Katipō conservation areas where applicable planting, predator control and habitat enhancement will maximise Katipō numbers at each site. Participation in the monitoring expeditions is welcomed! 

Photo credit: Andrew Simpson