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A Rocha mealtimes

‘At A Rocha centres we don’t have a chapel, we have a table,’ wrote Leah Kostamo in Planted, her book telling the story of A Rocha Canada. She goes on, ‘The meal is a place of community, fellowship and invitation… the table is a safe place, a neutral ground for dialogue, knowing and communion.’

One of A Rocha’s five core commitments is community and there is no better place to form community than around a meal table. At Cruzinha, A Rocha Portugal’s centre, there is a new outside eating area with shade providing protection from the ever-increasing heat. This is where the team, interns, volunteers and visitors gather most lunch times, which in Portuguese style begin with soup and continue for two more courses!

At Krupárna, A Rocha Czech Republic’s centre, there are magical evenings around a blazing campfire with local sausages, stories and songs. The dining room at A Rocha Kenya’s centre, Mwamba, is usually buzzing with conversation as people share updates from the early morning bird ringing or snorkel survey; the latest on the ever-growing forest reserve, Dakatcha; or how a school’s environmental education programme is going. At the A Rocha Canada BC Centre, much of the delicious food on the table is grown on site! Mealtimes at Les Courmettes in France, Casa Adobe in Costa Rica and Kasserguppe in India are also significant and valued by permanent community members and guests alike.

Find out more about our centres here.

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A toast to the Hermit Butterfly

Conservation efforts take many forms. Visitors ordering a specific beverage at a seaside hotel or a summer festival in the South of France might not realise their choice was helping to save a butterfly.

Due to its decline in recent years, the Hermit Butterfly Chazara briseis is a target species of the National Action Plan for Butterflies in France. In 2021, a regional version of this plan was approved in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, which led to a study by A Rocha France on the Hermit at the Les Courmettes centre.

Since 2024, the study has been supported by Act for Heritage, a new initiative launched by Events for Heritage in the South of France. The programme donates part of the proceeds from three specially branded beverages, sold in partner hotels, restaurants and events, to specific ecological projects. One drink – called the Flying Hop – supports biodiversity projects, including wolf conservation and protection of the Hermit butterfly. Each year, it raises €1,000–2,000 until the €10,000 target is met.

The study follows the Hermit through two key stages: caterpillars in spring and adults in summer. Since the caterpillars are nocturnal, from May to June. surveys run between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Small teams move through the grass on their knees with headlamps, scanning every tuft for the tiny brown-grey larvae. It’s not an easy task – sightings are rare – but each discovery feels like a real victory. Confirming the caterpillar presence helps us identify the plants on which they rely, crucial for protecting a species whose survival depends on healthy host plants. If you’re up for an unusual nighttime adventure, extra eyes are always welcome to join the search!

In July and August, the focus shifts to adults. Armed with nets, we catch butterflies, mark their wings with tiny coloured dots, then release them. This simple code assigns each Hermit its own unique identity, enabling us to track their movement, lifespan and population changes year by year. Alongside these surveys, we also explore new corners of the estate to find other Hermit hotspots. Every marked butterfly and new sighting brings us closer to understanding and protecting this rare species.

Thanks to the A Rocha’s Global Conservation Fund, A Rocha France has begun preliminary work on a genetic study of the species as well as surveys outside of Les Courmettes.

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A Walk to the Barn

Imagine an early autumn day at the A Rocha Canada BC Centre. You’ve spent the morning contemplating salmon, toads and damselflies at the Tatalu river. White-crowned Sparrows Zonotrichia leucophrys greet the day, while Bigleaf Maple Acer macrophyllum leaves fall to the moist forest floor. You make your way up a winding path and up to the A Rocha Canada farm. First, you encounter an epic compost pile steaming in the cool air. You then pass by rows upon rows of various leafy greens, on to the kid’s garden, and then finally to the grand yellow barn. It’s well-loved yet weary from nearly a hundred years of use.

Built in the 1930s, this heritage barn has become emblematic of the BC Environmental Centre and its history. It stood when the Brooksdale estate was used as a care facility for people suffering from mental illness and mental disabilities. Later, when the estate changed hands, the barn was used by drama troupes and musical ensembles for performances. Since A Rocha Canada moved to the property in 2010, the barn has been used for learning, celebration and farming activities, but it’s ready for a major upgrade to support the next hundred years of conservation.

Now imagine walking up to that barn transformed into a four-season Conservation Learning Centre and Hospitality Hub. A Rocha Canada is planning a major renovation to equip the barn with a welcoming farm market cafe, a hands-on conservation lab and a multi-purpose event space where the old hayloft used to be. The revived and energy-efficient barn will host school groups, retreats, community workshops and thousands of visitors every year.

In September, friends of A Rocha Canada gathered for a ‘Shindig in the Barn’ to bid farewell to the summer season and raise funds for this ambitious renovation. 108 attendees enjoyed delicious farm-fresh foods, live music and dancing. Generous donors contributed to a live and silent auction, which included heirloom quilts, a tranquil bed and breakfast holiday and more. In total, $60,000 was raised towards the barn renovation, a significant step forward in A Rocha Canada’s 2.2 million dollar goal! In a world where people often feel alienated, we need real places that connect us to history, to nature and to community.