A Rocha Czech Republic celebrates 20 years

45 people gathered over the weekend of 17-19 June near the Šumava National Park in Husinec for a COVID-delayed celebration of 20 years since the establishment of A Rocha Czech Republic. Dave Bookless spoke to questions of hope in a time of climate change – very topical as temperatures soared unseasonably high during the conference – and A Rocha co-founder Peter Harris was there to join the celebrations.

Pavel and Radka Svetlik looked back over the early effort to establish their field study centre, Krupárna, which has welcomed thousands of schoolchildren since it opened in 2005. The gardens, and surrounding hillsides and valleys have new ponds and hundreds of new trees and bushes, significantly improving local biodiversity.

Pavel said, ‘It has been moving to gather and reflect on God’s faithfulness to us over more than two decades. The task of caring for his world becomes ever more challenging but we know even the smallest of our efforts are significant and worthwhile.’

Looking ahead they are urgently seeking match funding of €240K to apply for a forthcoming renovation grant of €1.2 million from the EU to increase the residential capacity of the centre. Please get in touch if you or anyone you know might be able to help them towards this daunting goal.