Marine-Opportunities

Marine Conservation Student Theses

The A Rocha family conducts marine conservation across the globe, often with the help of students. We have opportunities for those who need to conduct research for Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. degrees. Similarly, post-doctoral projects are highly encouraged at our project sites. Note, there is NO funding for these projects. However, your project will assist in practical marine conservation and provide information and expertise needed for our local teams.

Process:

  1. Examine our Marine Conservation Programme website to discover the range of projects and locations where we work.
  2. Look through the list below to see specific projects that are of current interest. These are not the only topics available, but they reflect current country priorities.
  3. Fill in A Rocha’s volunteer form stating that you are a student and looking for a specific project in a particular location. Feel free to indicate more than one project or location. These will be forwarded to the appropriate country, where they will work with you to see whether your project is possible. Each country has its own set of requirements, including costs, and so you will need to work directly with them.

Kenya

  • Trait-based assessment of Watamu Marine National Park Biodiversity. The biodiversity of this marine park is known. The question we are interested in answering is about the relationship between these species and their habitats and the functional diversity of this park. This could be a desk-top study.
  • Assessment of the abundance, distribution, and population dynamics of the crisp pillow coral (Anomastraea irregularis).

Portugal

  • Sources of polystyrene microplastic pollution in the Alvor Estuary. Our microplastic research indicates that this is the most prevalent microplastic on beaches offshore of this estuary. We are interested in understanding potential local sources.
  • Biodiversity studies within the estuary. We know little about many taxonomic groups in the Alvor Estuary.

Florida, USA

  • Microplastic in the gut contents of Atlantic mole crabs (Emerita talpoida).
  • Feeding ecology of shorebirds and its implications for the transfer of microplastics between Atlantic beaches and the Indian River Lagoon system.
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Big Give

Double your impact

We’re excited to let you know that in 2026, with your help, we hope to mobilize and equip over 35,000 young people to care for creation. Every region of the world is experiencing acute crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. Species and habitats, tropical forests and reefs are being lost daily. Temperatures are rising while governments cut funding for conservation programmes. With their futures at stake, young people care deeply about the state of the world and want to contribute to solutions. However, they can be paralyzed by eco anxiety, lack relevant training or simply don’t know where to begin.    

Investing in young people has always been an important part of the A Rocha mission. We have been selected to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge again and this year your support will help us reach even more young people through Environmental Education programmes, internships, volunteer placements, capacity building and youth-led research projects. Your gift will equip young people to understand better the connection between creation care and the Christian faith. Reaching this many young people would make a significant impact and we’d love your support.   

The Christmas Challenge kicks off at noon (GMT) on #GivingTuesday, 2 December and continues until noon GMT on 9 December. During that time, every contribution made through our campaign page on the Big Give Christmas Challenge website* will be DOUBLED.  

One donation, twice the impact.  

*Please note that only donations made through our campaign page on the Big Give website between 2-9 December are eligible to be doubled (while match funds last). The donate button will appear on the campaign page when the Christmas Challenge launches. 

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High Seas Treaty

You may remember in our July enews we reported on the UN Ocean Conference, held in Nice, France. In that story, we highlighted the situation of the high seas – the vast maritime area that lies beyond the jurisdiction of any state. Sometimes described as the ‘Wild West’ where anything goes, this area covers half of the planet and nearly two-thirds of our seas. Slowly but surely, that era of lawlessness is giving way to hope, as real protection for this vulnerable part of the ocean becomes possible. 
  
In June 2023, governments adopted the High Seas Treaty – a landmark agreement designed to protect the ocean, including addressing the threats of deep-sea mining and geoengineering while safeguarding lives and livelihoods. 
 
The Treaty opened for State signatures in September 2023. By June 2025, perhaps encouraged by the Ocean Conference, the number of signatories had risen from 30 to 51. By the end of August, 55 had signed. Then 57. The milestone of 60 ratifications loomed: at 60, a 120-day countdown is triggered, after which the High Seas Treaty will enter into force. Slowly the numbers crept up…and on 19 September, two years after opening, the 60th State ratified the treaty. Numbers continue to climb – the current count is 75 signatories. On 17 January 2026, the High Seas Treaty will come into effect as a legally binding international agreement. 
  
The ocean is vital – producing oxygen, storing heat and carbon, providing food and livelihoods, carrying goods and sustaining countless forms of life – the list goes on. What happens next with the Treaty will be interesting to see; there are still multiple agendas and priorities at play. But we hold hope that this marks a major step toward caring well for this vulnerable area that means so much to the equilibrium of our world.

A Rocha International's booth at the exhibition. Left to right: Ed Walker, Avinash Krishnan, Judith Ochieng and Nicholas Warren.

The 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress

Once every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress brings together governments, NGOs, indigenous people groups and volunteer scientists who are working urgently to protect nature and conserve life on Earth. Of the 1,400+ members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), A Rocha International is the only global Christian conservation organization. This October, we brought a distinctive perspective to the Congress, which is responsible for shaping the global conservation agenda.

In the Congress’ forum, for example, A Rocha hosted the live podcast ‘The Missing piece in conservation? Engaging world faiths and worldviews at the grass roots.’ The worldviews of more than three-quarters of the world’s population are shaped by faith, and religion remains an underused force in protecting nature. Faith influences what people love and, ultimately, what they protect. We brought together conservation professionals from a variety of faith traditions to discuss why, in the words of our Director of Theology Dave Bookless, ‘Faith groups need a place at the table’, with examples from the field and an optimistic vision for the future.

‘Nature knows no borders – and neither should our efforts to protect it,’ remarked A Rocha’s Conservation Practice Lead, Nicholas Warren, who attended the Congress. This spirit pervaded the Exhibition, where Congress attendees and the public gathered to share stories of innovation, struggle and success in conservation. Hundreds of languages were spoken and thousands of ideas were exchanged. The A Rocha International delegation mirrored this multiculturalism: Nicholas Warren and Ed Walker joined from the UK, Avinash Krishnan from India, and Judith Ochieng from Kenya. A Rocha Ghana is also a member of the IUCN, represented by Seth Appiah-Kubi, Jacqueline Mbawine, Daryl E Bosu and Godwin Evenyo Dzekoto.

During the Congress’ Awards Ceremony, the Harold Jefferson Coolidge Memorial Medal was awarded to Dr. Simon Stuart, a former Executive Director of A Rocha International, in recognition of his transformative impact on global species conservation, particularly through his work on the IUCN Red List and amphibian conservation. In his acceptance speech, Simon thanked A Rocha co-founders Peter and Miranda Harris for helping bring his faith and love of nature together and said, ‘Conservation is a collaborative effort, and the true heroes are usually unseen, so I’m proud to accept it on their behalf.’ 

Finally, at the Members’ Assembly A Rocha voted on key resolutions for the IUCN that will shape conservation priorities worldwide. These discussions are urgent as we strive to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, making the world ‘nature positive’ by 2030. 148 Resolutions were passed, focused on coordinated solutions that benefit people and nature. For example, the Assembly voted to recognise ecocide as a crime, define ethics around the use of synthetic biology for conservation, encourage soil security laws, and improve tree planting practices by ‘Planting the right tree in the right place for the right purpose’.  

Congratulations to A Rocha Ghana, who successfully advocated for Motion 104: Safeguarding biodiversity and human rights in energy transition mineral governance. This groundbreaking resolution calls on governments, companies and civil society to ensure that the global shift to renewable energy does not come at the expense of biodiversity or the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. The global shift to renewable energy and decarbonisation has significantly increased the demand for energy transition minerals, such as the bauxite mined in Ghana’s Atewa Forest. Motion 104 recognises the critical need to address climate change while also upholding ‘conservation justice’ for people and planet.  

The IUCN President, Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, left the Congress with a powerful statement: ‘Ours is not an easy task, but it is an essential one: to bridge divides – between science and policy, between climate and biodiversity, between people and the planet itself. To remind the world that nature is not only a victim of our excesses, but a powerful ally in our survival… Let us leave Abu Dhabi with the confidence that what unites us is far greater than what divides us — our shared belief in the resilience of life itself.’ We leave the Congress encouraged and equipped for the next several years of conservation. 

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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.

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Conservation up the food chain

The Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus is a small, agile bird of prey which can be seen ‘praying’ in the air. While searching for its next meal, it hovers silently, head bowed over a field, then suddenly blitzes downward to catch a field mouse or vole. Once emblematic of the Dutch landscape, kestrels are now in steady decline. This is largely due to intensive agriculture, which makes the land unsuitable for kestrels and their main sources of prey. Ironically, kestrels can actually help farmers by eating ‘pests’ like large insects, rodents and small fruit-eating birds. To help this iconic species, A Rocha Netherlands is taking the wider ecosystem into account.

In Zwolle, the beautifully flowering hay meadows at the bottom of the Schellerdijk River are mowed in mid-June. Some of the clippings are left lying on the ground, which, year after year, the local A Rocha Netherlands group use to build ‘hooiruiters’ or hay drying racks.

This clever structure is made of three long sticks placed together in a pyramid shape with grass piled up between them. In the past, this was a common practice to dry the grass so that it could be stored as hay until winter. These days, conservationists do this in nature reserves to create a place for mice to gather in the grass and hay. These mice provide welcome food for kestrels in the area, as well as Little Owls Athene noctua and Barn Owls Tyto alba. 

A Rocha Netherlands is also hanging nest boxes for breeding pairs of kestrels, with one in Zwolle and another in Utrecht. In Zwolle, the box is still empty, but in Utrecht, chicks were ringed this summer! Conserving these raptors, who are top predators, will have a positive ripple effect on the wider ecosystem.  

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The river, our neighbour

Who is my neighbour? A Rocha Costa Rica asked this biblical question when they established their intentional community, Casa Adobe, just a short train ride away from the capital city, San Jose. From the community’s beginning over a decade ago, the founding members recognized that neighbours are human and non-human, and a neighbourhood isn’t just the street we live on but also our watershed and ecosystem.

One of A Rocha Costa Rica’s most neglected neighbours is the nearby Virilla River. Locals remember swimming and fishing in the Virilla, but today they ‘live with their backs to the river’. Urbanization has hidden the river from view, leading to pollution, neglect and a degraded riverine forest. A Rocha Costa Rica is restoring this connection, inviting neighbours young and old to clean up the river and advocate for the river’s recovery.

Neighbourliness goes both ways: the community at Casa Adobe cares for the river, and the river provides beauty and belonging. It is a place where nature resists being crushed by urbanization, and plants, trees and birds find refuge. But it’s also painful to see the degree to which humans have polluted the river with rubbish and sewage.

To care for the Virilla River, A Rocha Costa Rica hosts picnics along its banks, plants trees, cleans rubbish and addresses the root causes of its pollution. Simple projects like A Rocha’s community composting workshops reduce the amount of waste created in the first place. A water-wise grey water system at Casa Adobe recycles clean water into their vegetable garden. They are also encouraging the intervention of local governments to create alternative systems for water treatment instead of allowing wastewater to flow into the river.

This vision of neighbourly love extends to the entire watershed through A Rocha’s conservation activities at their other centre, Casa Nube, which is located upriver in the heart of the cloud forest. Their dream is to one day reach the wetlands where these waters meet the ocean. Stay tuned for more stories from A Rocha Costa Rica’s journey! 

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 A Rocha Australia – A season of change and growth

This August, A Rocha Australia gathered as a Board and community, reflecting together on their journey so far and looking ahead with hope. It was a time marked by honesty, gratitude, and a sense that God is preparing for a new season of change and growth. 

What stood out most was the deep faith and perseverance of those around the table. Many Board members have carried heavy responsibilities for years, often balancing both governance and hands-on tasks, yet their commitment to creation care has never wavered. Today, the team is changing with some of the members stepping down and new coming in with fresh energy and vision for the future. 

One of the most exciting developments is in church engagement. A Rocha Australia is preparing to pilot a project with five churches as a first step towards a uniquely Australian version of Eco Church. As Sally Shaw beautifully put it: “I feel the church in Australia (especially evangelicals) is just starting to remove its ‘blind fold’ and as a result is ready to embrace an Australian version of the eco church.” 

This vision is already finding a wider audience. At the Baptist World Congress in Brisbane, A Rocha Australia hosted a stall, and Julia led two workshops, sharing stories of A Rocha locally and globally, and connecting with delegates from around the world. 

It is clear that God is at work, opening doors and building momentum. With prayer and support, the seeds planted over the past decade are ready to bear fruit for A Rocha Australia.