A Rocha BC Centre a strong partner in growing international network

The A Rocha BC Centre “is one of the jewels in the crown of A Rocha.”

Ed Walker, who took on the role of Executive Director of A Rocha International in the fall of 2023, said he had heard a lot about the south Surrey property, and read books about it by local authors – but it wasn’t until he drove up the driveway on a rainy day earlier this month that understood why people find it such a special place.

Walker, who lives in the UK, was speaking to a group of A Rocha supporters, staff and board members in the wood-panelled heritage Brooksdale Guest House on the 18-acre property which serves as the base of A Rocha Canada. 

Local focus

A Rocha Canada has grown significantly since it began in 2000. Apart from A Rocha BC Centre (until recently Brooksdale Environmental Centre), there are now three other locations:

• A Rocha Northern BC in Houston, featuring Buck Creek Hatchery & Nature Centre;
• A Rocha Manitoba and the Boreal Ecology Centre near East Braintree;
• A Rocha Ontario, with its Cedar Haven Eco-Centre near Hamilton.

A Rocha BC Centre (Brooksdale) works on many fronts, under three main headings:

• Conservation science: “A Rocha is committed to the conservation and restoration of the natural world through both scientific research and practical conservation projects. . . . In practical terms, this means we are lifting binoculars skyward to conduct bird surveys, removing invasive species in order to restore salmon streams, and collecting data on a myriad of species in BC, Manitoba and Ontario.

• Education: “A Rocha runs environmental education programs for school and church groups, day campers, families and adults. . . . [Our] education programs are experiential. Whether it’s on a week-long day camp or a two-hour field trip, participants are outfitted with nets for pond dipping, magnifiers for examining bugs and binoculars for identifying birds. Our adult education programs focus on the theological basis for creation care.”
• Sustainable agriculture: “What began as a 10-member Community Shared Agriculture now serves over 175 households with weekly produce June to October and even more through farmers’ markets! We also run a Farm to Families program to share fresh food with others. We’ve supported schoolyard gardens, vegetable deliveries for home-bound seniors and weekly produce to newcomer families. From hosting day camps for kids to traveling cooking demonstrations, we offer farm education to our local communities.”

Before Walker’s March 8 talk, David and Shauna Anderson co-directors of A Rocha BC, took us on a tour of the new barn, to be used for the Sustainable Agriculture program with vegetable processing, food and equipment storage, and office space.

Shauna Anderson emailed me just after Walker’s visit about one key focus of A Rocha BC:

We have been stewarding the Tatalu watershed for the past 20 years, with a growing collaboration with the Semiahmoo First Nation, amongst many other stakeholders. There is significant threat to the watershed from incoming development, so A Rocha takes both an advocacy and bridge-building role with an aim for both people and places to flourish in this part of South Surrey, Langley and White Rock. 

I posted a couple of articles in 2022 (here and here) about the cooperation between A Rocha and Semiahmoo First Nation over Surrey’s plans to turn rural lands into an industrial park.

A Rocha’s Tatalu Conservation Residency is “a residential apprenticeship-style program focused on living out environmental stewardship in practical and holistic ways.” Up to 15 residents stay for several months in three terms (spring/summer, summer, summer/fall).

Walker said he had read several books by people connected with A Rocha Canada, including Planted.

A brief description on the A Rocha site notes:

The story of A Rocha’s beginnings and growth is whimsically told in the book Planted: a Story of Creation, Calling and Community. Planted invites the reader to travel with author [A Rocha Canada co-founder] Leah Kostamo and the A Rocha team on the wild ride of salmon saving, stranger welcoming and God-worshipping as they establish the first Christian environmental centre in Canada.

He added that the the Canadian centre, along with the one in Ghana have been among the strongest of the 20 A Rocha chapters.

International expansion

Ed Walker wants to see A Rocha expand in the Global South, where he has considerable experience. He saw many signs of environmental degradation in poor communities during the first 10 years of his career, working mainly on disaster management in Africa. (The next 15 he worked with the homeless in England.)

During his talk at the A Rocha BC Centre, he said he has seen many good signs of Christian involvement through A Rocha programs around the world.

For example:

• Eco Churches in the United Kingdom (some 8,000 in England and Wales): “There is a huge appetite for the green movement in the UK.”
• Efforts to save Atewa Forest and the many species threatened with extinction in Ghana: “It’s safe to say if it wasn’t for us it wouldn’t have been protected the way it has been.”
• Many projects in India are “so inspiring, the people involved are high on passion, well educated.”
• People in Sub-Saharan Africa understood 20 years ago what was coming: “Because of climate change, everyone gets it.”

Walker would like to see 30 A Rocha centres by 2030, “with a renewed focus on Southeast Asia and Latin America.”

But he would also like to see more Christians actively involved with protecting creation around the world. He emailed me:

I would say there are only two global Christian conservation organisations in the world. The other one is Plant With Purpose!

He did add:

We have many, many supporters and partners. One of our core principles is collaboration and we collaborate with many people of faith and those with none. CCOP [Christian Climate Observers Program] is an important one in our political representation work.

Walker said A Rocha was involved in the Global Creation Care Forum which followed directly after the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Korea last fall: “Yes. We led the Global Creation Care Forum and led on the statement which came out of it.”

Canadian role

Local people have been very active participants in the international A Rocha movement over the years. There are many examples, including people who have worked at A Rocha centres around the world. 

• Samuel Chiu

Walker wrote to me that Samuel Chiu – a key participant in the Global Creation Care Forum – “has been a strong and faithful servant of the church for many years working in church networks, UN COP [United Nations Climate Change Conference] networks and also in networks in East Asia as well as Canada.”

Chiu is Community Engagement Coordinator for A Rocha Canada, but also East Asia Coordinator for A Rocha International.

Chiu wrote me November 20, 2024 from COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan:

 If I were to come to the UN Climate Conference COP 29 with the hope to see the success of international negotiations in climate actions and resolutions, I would be deeply disappointed, perhaps even at risk of becoming cynical. No, that not my main purpose. I am speaking as a sixth time observer of this annual gathering of international significance. . . .

The real substance and reward of attending this conference is the people we met and conversed and discussed over tea or meals; it’s the deeper understanding of the subject matter, which it is almost completely impossible to obtain if not being here and listening to those who are in the thick of the situations up close

He focused mainly on discipling young participants from around the world who took part in the Christian Climate Observers Program and on coordinating sessions at the Faith Pavilion.

(I have posted several articles about Chiu’s work, especially at several of the COP meetings, over the years.)

• Trustees

Two of the 10 trustees for A Rocha International come from this area.

Soohwan Park, a native of South Korea and an expert  concerning leadership in Christian nonprofit organizations, chairs the board. She lives in Nanaimo, though she formerly spent many years in Vancouver.

Park was not able to make the March 8 evening, but Cowper said she is highly committed to A Rocha and seems to spend about half her time devoted to it.

Geoff Cowper is a senior litigator involved in a wide variety of cases involving constitutional and public law, international arbitrations, commercial and anti-trust litigation and law reform. He has been a trustee for 10 years.

Saying that “the church around the world is more and more concerned with care for creation,” he offered a person experience:

We visited A Rocha Peru’s reforestation project on the southern coast of Peru. The native mesquite forests have been almost fully cleared for use as BBQ fuel.

The coast can go years without rainfall, but the Andes rise steeply behind the coast and the precipitation flows down as groundwater and waters the deep-rooted mesquite.  We walked into a community that was very spare but outside the low cement block buildings were squares of saplings.

Our hostess proudly showed us around the small saplings and when we asked why she planted them she burst into a broad smile and the translation was: “I plant these trees for the glory of God!”

Walker said “the board is really inspiring” to work with, adding, “I’ve been genuinely inspired by the authenticity, commitment, passion, skill and faith of everyone in the [local A Rocha] team. They are a credit to A Rocha and exhibit the very best of who we are and who we strive to be!”

• Regent College

Walker wrote on his Facebook page March 11:

I’ve asked people, staff, volunteers, influencers all over the world, “What drew you into caring for the environment / A Rocha?”

I’ve been amazed at how many answered: ” . . . at Regent College . . .’ Imagine if every theological institute included an immersive, compulsory course on caring for Gods earth!

A Rocha co-founders Peter and Miranda Harris, who founded A Rocha in 1983, often taught at Regent College. Peter’s first book – Under the Bright Wings – was released by Regent College Publishing. Peter remains involved as President Emeritus; Miranda was killed during a terrible car accident in South Africa in 2019.

Rod Wilson, former president of Regent College, is a long-time supporter and was at the talk March 8. Samuel Chiu and Soohwan Park studied at Regent. The connections are many,

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A Rocha Commitment to Creation Care

The A Rocha Commitment to Creation Care gives a clear biblical basis for A Rocha’s work, rooted in the story of God’s purposes from creation to new creation. It was developed through substantial consultation across the A Rocha Worldwide Family, with insights from many cultures and church traditions. It brings a unity of commitment to the A Rocha family, but is also intended for personal and group study and to be shared with all who seek to care for God’s creation.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we bear witness to the divine authority of the Bible. This is summarized in the Nicene Creed and is the basis for the following affirmations of the historic Christian faith and is the foundation of our work.[1] We come from many cultures and church traditions, yet are united in our desire to be faithful to Jesus, and to demonstrate Christ’s Lordship in caring for God’s world.[2]

1. God and Creation: We believe in one God, existing eternally in mutual loving relationship as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In love, God created all that exists from the farthest reaches of the cosmos to the complex ecosystems of Earth. God delights in the natural world in all its wildness, beauty and mystery, declaring it ‘very good’. Creation, in turn, is a source of wonder and wisdom, and a witness to God’s divine nature and eternal power. We rejoice in the beauty, diversity and complexity of the natural world, and commit ourselves to delighting in and treasuring God’s good creation.
2. How we know God: God is known supremely in Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Bible, through the Holy Spirit and also through creation. Our knowledge of God, therefore, comes through our relationship with Christ, commitment to the Word of God and our experience of creation, in worship, relationship, creativity and the scientific investigation of life and its intricate interconnections and dependencies. We commit ourselves to worshipping and following Jesus as Lord, studying the Bible and seeking to glorify God as we study, learn from and care for God’s created world.
3. Humanity and Creation: Human beings exist as creatures of the Earth, made in the image of God and given responsibility to reflect God’s character in knowing, delighting in and caring for their fellow creatures and the whole Earth. Yet, human sin and rebellion against God mean alienation and brokenness in our relationships with God, people and the rest of creation. Sin leads to God’s judgment, and it permeates and damages every area of life, including creation, which is subject to frustration and groans under the weight of human selfishness and sin. We confess our involvement in selfish choices and sinful behaviours which damage God’s creation. We commit ourselves, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to repent, to lament and to renew our vocation to serve and conserve God’s creation, living in it and using it responsibly and sustainably.
4. God’s Covenant with Creation: We believe God does not abandon creation, but in love continues to sustain and renew the Earth and all of creation. As recounted in the biblical narratives, God reaches out to a wounded world both in judgment and with the anticipation of renewal. God’s covenant promise through Noah includes a future and a hope not only for people, but for all life on Earth and the Earth itself. In the accounts of land and people in the Old Testament, in times of both exile and settlement, and through prophetic visions of restored peaceful relationships, God’s purposes consistently include not only people, especially the poor and marginalized, but also non-human creatures and the land itself. We respond to God’s initiative by committing ourselves to pursue justice and peace, mutual learning and collaboration in our relationships, and the thriving of the communities and ecosystems within which God has placed us.
5. Jesus’ Life and Death: We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, in whom God’s good and glorious purposes for humankind and all creation come to fulfilment. In Jesus, God dwelt among us, taking on flesh and entering into creation, participating in the very life and matter of the world. In Christ, God entered into the suffering and brokenness of the world and revealed a new way of living within God’s Kingdom of justice, peace and joy. In Christ’s death on the cross, God defeated the power of sin and death and accomplished the reconciliation of all things – human and nonhuman – giving hope for all that is broken and spoiled, and eternal life to all who receive Him. We care for creation motivated by our affirmation that Jesus is Lord. His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension give us purpose and hope for humanity and all creation.
6. Future Hope: The bodily resurrection of Jesus is the sign and guarantee of hope for humanity and for the whole creation. Christ will come again to renew all things, to destroy evil and death, and to bring the fullness of the Kingdom of God to Earth. The Bible speaks of both judgment and hope, discontinuity and continuity regarding God’s new creation. We affirm, with the Apostle Paul, that creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay, to share in the freedom of God’s children. We seek to live in the power of Christ’s risen life, through delighting in, learning from and participating in God’s renewal and re-creation of the world.
7. The Church’s Mission in Caring for Creation: Creation care is integral to the gospel, the good news of Christ. As those who follow Jesus as Lord, we are called to live as citizens of Christ’s Kingdom and members of Christ’s body on Earth, the Church. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we participate in Christ’s healing and reconciliation of relationships with one another and with all creation. We respond to the call to follow Jesus joyfully and sacrificially in loving our neighbour, living simply and caring for creation. We call upon churches and all who follow Christ to join us in prayer, advocacy, and practical action on behalf of God’s world. We delight in working with individuals, communities and organizations of many kinds as we fulfil this calling.

[1] A Rocha’s origins lie within the Evangelical Christian movement as reflected in our foundational Basis of Faith. Within our leadership, we welcome those of all Christian traditions who accept the A Rocha Commitment to Creation Care.

[2] We work with a range of national and global denominations and networks. In addition, we partner fully in practical action to care for God’s world with those of other faiths and none, and with scientific and environmental organizations.