A Rocha Manitoba

Join the A Rocha team for an end of summer celebration on Aug 18th at 7:00pm.
We'll take a short hike in the Assiniboine forest and then gather over refreshments to listen to some stories from a summer of fun programming! Send us a note to let us know you'll be there. https://arocha.ca/event/storytelling-hike-winnipeg-mb-4/

💧 Water is the source of life, a gift from God and a right for all creation.
The Season of Creation is coming up from Sept 1 to Oct 4, and this year's theme is Living Water. The prophet Ezekiel (47:1–12) had a vision of a river flowing from the temple of God, which grows without stopping and brings life where everything seems barren.

Water heals, restores, and makes creation flourish. But it also challenges us: to recognize ecological damage, to embrace our interconnectedness, and to immerse ourselves in the responsibility of caring for and restoring our Common Home.

Check out this year's celebration guide and many other water themed documents on the A Rocha Resource Hub. https://resources.arocha.org/resource/living-water/

Did you know spiders eat between 400 and 800 million tons of insects globally per year? We had a blast at our last summer workshop of the year. Tai taught us all about how truly incredible and important spiders are to ecosystems and convinced us that they could be beautiful and even cute. Then we made collages using macro photography images of spiders from (photos used with permission). It was a neat way to learn to appreciate these often misunderstood animals!

Work on the new science lab, classroom, and workshop at the Boreal Ecology Centre is coming along! Next up is the roof.

Last call to sign up for A Rocha Day camp this summer! We have a couple spots left in our camp at CMU for next week. Register by 1 pm to ensure your spot!
https://arocha.ca/event/a-rocha-day-camp-cmu-winnipeg-mb-4/

For those of you following along with our bird box adventure, we've got a pretty cute update for you. The babies have feathers!! And they've been practicing flapping their wings. They'll be ready to fledge any day now. Great work, mama and papa bluebird!

How often does caring for God's earth get mentioned at your church? Is it a regular part of your worship, prayer, and community life? Maybe you'd like creation care to become a more regular topic in your congregation. If so, we can help! With A Rocha's "Becoming an Earthkeeping Church Workshop" churches learn about the "head, heart & hands" model of creation care action, celebrate the work that they've already done, and make a plan to integrate creation care into various aspects of church ministry. Get in touch with us to schedule a time for us to come to your community!

The earth is full of critters both big and small. Some we find easier to admire than others. Some may even uproot feelings of fear. In this A Rocha workshop, we will take a closer look at the beauty of an animal that many feel unsettled by. By zooming into the fine details of spiders, we will collectively work together to find their beauty and begin to breakdown the fears that may surround them.

Led by A Rocha insect enthusiast, Tai Linklater, we will use macrophotography by Thomas Hunt — Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award winner — to make beautiful collage artwork out of photographs of spiders.

All ages welcome! From spider admirer to those scared by them. It should be tolerable for those without an intense fear of spiders.

Date: Aug 6, 7:00-8:30 pm

Location: CMU grounds. 500 Shaftesbury Blvd. Meet by the Metanoia Farm Gates

We’ll bring the supplies, you bring a lawn chair!

Our first week of day camp was a great success! Check out the incredible creativity of our camper's miniature nature museums! We also took a field trip to Fort Whyte, went to the splash pad, played tons of games, and made tasty snacks! If you'd like to join us next week or in August we have only a couple of spots left, so sign up soon!

Sometimes we encounter the unexpected while we're out in the field collecting data. Here are a few unexpected and joyful encounters we've had recently:
1. A Great Grey Owl at the Boreal Ecology Centre
2. Rescuing an Eastern Bluebird stuck in the chimney at the centre
3. A beaver living its best life in the Boggy River
4. A raccoon having a snooze in the owl box at CMU.