Our aim for this resource page is to provide you with opportunities for learning, engagement, encouragement, and hope from our perspective as a creation care organization. We’ll add new content on a regular basis and you can follow us on social media for updates: Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.
Grant Shellhouse | July 6, 2020
The early-July refresh of the Resources for Sheltering at Home page brings a series of recommended readings. There are now three reading lists to be found under the “Read” tab. The first compiles books authored by A Rocha staff and friends. The next is a list of recommendations from the A Rocha community of books they’ve found to be good companions in these months… [More…]
Cultivating Life
- Emily Dickinson’s Hope is the Thing with Feathers: A Visual Interpretation by Julian Peters [Article]
- Living the Sabbath by Love Your Place [Book Club]
- Loving What You Know by Jubilee Dueck Thiessen [Article]
- Butterfly Project: Milkweed by Heidy Sumei Chuang [Video]
- I Will Sing by Sandra McCracken [Music]
- Reflections: Saying Yes to Life by Ruth Valerio [Article]
Theological Insights
- Holy, Wholly Holey Ground by Karen Curry [Video]
- Home Delivery No.2: Davis, Harris, McCracken, Neder hosted by Laity Lodge [Video]
- The Third Place: Our Place in a Changed Society hosted by CEEP Network [Webinar]
Spiritual Exercises
- All Things Reconciled by Nate Gerhardt [Video]
- “Investing in the Real Future” by Ellen Davis [Sermon Video]
- Reflections by Curt Thompson [Website]
Schedule
August 27: Plastic Pandemic: Strategies & Solutions In Times of COVID-19
August 14: A Rocha Talks: a Panel Discussion on Godspeed and the Art of Neighbouring
August 6: Faith Communities & Climate Resilience – Virtual Summit
July 29: Trivia Night: Plastic Free July
July 18-26: National Moth Week
July 10: Laudato Si: Faith, Plastic and a Regenerative Society by Plastic Bank Faith Program
July 6-11: Black Botanists Week
June 22-28: National Pollinator Week by Pollinator Partnership
June 22-27: Black Hikers Week
June 8: World Oceans Day
June 6: American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day® by American Hiking Society
June 5: World Environment Day 2020 by UN Environment Programme
June 5: The Challenges of Covid-19 and the Opportunity for Renewal host by Plastic Bank Faith Program
June 1-7: International Nature Journaling Week
June 1: World Reef Day
June 1: Virtual Fireflies Event hosted by Discover Life in America
May 31-June 5: Black Birders Week
Learn
Lausanne Global Classroom: Creation Care [Video]
International Dark Sky Week [Video]
Cornell Lab | Joy of Bird Watching [Online Course]
Earth LIVE Lessons [Video]
Backyard Ecology: Earthworms! [Video]
The Ocean Agency [Google Earth Required]
Record
You can use any number of science apps to do citizen science in your own backyard, on a “social distance” walk, or even out your windows. A Rocha uses several that we’d encourage you consider.
iNaturalist is an application used for mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity. It’s great for helping you identify plants and animals around you. There’s a huge community of scientists and citizen that provide quick feedback on questions you might have. They have some great recommendations for species identification even when you’re “stuck at home.”
We’ve created a new project inside iNaturalist called A Rocha Pollinators. Be sure to add this project on any observations you make.
eBird is a popular application for tracking and sharing your bird sightings. With spring migration starting, now is a great time identify birds flying to their summer homes. Here’s a good introduction from the folks at eBird. We will be participating in the Global Big Day on May 9th.
Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit their night sky brightness observations. They have instructions on their site for getting involved.
Earth Challenge 2020
A global citizen science initiative that will demonstrate how small acts of science can add up to global change.
Read
Below are books by A Rocha authors, a curated list by theme of books to consider in these times, and book recommendations from A Rocha friends and staff for these days of sheltering in place. You can make a recommendation of your own on our Facebook page.
Listen
A Rocha USA
Steven Purcell
Jeff Johnson
Nathan Tasker
Considering Birds
by David Braud, professional photographer and A Rocha artist partner
Feature photo by Cuong Doan on Unsplash
Note: We have made a concerted effort to provide a range of voices on this page. With that, we do not necessarily endorse every idea or opinion presented. As always, we are open to your input and recommendations via hello@arocha.us