A Rocha Manitoba

It's . A powerful reminder of the twin crises we face globally: the rapid loss of our planet's biodiversity and increasing global temperature due to climate change. These challenges are interconnected, but so are their solutions. Living out God's call to care for creation, A Rocha is working around the world to implement nature-based solutions to climate change, which promote both human well-being and biodiversity.

These graphs were created by Professor Ed Hawkins (University of Reading) to show how the temperature is rising in virtually every location around the world.

This week we hosted a sold out workshop on the Japanese art of Sashiko mending. Lead by our summer staff, Seika, we learned about the history of the practice, and then got to try it out ourselves. Thanks to everyone who came out to learn with us!

Our next summer workshop is on leaf printing and nature collage, and it will be held on July 7.

Conservation Saturdays are a great way to discover cool things about the boreal forest. We have three opportunities this summer to participate in A Rocha's long-term forest monitoring project out at the Boreal Ecology Centre. This data helps us learn about the health of the forest and is valuable in decision making for the region. No experience is necessary! (Overnights are optional). Let us know if you'd like to join!

Looking for a week of fun for your kids or grandkids this summer? We have three weeks of outdoor fun for kids ages 6-12 in July and August. We're trying out a new sliding scale model that starts at just $100 for the week. (And further assistance is available if that's still too much. We don't want cost to be a barrier!).

Another successful day of planting trees in the books! Saturday was Arbor Day, and we brought a group of volunteers to help the City of Winnipeg, and plant 200 trees in Bruce Park. In this first photo Graham is showing how we monitor the forest at the Boreal Ecology Centre using a miniature model quadrat, complete with tiny trees!

How old is water? Ellis, our Environmental Education Coordinator, did a deep dive into this question for our latest blog post. It might surprise you what they found out! Head to our blog to read more.
https://arocha.ca/how-old-is-water/

We've got exciting news! Remember those bird boxes that Graham put up last spring? Well, the bluebirds have finally moved in, and they've laid eggs! As an official member of Project NestWatch with CornellLab we are monitoring and reporting nesting behaviours at the boxes we've installed. The Cornell database records the current condition of breeding bird populations and how they may be changing over time as a result of climate change, habitat degradation and loss, expansion of urban areas, and the introduction of non-native plants and animals.
If you would be interested in installing bird boxes at your church, get in touch!

Join A Rocha at three different locations in Winnipeg for a week of summer fun on the theme of "Curious Curators"! This year our focus will be on collecting and curating a tiny nature museum. We’ll spend our week exploring different parts of the natural world and discovering all we can about the things we create and collect. A Rocha camps always include lots of chances to play games, create art, make and eat snacks, meet new friends, go on field trips, and opportunities to explore and discover outside. Sliding scale pricing starts at just $100/week! Register at arocha.ca/mbdaycamps

The clothes we wear are responsible for ten percent of the world's carbon emissions and the second greatest use of water. Repairing and repurposing our clothes can extend their lifetime and greatly reduce environmental impact.
So we're hosting a mending workshop! WildRoots staff, Seika, will walk us through some basic Sashiko techniques that you can use on your own clothes!
https://arocha.ca/event/sashiko-the-art-of-japanese-mending-workshop-winnipeg-mb/