Waynesburg University students on a visit to A Rocha USA's Florida project.

Dear friend of A Rocha,

It’s good to have you with us as 2024 kicks off! We’re anticipating a full year at A Rocha USA and are eager to share it with you.

But, first, a huge THANK YOU to all who gave so generously at the end of 2023. We’re still crunching the numbers—stay tuned!—but it’s shaping up to be one of our strongest years to date. This is tremendously encouraging and critical for launching us into this new season for creation care. 

We thank God for you and your generous support, prayers, and involvement! If you haven’t been able to respond yet, it’s certainly not too late to make a gift to get us closer to the $350,000 goal that we shared about in this proposal.

So, what is this new season shaping up to look like?

• Building a holistic and long-awaited Church Partners program for the US – we plan to launch our first cohorts later this year!

• Expanding our Texas conservation project with new Picnics en el Arroyo events and formalized partnerships restoring critical habitat in the Bull Creek Watershed

• Pursuing opportunities to more fully establish the Florida conservation project on the highly biodiverse and threatened Indian River Lagoon

• Curating sought-after tools, resources, and gatherings around the country to equip individuals and churches to be more faithful earthkeepers where God has planted us

• Continuing our support for global conservation efforts being championed by A Rocha colleagues and partners in over twenty countries

• And MUCH more!

So, stay tuned and know that we greatly value your ongoing prayers, support, and involvement. Amidst all the interconnected ecological, social, and spiritual challenges we face, may God’s work in and through A Rocha be an enduring source of inspiration, encouragement, and blessing to us all.

Onward,

Rev Ben Lowe (守仁), PhD
Executive Director 
A Rocha USA

Act Locally

Coast Live Oak, photo by Autumn Ricksecker

Hope the Size of an Acorn

By: Autumn Ricksecker

When you think of Southern California, what plants come to mind? Perhaps it’s palm trees lining the streets of Los Angeles, citrus orchards cascading across Orange County, or eucalyptus groves offering a fragrant canopy on college campuses. However, these trees are not native to the area and sometimes do more harm than good, representing a form of botanical conquest that is anything but natural.

It’s the oaks that are the cornerstone of life in this region. On a walk in Pasadena last spring, I smiled at the sight of a Coast Live Oak growing horizontally out of the side of a towering Mexican Fan Palm, probably grafted there by an industrious Acorn Woodpecker. With the beginning of a new year, I resolve to be more like the woodpecker–a cheerful and hardworking cultivator of oaks. 

Since reading Doug Tallamy’s book, Nature’s Best Hope with A Rocha USA’s Love Your Place book club, I’ve been reinvigorated to do my part in grassroots conservation. Calling attention to the massive decline in global wildlife populations, Tallamy offers a fairly simple solution: native plants. These plants have co-evolved with animals, fungi, and microbes to form a complex web of relationships. They are the best-suited plants for their climate and soil type, meaning they don’t need supplemental water or fertilization, and they provide the maximum number of benefits to an ecosystem. Plus, they are easy to grow by anyone!

Think Globally

Faith Pavilion panel during COP28, photo provided by Renew Our World. 

From Agreement to Action: A COP28 Reflection

By: Autumn Ricksecker

For the first time at a UN Climate Conference, the burning of fossil fuels was officially acknowledged as the key cause and driver of climate change. Will this signify a new era of climate action?

At the end of 2023, representatives from 200 countries met in Dubai, UAE for COP28, the United Nations’ annual climate summit. While the purpose of this gathering is to push for more ambitious climate action, many were concerned about COP being hosted by a country that continues to advance the fossil fuel economy. Yet, on Wednesday, December 13th we received news that a “historic” agreement had been reached with the issue of fossil fuels firmly at the center for the first time, thanks to the hard work of many committed climate activists, scientists, and more. 

Ultimately, there is much to be celebrated in the “global stocktake” that was reached, (known as the “UAE Consensus”), but also much to be desired. Regardless, good and meaningful work took place throughout the conference, long before the UAE Consensus was finalized. A Rocha was part of the first-ever Faith Pavilion in UNFCCC COP’s history, where faith-based organizations engaged with each other and country delegates to “catalyze more ambitious, effective, holistic and just climate action.”

Get Involved: A Rocha opportunities

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