Geoff Cowper

Trial Lawyer, avid birder and charity trustee – Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada

‘I’ve been helping A Rocha find funding for various projects, and through that involvement, my wife Karen and I have gained immeasurably from the way in which A Rocha has brought together our life of faith and our life in nature. Those two aspects of our lives, once separate, now flow together.’

Cheuk Yin Environmental Science student – Avans University, The Netherlands

‘I spent four months as a Conservation Science Intern with A Rocha Canada. This built up my skills in fieldwork and scientific research, and I gained lots of confidence in presenting my work to large groups of people. Living in a Christian community, I re-conceived the importance of caring for one another – and working together to care for creation.’ 

Esi Gurah

Farmer’s wife with seven children and five grandchildren, trained to farm snails through A Rocha’s Mangrove Restoration Project – Biwadze, near Winneba, Ghana

‘Rearing the snails has made me more independent. I no longer depend on my children for financial support.’ 

Aline Nussbaumer

Graduate in Ecology and the Environment – Suffolk, UK

‘Spending time in the A Rocha Kenya community allowed me to see practical conservation motivated by love and hope in Jesus Christ. I gained valuable experience and skills in marine conservation whilst enjoying the extravagant and delicate beauty of the underwater world.’

Getonto Abrahams John

Guide & educator at Elsamere Field Study Centre – Naivasha, Kenya

‘The Fundamentals of Ornithology Course run by A Rocha and partners opened my eyes to the great diversity in our birdlife. Lessons on ecology, behaviour, habitat and conservation helped me see birds in their context and so I have improved Elsamere’s education programme, including more focus on birds.’

Jill Phillips

Singer-songwriter – Nashville, USA

‘A Rocha helped me put words and action to a stirring in my heart for God’s creation. Being a part of this organization has inspired a new awareness of the place I live – everything from the plants to the people. As I have been learning to respond to this call to stewardship I have found these issues naturally overflowing into my songwriting.’

Raphaël & Améline Nussbaumer

‘As young Christians, aware of society’s environmental challenges, our faith inspires a desire to protect our planet. A Rocha offers us a unique way of doing that. Two reasons why we love A Rocha: the way people are put at the heart of conservation efforts and the community lifestyle as a way of living out Christian values. That’s why, having spent time with A Rocha Kenya, we decided to donate our wedding ceremony offering to support their work.’

Margaret Ngiri

Farmer, charcoal producer and mother of six – Boyani, Dakatcha Woodlands, Kenya

Mrs Ngiri underwent Farming God’s Way training (a conservation farming method which increases crop yields) and says, ‘The better yields will minimize our charcoal burning activities – charcoal burning is so tedious and unhealthy. We only do it if we have no other options.’

Robert Kelsh

Professor of Stem Cell and Developmental Genetics – Bath, UK

‘As an agnostic eager to ask questions of Christian faith, it was exciting and refreshing to be immersed in an environment where no question was out-of-bounds.’

Marlene Aquino Candia

Biology graduate and A Rocha Huarango Project volunteer – Ica, Peru

‘A Rocha Peru has given life to desert areas, like my home region of Ica, where native Huarango trees have been reforested; and helped local people, like me, to learn about reforestation, conservation and team work, so that we can work together for our environment and community.’

Nicky Gumbel

Founder of the Alpha Course – London, UK Vicar of the largest Anglican Church in England and developer of the Alpha Course – London, UK

‘As Christians we are called to care for God’s creation and to treat the world with honour, dignity and respect. A Rocha can help us to make a difference.’

Lieske de Wilde

MSc graduate in Forest and Nature Conservation – Den Haag, The Netherlands

‘A Rocha Portugal helped me to put my faith into action in my work as an ecologist. Living in a community at Cruzinha made me realise that being myself is enough. Working with A Rocha was an enriching experience which will impact the rest of my life!’

Tim Gordon

Natural Sciences student – University of Cambridge, UK

‘I used the A Rocha centre on the Kenyan coast as a fieldwork base for 11 weeks and learned a vast number of lessons from working alongside the scientists there: practical research skills, knowledge about marine biology and coral reefs in particular, new skills in underwater photography, video editing and sound recording, better levels of competence in SCUBA diving and boat handling.’

Aaranya Gayathri

Graduate in Food Process Engineering – Chennai, Tamil Nadu, S India

‘I learnt a lot about the link between social science and conservation during two months as an intern at the A Rocha centre in southern India. As well as studying the human impact on local reptile diversity, supported by a dedicated and fun-loving team of co-researchers, I was involved in conservation education, studies targeting other fauna, ecotourism and field trips. I met some of the best researchers in the state and had my concepts challenged by conservation science discussions.’

Jeffrey Opoku

Graduate in Natural Resources – Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana

‘As a student at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology I had no fieldwork skills until I joined the A Rocha club. Here I was mentored by experienced conservationists and exposed to practical on-field training, which has inspired me to undertake my national service with A Rocha Ghana as one of their Atiwa Forest Range research team.’

Ben Lowe

Senior Advisor, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action – USA

‘I’ve been a Christian my whole life − I’m a pastor’s kid − and I’ve always loved nature: being outdoors, hiking, camping. But it wasn’t until I got involved in A Rocha through the student chapter at Wheaton College, Illinois, that I was able to connect the two and see how caring for creation was an integral part of biblical discipleship.’

If A Rocha has helped you too, we’d love to hear from you.