Anna's Top 10

Lynton's post has inspired me to do the same ...
Anna's top memories/experiences from A Rocha Canada time in no particular order:

• The Painting - I've never had so much time to dedicate to my hobby of painting.  From teaching art lessons, to getting art lessons, to painting chickens and vege signs ...
• The Animals - the humming birds, woodpeckers, bald eagles, coyotes, raccoons, elks, rattlesnakes, frogs, the list could go on
• The Cooking - making homemade pasta, curry, muesli, pizza, naan, yoghurt etc = good times
• Not Teaching! - ahh the freedom, ahh the stress-free life of not being a full time teacher
• The Rockies - the best camping spots, the grandest views, the coolest animals
• The Sister-in-Law visit - Anne-Marie came bearing gin and chocolate and an empty suitcase to send all Lynton's newly acquired books home, fun times were had, Colin was christened Coco-pops 
• The Guitar Playing and Singing - weekly, multi-hour singalongs with the best harmonies and some of my favourite songs
• The Learning - biblestudies, documentaries, books, and conversations to expand the mind
• The People - they'll be remembered long after all the other memories fade
• The Time and Space - to think, to read, to pray, to paint, to chat, to learn, to love

Grateful.

Lynton's Top Ten Highlights at A Rocha Canada

Here they are in no specific order:

• the Field Study Centre - it's like living on a farm/nature reserve. The most peaceful and life-giving place I have ever lived at.
• the people - I could have never wished to spend 6 months with a better bunch. We have come away with many friends that I think will go the distance - miss you all heaps
• the food - what could be better than eating fresh veges straight out of the garden, collecting eggs from under the chickens and ocassionally savouring beef from a cow that grazed the fields. I gained a greater appreciation of our reliance on the Lord of the Harvest for all his wonderful edible creations.
• cooking - I enjoyed the challenge of cooking for groups ranging from 4 right-up-to 86 people, sometimes using ingredients I had never heard of before. Life at the centre allowed enough time for you to put love into the meal.
• curling - has there ever been such an exciting, tense, tactical and beautiful winter sport played on ice without skates? After studying the curling during the winter olympics I got two chances to learn how to play. Man that was fun!!! My final stone landed right on the edge of the button.Yeesssss!
• the boat maintanence weekend - a large team of A Rocha folk descended on the Hunterston Farm on Galiano Island to clean, strip and paint two replica long boats of the Captain Cook era that are used in educational boat trips. The time was capped off with a two hour row/sail in the El Nina (?)
• the birds - After making many jokes about my former supervisor's fascination with birds, I would have never imagined that I myself might assume the title 'birder.' However, Colin and Stan's passion for birds slowly rubbed off on me to the point where I learnt a handful of bird songs and I would SOMETIMES take binoculars out with me on a walk. It did help that many of the of Canadian birds liked our bird feeders and that they have Woody the woodpecker, bald eagles and hummingbirds!
• all the other animals - New Zealand has great wildlife but due to being separated from other land for so long it missed out on many cool creatures. We have seen coyotes, elk, 5 species of squirrel, lots of amphibians, garter snakes and hoary marmots - to name just a few. I also fell in love with the chickens (particularly Brahma who I saved from hypothermia) and the Highland cows, Shaggy and the late Curly, that lived at the centre.
• games, games, games - we spent many evenings (especially in the winter) playing lots of games. From up-and-down the river, Mennonite madness, scrabble, risk and chess to soccer, basketball, table tennis and cricket (yes, cricket! I made a cricket set, complete with bails, just like my dad did all those years ago. It was a hit amongst the kids and adults alike).
• the faith - it was such a blessing to work and live in a Christians community. We all came from  different backgrounds (Catholic, Reformed, Baptist, Mennonite....) with the same passion to  serve the Lord. I loved the formal and informal theological discussions (on creation, food, image of God, eschatology...), morning prayers, epilogues, the Pastor's conference at Regent College, Imago Dei, Southpoint (our church home for the 6 months) and pastoral care.

In short I loved it!

Video Tour of A Rocha Canada Field Study Centre

This morning we say goodbye to the Field Study Centre in Surrey after calling it home for nearly 6 months. Last night I ran around making short videos of the site so you can get a glimpse of what the place was like. Enjoy!

The vidoes can be viewed here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyntonandanna/sets/72157624374846047/

Brooksdale Bioblitz!

"We care for only what we love. We love only what we know. We truly know only what we experience."1

To properly care for a habitat or ecosystem you must know what lives there. For how can you protect creatures under threat unless you know that they are present in your realm of responsibility?

Later this year, A Rocha Canada will be taking over management of a new property in the Little Campbell River watershed called Brooksdale Farm. To assist in the development of a well-informed management plan, I, Lynton, am coordinating the creation of an inventory of all the living creatures that call Brooksdale home. On Saturday the 19th of June, I organized a 6-hour bioblitz at Brooksdale Farm. A bioblitz is an intensive (usually 24- or 48-hour) biological inventory conducted by a group of scientists and volunteers, attempting to identify and record all species of living organisms in a given area.

Kenton and Barb scouring the meadow for signs of life. The predominant grass in the meadow is Reed Canary Grass, an invasive hybrid grass that grows over 1.5 m tall and smoothers all other plants.

The day began with a small band of keen birders bright and early in the morning and officially kicked off with four groups of naturalists, volunteers and interns exploring the various habitats on the farm. The list of species found steadily grew over the course of the morning as the groups came back with their full data sheets. By lunch over 100 species of plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and invertebrates had been recorded. After a bite of lunch and time scouring field guides trying to identify some elusive creatures, Stan Olson took a group dragonfly and damselfly netting; Colin Conroy took a group birding; whilst a few brave souls returned to the forest. At the end of 6 hours, the bioblitz wrapped up with more than 190 species identified. Highlights of the day included finding a common garter snake, a Western Toad, a Bullock’s Oriole, and a Pumpkinseed (fish). This successful event barely scrapped the surface of what lives on the farm, leaving the possibility for more explorations in the future.

As we build up the inventory of all the living creatures and habitats, A Rocha Canda will be better able to manage and nurture life at Brooksdale.

1 Steven Bouma-Prediger, 'For the Beauty of the Earth'

A fresh-water crayfish living in the pond, probably Pacifastacus leniusculus.

A pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) caught in the pond.

A Western Toad (Bufo boreas) on the banks of the Little Campbell river. This amphibian is a "blue-listed" species in BC, meaning that is of special concern.