A Rocha Portugal

Last night, I had the priviledge of listening to Paula and Marcial, a couple who are the current wardens at Cruzinha, A Rocha Portugal's field study centre, speak about their experiences there. Both of them have basically been involved with A Rocha from the very beginning, and it was inspiring to hear their stories. For 20 years, A Rocha has been working in the Algarve in southern Portugal. The focus has been on the Alvor Estuary, an ecologically diverse area consisting of coastal wetland, scrubland and farmland. A Rocha's work has helped establish this area as a Natura 2000 site, as well as a European Special Area of Conservation. However, amidst the successes, disappointments and challenges have been many, especially today. Development pressures continue to be felt on all sides of the estuary and if it wasn't for the fact that A Rocha has been working there for 20 years, collecting valuable data and becoming accepted and respected on the scientific front, much of the estuary would be lost.

Today, A Rocha Portugal's efforts have been focused on coming up with alternative development and conservation plans, so that the current excessive and inappropriate development trends do not continue. They also continue to build up partnerships with other NGO's and universities from all over Europe, as well as the local government and media. The threats are far from gone, and A Rocha Portugal is in desperate need of continued prayers, both for the team itself, who must continue to live amongst these challenges and stresses, but also for the key developers and members of the community. The estuary needs to be embraced as an ecologically valuable area and development practices need to change if anything is going to be saved.

I find the stories of A Rocha Portugal inspiring as it reminds us of the value of the scientific data we collect today. It may not seem to be incredibly important today, but one day it may be. Of course, this doesn't mean we should go crazy and work really hard collecting all this data which seems completely useless today. :) You know that's not what I mean. But it does make me think that each small discovery we make in His world results in a smile from above, and it also instills a sense of awe and wonder in our hearts. Take the research into the life of the Oregon forestsnail currently happening at TWU - there are days when it seems pointless to collect all the data, yet it has also shattered my preconceived notion that snails move really slowly. Given their size and their mode of transportation, they can move incredible distances! And then you realize that this is one more creature that God purposefully designed and placed here.

And He saw all that He had made, and it was very good.

Reflections

Today is my second day back in civilization after a week of camping at a remote and gorgeous lake called Spanish. This is a place Mark's family (and extended family) go every year and this year, it was my turn to be introduced to the tradition. It was a week of complete relaxation, where most mornings we all gathered for the morning coffee and didn't start breakfast until 11:30 at the earliest. Quite the change for a girl who generally calls sleeping until 9:00 "sleeping in" and always has breakfast as soon as she gets up! But, there were honey nut cheerios and muffins available to hold me over, and I adjusted quite well. Of course, I was still up between 8 and 9 every morning, but it gave me a chance to sit by the lake with a book and enjoy the quiet peacefulness. Here are a few pictures to attempt to convey the beauty:










And the sunsets were breathtaking...










We spent our time reading and playing Rook onshore and canoeing and fishing out on the water. For me, this was quite the feat, as I have this deep fear of water and generally cannot feel comfortable in small boats. For some reason - even though my head can know that it's perfectly safe and we won't tip, and in the rare event that we do, it's not like I would drown since we're wearing life jackets and we would be rescued in minutes - my body just can't process that information. But, Mark did get me out on the water in a canoe a number of times (only when the water was really calm) and he got me to try fishing, even though I also don't like fish. A couple of evenings we went out chasing beavers, which was a huge highlight since I can't remember ever seeing beavers in their natural environment. And there is something enchanting about being out on the water in the evenings.

But now, it's back to reality yet again. I have now finished just over a year of work with TWU and A Rocha Canada, and I'm looking forward to my second year. It'll be really nice once everyone is back from their holidays and the students arrive again. Things have been relatively quiet around campus lately.

Oh, and if you haven't already noticed, I've put in links on the side to various photo albums. Feel free to browse through them if you want to see more of what I've been doing lately.

Now it's back to work. Figuring out how the whole inserting-picture-thing took up my whole lunch break.

family

Ah, the joys of board games! These last two days have been filled with Settlers, Empire Builder, more Settlers, more Empire Builder, all all topped off with an almost complete game of Gin Rummy. Great fun. :)

It was my last two days of fun with Reuben and Heidi before Mark and I head up to do some camping for a week with his family. By the time we get back, Reuben and Heidi will have left with the big U-haul truck loaded with all their stuff, headed for their new home in Winnipeg! It sucks to say goodbye, but this goodbye was sweetened by the fact that I just booked a flight out to Winnipeg at the end of September, so I'll get to see their new place. I'm quite excited about that. There is an A Rocha conference running that weekend, which I'm planning to attend, and since it happened to be in Winnipeg, I thought I'd visit them too.

Anywho, considering that tomorrow morning is an early one, I shall leave this post short and head to bed. It's off to Spanish Lake with the sunrise!

a new venture

I've finally decided to break down and join the blog craze.  Since I love writing and it's a great way to keep in touch with people who are far away, I thought it might actually be fun.  Yeah, I know.  I'm weird.  :)

So, in the days and weeks and months to come, I'll be posting everything from personal reflections to stories and experiences I have with work and life in general.  Feel free to check back here as often as you like - I'll do my best to keep it up-to-date!

God bless!