Ep 55: Peter Harris – Why does nature matter?

Peter Harris founded A Rocha in the early 1980s and has given his life since to the cause of nature conservation. He has long known the vital importance of the question of how and why to value nature. In this conversation with Rick and Jo (his daughter!) he explores the different explanations he has encountered for the worth of the non-human world and why he believes money lies at the heart of it all.

Verónica is a transplant to the USA from Argentina. As a plant molecular and cellular biologist and a plant lover, she soon began getting to know the fora of her new home, discovering the extent to which native plants were suffering as invasives flourished. As Texas Conservation Project Director for A Rocha USA, she now spends much of her time killing Glossy Privet in many ingenious ways, and as a result the Bull Creek Watershed is full of diverse life again. We talked to her about the nitty gritty of caring for an ecosystem, how she has been reengaging the local hispanic community with the great outdoors and what it took to put down roots in new soil.

Rev Jacynthia Murphy is of Māori descent and serves in a Pākehā parish. In this conversation with Rev Silvia Purdie and the Field Notes hosts she discusses her indigenous perspective on faith and her passionate environmentalism. She is one of the women featured in “Awhi Mai Awhi Atu: Women in Creation Care,” edited by Silvia (Philip Garside Publishing, 2022). Silvia is a counsellor and pastoral theologian who offers training for environmental sustainability and is communicates extensively about the mental health impacts of the climate crisis.

There is little in life with more direct environmental impact than food - how and what we produce, where we source it and how it gets there, how we prepare it and what we do with the waste. How do we balance sometimes competing factors and make food choices that honour God and the world he loves and has tasked us to look after?Food is a passion for Jasmine Kwong. As a creation care advocate for OMF International and a Catalyst for Creation Care for the Lausanne Movement, she also cares deeply about creation. In this engaging and grace-filled conversation she shares from the wisdom she has gleaned and encourages all of us to consider our daily bread (and fish ceviche, mango and so on!) in light of our relationship with God and the wider creation.

Jayaprakash Bojan (JP)’s photo of a giant male orangutang peeping at him from behind a tree in a Borneo river won him National Geographic’s Nature Photographer of the Year in 2017. The image was seen by over 3.5 million people, propelling both him and the plight of Red Apes into the spotlight. In this conversation with A Rocha co founder Peter Harris and Jo Swinney, JP talks publicly for the first time about his burgeoning faith in the Creator of All, the values that underpin his approach to nature photography and where his career has gone after everything changed with the National Geographic award.JP lives in Singapore with his wife and their child. You can find him and see some of his incredible photography and film work on social media: Instagram - @Jayaprakash_bojan, Facebook – Jayaprakash Bojan photography, LinkedIn – Jayaprakash Bojan

While the outlook for biodiversity is rather bleak, all the evidence says conservation works - we just need to do it well and do it more. It sounds simple, but often well-intended interventions have unintended consequences, or aren’t very effective, or become unmanageable over time. How do we learn the important lessons, what does success mean in this context, and how does someone in Jeremy’s line of work remain hopeful?Jeremy Lindsell has been working on globally threatened species and tropical forest conservation for over 20 years, latterly as A Rocha International’s Director of Conservation & Science. He has been closely involved with A Rocha’s major campaign to protect the Atewa Forest in Ghana, leading field research in the forest, supervising studies, raising funds and building an international coalition to support the conservation of this highly distinctive forest.

Growing up, Sylvia spent a lot of time on the family farm just outside Nairobi, Kenya. Where she remembers a wide open landscape, there are now blocks of flats and a hospital. Reliable rains have been replaced by four seasons of drought and the land can no longer support the herds of livestock it once did. We talk to her about the role of media in addressing the catastrophic loss of biodiversity and climate change in Kenya and how her generation are rising to the challenges of their uncertain future. Having begun her career as a multi-media  journalist for The Nation Media Group, Sylvia is now a valuable member of A Rocha International's Communications team.

Jo and Rick are joined by Jo Herbert-James to discuss the themes in Jo Swinney’s Lent book, “The Whole Easter Story: why the cross is good news for all creation.” What does our relationship with God have to do with how we live on this earth? How is the death and resurrection of Christ relevant to the current crises of biodiversity collapse and climate change? And are us humans really all that matters to God or just part of the picture?

This is the United Nations Decade of the Ocean, bringing an increased focus on caring for the ‘blue’ bit of the planet. Governing marine and coastal areas involves convening a multitude of groups - often with competing interests. Agreeing a management approach that works not only for the humans but the many other living things in the ecosystem may be difficult but it isn’t impossible, as Environmental Geographer Dr Tim Stojanovic can testify.Over his 30 year career, Tim has researched how nations and communities are managing their coasts and seas, and what is being achieved and he has some hopeful stories to tell. In this episode of Field Notes, we ask whether sustainable development is an oxymoron, whether humans ever have a net positive impact on the world around them, and why we need to pay attention to a wider range of benefits to a healthy ocean than economic growth.

Cindy Verbeek left her city life for a rural Eden in northern BC, Canada, where the air was clean, bears nonchalantly wandered along the local high street and preserving nature was hardwired into community life. It might have seemed an ideal situation for a dedicated naturalist giving her life to conservation. In reality, many years of struggle, discouragement and isolation were to follow, before she learnt how to speak the heart language of her adopted home and everything changed.If you have ever been tempted to give up, to bow out or run away from the challenges of caring for the world, you will find Cindy’s story both soothing and stirring. Fiercely courageous, funny and honest, she is as good a role model as any you’ll find for this costly vocation.You can read more about Cindy and her work with A Rocha Canada here.