Traditional lands of the Gundungurra and Tharawal people. A Rocha Australia has been partnering with Capernwray Torchbearers Australia since 2017 at their Wongabri property on the bank of the Wingecarribee River.
Key outcomes so far:
– providing technical advice for on-ground environmental restoration activities
– facilitating public seminars
– delivering regular bible teaching on creation care to Capernwray Bible School students
– developing relationships with local government and community environmental groups
Capernwray sits next to the Cecil Hoskins Nature Reserve wetland, a biodiversity hotspot with over 90 recorded native bird species and resident platypus. International college students have helped with projects.
On-ground projects have protected an endangered eucalypt species, Paddy’s River Box, and restored woodland habitat through tree planting. The pre-European vegetation at the Capernwray property was the Southern Highlands Shale Forest and Woodland, now listed as a threatened ecological community at both State and National levels.
Capernwray operates a Bible School and Holiday Centre on the property. Several events have been hosted here in conjunction with A Rocha Australia including:
– conferences on ’Caring for the Garden in a Fallen World: A Christian Perspective on Nature Conservation’ and lectures for students and the general public
– a seminar on threatened species in the Southern Highlands, co-hosted with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
– a national conference in October 2016 with A Rocha co-founders Peter and Miranda Harris as guest speakers