A Walk on the Wild Side

WildLife is a new intergenerational creation care day program run in partnership between SU Victoria, A Roche, and Interserve. Thirty participants aged from 4 to 80 spent a day exploring the Yea Wetlands, with a focus on how our relationship with God, ourselves, each other, and all creation is linked together. We spent the morning “ponding”—scooping up pond water and examining the complexity of pond ecosystems—bird watching, and looking at snakes and reptiles with the team from the Yea Wetlands Discovery Center, and the afternoon in reflection and Biblical engagement.

There were some great chats as we walked around the park and explored the wildlife and environment. I saw people from a variety of age groups, and people from completely different stages and ways of life, connecting together in a meaningful way. A lot of people mentioned the conversations about our responsibility to care for creation were ones they hadn’t often been able to find a space for in church. Enjoying creation is a really special way to pray to God.

Caring for God’s creation is an important part of our discipleship journey. Through experiences like WildLife, we realise more that discipleship is intimately linked with the way that we care for creation. When we care for the planet we care for people, and vice versa—everything that God has made.

—Ben, WildLife Director