In a world where digital engagement often means chasing impressions and quick wins, an A Rocha volunteer reflects on how the natural world reminds her that the most meaningful things often happen slowly – and offline.

By Jemimah Njambi, A Rocha Volunteer

August 19, 2025

I didn’t set out to become a conservationist or anything close, I’ve always been very business minded – definitely for-profit minded. So, what drew me to volunteering with ARocha wasn’t strategy or career ambition, it was curiosity.

Everyone who spoke about the organization and especially the Brooksdale grounds always did so with this kind of fondness and whimsy that made it sound almost mythical, like a modern-day Narnia tucked away just outside the city. Then I found out about its connection to Kenya – and I was sold. I grew up in Kenya and the country holds a deep, complicated, beautiful piece of my heart. Learning that A Rocha had roots and relationships there felt like a quiet nudge in the right direction.
I didn’t know it then, but that decision would completely shift how I see the world – and how I’m learning to move through it, online and off.

The Earth Doesn’t Care About Algorithms
When I started volunteering, I was knee-deep in my graduate studies. Coursework, deadlines, part-time work – all of it was exciting, but everything moved fast. I was moving fast and was holding on, barely, to a pace I thought I needed to keep up with. Then I began spending more time getting involved with ARocha’s programs, community events and spending more time in green spaces, and nature – quietly, unapologetically – interrupted me. Nature doesn’t rush. It moves in cycles. It rewards patience. It teaches you to pay attention, to wait, to trust that things grow even when you can’t see the progress yet. In a world where digital engagement
often means chasing impressions and quick wins, the natural world continues to remind me that the most meaningful things often happen slowly – and offline.

Real Engagement Starts in Real Life
I used to think the best ideas came from whiteboards and “content pillars”, I mean…it was literally part of my syllabus. That’s since changed. Some of the richest, most generative conversations I’ve had weren’t in meetings or marketing brainstorms. They were with people in community – especially in the A Rocha department I volunteer with. These weren’t just colleagues. These were people with deep roots in the work of creation care. People who care, not because it looks good on a resume, but because they’ve lived the need. Those conversations reconnected me with something I didn’t even know I’d lost: the art of storytelling that’s personal, not performative. My work now – especially my digital storytelling – has shifted. It’s less about polishing the perfect message, and more about honouring real people, real places, and real stakes.

Even One Person Matters
Before I started volunteering, environmental conservation felt…enormous, overwhelming, like an unsurmountable task that I couldn’t even begin to contribute to. We live in an age where climate change and environmental conservation are very real issues we have to pay attention to and get involved in. Unsurprisingly, they instill a lot of fear and anxiety when the topics are brought up. The articles I read made it sound simple. “5 Ways to Save the Planet,” “10 Habits of Eco-Conscious
People” – but they always fell flat. Because the truth is, there is no quick fix. Creation care isn’t a checklist. It’s layered. It’s emotional. It’s urgent and slow and  frustrating and hopeful – all at once. But here’s what I learned: even one person – one tiny human on this big, beautiful planet – can make a difference. Not by doing everything, but by doing something. Starting somewhere. Usually, right in their own community. I’m no longer waiting to “figure it all out,” and I’m just getting involved.

What I Carry Forward
When I started volunteering, I showed up as a textbook digital marketer – flashy graphics, catchy taglines, trending audios, and performance stats. That’s what I knew. Now? I care less about going viral, and more about being real. My approach is more intentional – about the causes I highlight, the language I use, and
the people I center. Over these past two years, I’ve been learning (admittedly painstakingly slowly) what it really means to be part of a community. To show up consistently – storm or sunshine – not because it looks good, but because it matters. It’s never just about me – we’re literally all in this together.

If You’ve Been Thinking About Volunteering…
Do it. Climate work is complex. It’s hard and A Rocha works tirelessly to educate the public, protect the environment, and partner with communities in ways that are deeply relational – not just transactional. Their programs are smart, grounded, and rooted in care and intention. You’ll learn more than you expect, and you’ll probably be surprised by what you bring to the table. You don’t need to be an environmental scientist. You don’t need to know everything. You just need to start. Start with what you have, where you are.

One of my favorite activities is taking a tour of the ARocha grounds. If you’ve never done it – or even if you have – go again. Take the tour. Let yourself be moved. It just might change the way you see your  place in the world.