Churchyards can be significant for wildlife as they have often had minimal disturbance for centuries. This means that churches have a critical and very particular role to play for the recovery of British nature.
Churches Count on Nature week (June 5-13th) and info workshop (19 April)
‘Churches Count on Nature’ week is a partnership between the dedicated charity, Caring for God’s Acre, and Eco Church. This is an area of work that is covered under the ‘Land’ heading of the Eco Award scheme.
Gloucester Diocese in partnership with Caring for God’s acre are offering a ‘Churches Count on Nature’ information workshop on 19 April. While the focus is on ‘Churches Count on Nature’ week, it will also include more general conversation for churches working on wildlife management of some or all of their churchyard.
Churches can sign up for ‘Churches Count on Nature’ here, and look for more information and FAQ here.
Churches and individuals may also be interested in the following:
Eco Church resources: Resources to support churches in the Diocese who are working for an Eco Church Award are held on the Gloucester Diocesan website Environment page.
Wildlife Grants: A reminder that any churches interested in this area can apply to Gloucester Diocese for a grant of up to £250.
Biodiversity webinars: During the week in June, the national CofE environment team have put together a webinar series broadly in the area of biodiversity and churchyards. Do check out the options and sign up.
Biodiversity emergency
The ‘State of Nature’ report published in 2019 found that populations of the UK’s most important wildlife have plummeted by an average of 60% since 1970. In addition, the area inhabited by officially designated “priority species” has shrunk by 27%.
It is important that as Christians, caring for God’s creation, we do what we can in the land we own and manage to slow and reverse the trend.