St Arilda’s Church in Oldbury-on-Severn has been given an Eco Church Gold Award from A Rocha UK, becoming the first church to achieve this in the Diocese of Gloucester.
The Revd Joy E Ludlow, Priest-in-Charge of the United Benefice of Thornbury and Oldbury with Shepperdine, said: “It’s an honour. This has been a journey that the Oldbury community has been on for the last four years.
“We put in for our bronze award around two and a half years ago. What has now given us our gold award is wonderful God-given land, and little changes to our church. For example, changing our lightbulbs, switching energy providers, considering how long our floodlights stay on, and thinking as a community about how we invest our money.”
St Arilda’s is the 58th church out of 62 churches (as of 12 November 2024) to be given an Eco Church gold award so far in the UK.
A key part of St Arilda’s eco-friendly practices involved the reimagining of its churchyard. The transformation was part of a larger project involving a churchyard extension, using land that was gifted to the church over a decade ago. The land, now consecrated, has been developed into a small woodland area and a large labyrinth, designed to encourage community engagement.
“The main land and building work that has been done in the last few years has been to do with our churchyard,” Joy said. “It has been a journey of learning that less is more. We’ve been mowing far less often and allowing parts of the churchyard to only be mown once every few years to enable soil recovery.”
This shift has resulted in a vibrant ecosystem which attracts diverse wildlife like glow worms, bats, and swifts.
“Our churchyard is really valued, it’s such a communal space. There’s an expectation for it to be neat, but we’ve communicated to the village that a wild, natural space is a form of loving care for both the land and the people resting there.”
St Arilda’s also scored highly in community engagement, worship, and teaching. Joy reflected: “For me, the loveliest part of our gold award was that we scored so highly as a community, that we have a strong relationship with the village. We celebrate Harvest together, we recently celebrated Environment Sunday. We also hold a lot of outdoor services. Many of our baptisms are held outside now, which has made the church feel more inclusive and visible to the wider community.
“Our community believes in a God who created because He loves, and that means we’re called to love the world in the same way. For us, it’s about showing that love is in all aspects of creation, not just within the walls of the church. ”
The gold award also recognises St. Arilda’s work with the local church school: “When the assessors came, the children were outside doing Forest School and they showed me their eco-class projects. They are engaged with church based environmental projects, they have done Churches Count on Nature over the past few years. We’re planning to install a gate connecting the church to the school so they can visit more easily,” Joy said.
For those wanting to achieve a gold award in their church, Joy recommends taking small, community-supported steps.
“There’s a perception that to qualify for a gold award, you need to complete large projects, like installing solar panels on the roof of your church. That’s not always feasible. What matters is doing what you can for now, having open conversations about what might be possible next, and being patient. Be courageous in the conversations your church is having, but remember that environmental technology changes so quickly. It’s essential to find what’s right for your community.”
St Arilda’s is considering future goals, such as wind energy projects and wildflower meadows, all while staying responsive to emerging environmental needs.
Joy explained: “It’s an ongoing change, the world we live in will change, and culturally we’ve learned how much that matters as a community. Even with the gold award, it’s vital to keep our eyes open to our impact on the wider world.
“The gold award is just a milestone in a much larger mission to care for God’s creation as a living, evolving commitment.”
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