St Peter’s Church in Stratton, Cirencester has achieved the Silver Eco Church award, recognising the church’s growing commitment to caring for creation and the many practical steps taken by the congregation in recent years to reduce its environmental impact.
St Peter’s has worked with Cotswold District Council, who maintain their churchyard, to create an un-mown wildflower area and two bug homes to encourage pollinators and increase biodiversity. Stratton School helped with this and carried out a ‘Count for Nature’ that meant the church community to learn more about the wildlife in the churchyard.
Inside the church, a display was installed highlighting environmental themes. They have installed more efficient LED lighting and the church has switched to a renewable energy tariff. The flowers team has adopted sustainable practices, avoiding polluting plastic floral foam, and using seasonal and locally sourced flowers and greenery.
The church continues to support the Fairtrade movement and raise awareness about environmental issues in the wider community. Members of the worshipping community are also encouraged to reflect on their personal environmental choices through Eco Church lifestyle surveys.
St Peter’s achieved the Bronze Eco Church award in 2020. They focused on practical changes across church life, including reducing paper use, organising recycling, installing a cycle rack, and encouraging lift-sharing to church services. The worshipping community also supported environmental charities and began monitoring the church’s carbon footprint more closely.
The church’s environmental journey, however, began even earlier. In 2007, an ‘eco loo’ was installed using a trench arch drainage system designed to minimise environmental impact. A few years later, in 2011, solar panels were fitted on the church roof, making St Peter’s only the second church in the diocese to take this step. Both projects were initiated by the late churchwarden, David Edwards, whose foresight helped establish the church’s long-term commitment to environmental care. By 2018, the church had discovered it was producing more electricity than it used and was able to supply energy back to the grid.
Sue Hudson, Eco Lead for St Peter’s Church, said: “Through all of our work, we have realised that no detail of our church life is too small to be considered in responding to the climate crisis. Our work is ongoing.”
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