We are a silver Eco Church which means that we strive to protect and preserve God’s creation and do so in many different areas of our church life and community. One of these, of course, is our churchyard. A churchyard can be a haven for wildlife in the midst of an urban area. It may host huge varieties of plants and animals, some of which struggle to survive anywhere else. This is partly because a churchyard is an ancient place and so biodiversity has been allowed to flourish and develop over many centuries, usually largely undisturbed, secondly this is because churchyards often offer a huge range of habitats, from trees and hedgerows, to long grasses and stone walls.
At All Saints we are keen to develop and protect the biodiversity in our churchyard. We have a carefully monitored mowing regime which we strive to stick to, although notably we rely heavily on volunteers for this. Large areas of the churchyard are kept as long grass, especially through the summer months, supporting butterflies and bees and other insects, although we do try to mow a pathway to every grave to ensure all graves remain accessible. We have a number of bug hotels and log piles in the churchyard and we plant new trees and native shrubs where possible.
We also encourage our local schools and other groups to come and enjoy the churchyard and explore it, taking part in nature surveys etc
