An overgrown churchyard in Crostwick has been neatened up courtesy of a new partnership between the Diocese of Norwich and the Probation Service’s Community Payback scheme.
St Peter’s church is the first to benefit from this kind of support from Norwich Community Payback, with several others set to receive maintenance assistance in 2026.
The benefits of this initiative are by no means solely for the church, with opportunities to improve the look of public spaces while working in the open air valued highly by Community Payback.
Paul Appleyard, PCO for the East of England Probation Service, was instrumental in establishing the partnership and believes the benefits to this type of arrangement can be wide-ranging. He said:
“For us, these projects are about more than just maintenance—they help preserve the heritage of our churches while creating spaces that encourage biodiversity and protect local wildlife. It’s a great example of how collaboration benefits both the community and the environment.
“I have always found that People on Probation engage very positively with the work we do in churches. They understand that they are completing valuable, worthwhile tasks for the local community while also supporting local flora and fauna through the environmental improvements we make in churchyards across the county.”
Many churches can find it difficult to secure reliable, affordable maintenance and gardening services as the cost of equipment and labour can be prohibitive.
With a growing number of church communities also engaging with wildlife initiatives and the Eco Church programme, securing ongoing natural conservation support can be invaluable.
The Community Payback team responsible for work carried out at Crostwick were given instructions regarding the preservation of the biodiversity of the churchyard, including:
- Leaving longer, tussocky grass around older gravestones or monuments and along hedgerows or churchyard walls undisturbed
- Move any deadwood to stack in a pile
- Leave some scrub and bramble areas for small mammals
- Leave some nettles for the butterflies to lay their eggs on
Discussing the success of the fledgling scheme, Nicola Lewis, Church Buildings Support Officer for the Diocese of Norwich, said:
“The churchyard at Crostwick had become dangerously overgrown and it wasn’t possible for the local people to look after it. Community Payback stepped in.
“Thanks to this scheme run by the Probation Service in Norfolk, the churchyard has been transformed from a bracken covered ‘field’ to a safe and tidy place for families and visitors to come. We are very grateful and look forward to expanding the scheme in 2026.”
Early feedback within the Probation Service has also been universally positive. Megan Holmes, Unpaid Work Placement Co-ordinator for the Probation Service in the East of England, said:
“The works have been praised for being enjoyable by both People on Probation and supervisors.
“I look forward to continuing the works and increasing our workload for more churches, along with being able to share more positive stories of works completed by our teams with the help of Diocese of Norwich.”