It’s Churches Count on Nature week from Saturday June 6 to Sunday June 14.
The Bishop of Norwich, who is also the Church of England’s lead bishop for the environment, is inviting everyone to get involved and explore the natural wonders of our churchyards.
“They are places not just for the dead, but for the living,” he said. “These remarkable habitats are places alive with insect life, with wonderful different flower species, with trees, the great chorus of birdsong and many different mammals scurrying around.”
Churches Count on Nature week is a chance for people to visit a local churchyard and record the wildlife they see and hear – from towering trees to tiny insects.
Churchyards are home to wildflowers, lichens, plants, animals and insects, many of which are now rare in the wider countryside.
With around 98% of English wildflower meadows lost since 1945, churchyards can hold a village’s last remnants of ancient woodland and grassland.
In urban areas too they are sanctuaries for wildlife. They provide peaceful green oases for passers-by and shady tree-filled spaces to help combat heat and pollution.
Last year more than 6,000 people took part, logging 1,670 different species. Recording these species and sharing records is an important step towards protecting wildlife.
Whether you barely know oak from ash or blackbird from bluetit, or can name a profusion of beautiful wildflowers and insects, Churches Count on Nature is a chance to spend time in a churchyard and notice the nature all around.
Churches across the country, and across Norfolk and Waveney, invite local people to explore their grounds and find out more about the wildlife living there. Some hold special events.
Mulbarton Church is inviting people to pop in and explore its churchyard all week – and see how many different species of wildlife it harbours. There will be identification guides to help.
At Horstead Church a wildflower identification workshop will be led by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, who surveyed the churchyard last year. The Diocese of Norwich works with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust to manage hundreds of churchyards with wildlife in mind.
At All Saints Church, Hemblington, near Acle, there is a free wildflower identification walk and wildlife survey, plus refreshments, on Saturday June 6.
People from the church and local community in St Faith’s Church, Gaywood, near King’s Lynn, are invited to spend 20 minutes in its pretty churchyard on June 8, observing and recording nature.
Or have a go at identifying plants and wildlife in the lovely riverside churchyard in Trowse, just outside Norwich, at 10am on Saturday June 13.
In Reepham, St Mary’s and St Michael’s churches are hosting a wildlife themed afternoon for all comers on Sunday June 14. Walk the nature trail, take part in activities and identify and record the wildlife you come across.
“I hope you will get involved,” said Bishop Graham. “Many of our churches are running Churches Count on Nature events. Then we can truly celebrate the great biodiversity in our churchyards, celebrate the wonder of God’s creation.”
Churches Count on Nature is run by Caring for God’s Acre, A Rocha UK, the Church of England and the Church in Wales. For full details of events, and lots of help identifying churchyard wildlife, visit caringforgodsacre.org.uk
