Eco Church

Caring for God's creation

St James is a recognised Eco Church, holding the A Rocha UK Bronze Award and now working towards Silver. Caring for creation runs through our worship, our churchyard and our community life, from the wildlife among the gravestones to the choices we make together.

An Eco Church

Recognised for caring for creation

Eco Church is an award scheme run by the Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK, for churches who want to care for God's earth and get better at 'going green' in every area of church life and beyond. A church completes a survey across five areas of its life and work: worship and teaching, the management of its buildings, the management of its land, community and global engagement, and lifestyle. The more a church does, the more it scores towards Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. St James holds the Bronze Award and is now working towards Silver.

How Eco Church works

Churchyard Biodiversity & Heritage Project

Surveying the life of our churchyard

We are thrilled to have been chosen as part of the Diocese of Coventry's Churchyard Biodiversity and Heritage Project. Working with the Diocesan biodiversity team and A Rocha, we are surveying and recording the wildlife of our churchyard, from moths and lichens to the health of the soil, and developing a wildflower area in the new churchyard. Here are some recent updates from the project.

A moth resting on dead leaves, found in the overnight trap

Moth Breakfast

On a beautiful early May morning, the Diocesan team set a light trap overnight and, to everyone's delight, identified four different species of moth, along with large crunchy beetles, a caddis fly and some other interesting creepy-crawlies. Everyone had a close-up view before we enjoyed bacon butties, pastries and coffee, and the experts released the insects into safe places. Did you know there are over 2,500 species of moth in the UK? Some travel up to 600km in a single night, and they are very important pollinators.

Orange and grey lichens covering the face of an old gravestone

Lichen survey

A two-woman team spent a cold and drizzly May morning at St James and found many different species of lichen, including some they had not seen before. That morning we also saw the first Painted Lady butterfly of the season. Lichens are a combination of two different organisms: an alga and a fungus.

Soil survey

A churchyard soil survey has been completed and the samples sent to a laboratory for testing, to find out how healthy our soil is. At this stage all we can say is that there was a notable lack of earthworms.

Bioblitz and Muddy Church

Our Bioblitz and Muddy Church events are ninety minutes of great fun for children and adults: looking at nature, learning about it, and recording it together in the churchyard.

Churches Count on Nature

Each year, during Love your Burial Ground Week, we join Churches Count on Nature and celebrate the wildlife in the churchyard by observing and recording the plants and animals we find. Come along at any time and record whatever species of wildlife, plants, trees, birds, butterflies and insects you see. Information is displayed showing how to record what you find so it can be added to a national database, and if you have a mobile phone the easiest way is to download the free iNaturalist app before you visit. All of it helps to discover where rare or endangered species are living, and to care for and protect them better in the future.

If you would like to be involved, for example in the monthly butterfly survey over the summer, or to complete our Community Consultation Questionnaire, please do get in touch with Geoff through the church wardens.

Dates for your diary

Come and explore the churchyard with us

Everyone is welcome at our nature events, whatever your age and whether or not you know a moth from a butterfly. Bring the family and a sense of curiosity.

Sunday 14th June, 3pm
Bioblitz
Come along to church and help us identify as many different species as possible across grasses, insects, flowers and mammals.
May to August
Monthly butterfly survey
Join us once a month over the summer to count and record the butterflies of the churchyard. No experience needed.

The Diocesan team and parishioners gathered around the moth trap in the meadow at dawn for the Moth Breakfast

A close-up of the moth trap being opened and its visitors recorded after a Moth Breakfast

Geoff's Eco-Tips

A green idea each month

Each month Geoff shares a practical eco-tip, drawn from A Rocha UK's Easy Eco Tips calendar, tied in with our churchyard project. Here is his latest.

Take part in citizen science or a local nature event

Citizen science is a way for ordinary people to get involved in scientific research or data collection. There are many projects to choose from and it is easy to make a contribution, and to invite others to get involved with you. Here are some you could help with:

For more practical ways to enjoy, nurture and defend nature, sign up to A Rocha UK's Wild Christian email, or browse the Easy Eco Tips calendar that these tips are drawn from.

A Rocha Wild Christian Easy Eco Tips calendar

Footpaths, nature & the Camino The churchyard