Module 09 - Churchyard conservation

• David Manning: The Living Churchyard 2003
• N Cooper: Wildlife in Church & Churchyard: plants, animals & their management (2nd Edition Published by CHP 2001
• Anthony Foottit: A Gospel of wild Flowers Published by David & Charles  2006

Contact your local group - they may be able to offer advice and/or help in managing your churchyard for conservation and biodiversity. Alternatively, or in addition, perhaps your church could offer volunteers regularly on other BTCV projects. You could link active management of your churchyard with health, and join the 'green gym' initiative of BTCV. 

You could join BTCV's community network which gives you access to all sorts of benefits for a joining fee.

Take a look at the Caring for God's Acre (CFGA) site as there's lots of useful information on there to help with managing churchyards.

Try involving your local heritage interest groups, such as those interested in family history (if you have gravestones), or the local natural history people to help with managing for biodiversity. Churchyards can be significant in terms of the local Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Someone (probably in your local council) will have responsibility for the BAP and may help you to monitor what is happening in terms of wildlife, and how it could be better managed.

Have you thought about a community composting enterprise? You'll need to talk to the Community Composting Network based in Sheffield:

CCN, 67 Alexandra Road, Sheffield, S2 3EE

t. 0114 258 0483 or 0114 255 3720

The Dry Stone Walling Association has produced some helpful information about dry stone walls around churchyards. See the links below.

The British Lichen Society (BLS) answers the question what are lichens? and has a fact sheet about lichens and churchyards.

Do you have some glebe land which could be usefully used by local people as allotments?  St Barnabas in Queen Camel, Somerset did just that! Are you wanting to get involved with taking care of a piece of local land currently in need of attention? The National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardeners Limited will provide information and guidance for running allotments and local allotment societies.

Or you could try FarmGarden, the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens who specialise in community allotments. Or perhaps your church could stimulate the renewal of some local allotments under the Allotments Regeneration Initiative. 

Go to the Natural History Museum site to find your local native wild flowers - it's called the postcode plants database. Just put in your postcode!

Do you have an urban church? Could you plant some trees, and need advice and help? Maybe Trees for Cities could help you! Contact them on 020 7587 1320 to see if they can help in your area. They are working mostly in London, but not exclusively.

Have a look at this excellent site with helpful section of guidance notes for those with responsibility for the churchyard. 

Your local Wildlife Trust may have some support for those managing churchyards. Have a look at the national site to find your local Wildlife Trust.

Have a look at the Cornwall Living Churchyard site to see what has been happening in the South West, and to read their management principles for churchyards.