Living Churchyards

Biodiversity is a measure of the number, variety and variability of living organisms and how they interact with ecosystems. God designed everything in our world beautifully, and we are privileged to be His stewards. Protecting and increasing biodiversity is crucial in our care of creation as we work towards restoring balance between us, species and ecosystems, as God intended.

As pockets of countryside locked within urban areas and as inherently quiet places, churchyards can provide a range of habitats that can support a diversity of wildlife. That’s why we encourage all churches to take part in our Living Churchyard program, run by our voluntary Diocesan Biodiversity Advisor, David Curry. Please contact David at: david.curry@exeter.anglican.org for further information.

Here are David’s guidance notes & resources:

• Bats in Churchyards
• Managing Grasslands
• Guidance on Herbicides
• Hedges & Trees
• Swifts
• Lichens in Churchyards
• Trees
• Plants for churchyards & biblical herbs
• Swifts in churches
• Mole fact sheet – July 2024
• Our Soils Toolkit August 2024 Final

Churchyard Spotter resources:

• Churchyard Spotter – Invertebrates
• Churchyard Spotter – Plants & Flowers
• Churchyard Spotter – Day Flying Moths

Here are five simple things you can do to nurture nature in your churchyard (or other areas):

• Build a bee hotel!
• Take part in No Mow May
• Create a pollinator garden
• Make log or leaf piles for hedgehogs to hibernate in
• Install bat or bird boxes

You can find lots more information on the Church of England website as well.

Churchyard Visit Process

1. Invitation from church member
2. One of our experienced volunteer Biodiversity Advisor’s will arrange to visit.
3. Meet on site with church member(s)
4. Discuss what they would like to see and what they expect from us
5. Site walk, taking notes and photographs and listening to their aspirations.
6. Inform church members that a draft action plan will follow within a week.
7. Draft action plan sent to point of contact, this needs reading and amendments suggested where necessary.
8. Present report to the PCC for adoption, assisted by our living churchyards team if required.

Top tips for a good visit:

• directions for parking are always helpful
• unlock the church for a space to sit out of the weather and discuss the vision
• if possible a hot drink is always welcome!

Enjoy your churchyard and encourage others to visit!