Eco Church
st michael's is working to become more eco friendly
The Church of England has committed to being carbon neutral by 2030.
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Our diocese, Bristol, has stated that reducing the effects of climate change in its churches is core to the five marks of mission and their undertaking to safeguard the integrity of creation.
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If you would like to join the team please contact the office here
ECO CHURCH is a national scheme to help grassroots church communities of all denominations to improve their environmental impact. It was developed by A Rocha UK which is a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world and committed to equipping Christians and churches in the UK to care for the environment.
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At its core is an award scheme which addresses meeting criteria in 5 key areas of church life:
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Worship & Teaching
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Management of Church Buildings
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Management of Church Land
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Community and Global Engagement
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Lifestyle
​These key areas are sympathetically investigated and monitored through an on-line self-survey and the programme is supported by comprehensive resources including case study examples.
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St Michael’s first became involved in Eco-Church about 2 years ago and our former curate, Emily championed and supported initial projects including the young people’s wilding of the church yard. This work is now being co-ordinated by a small team led by a member of our PCC.
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During the past year we have fully completed our online Eco-Church Survey and have decided a development plan for moving forwards.
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As part of our current work we have identified a small ‘wildlife’ garden outside the church offices in Vicarage Lane. This has been named EcoEden through a congregation poll. Our intention is to make EcoEden an accessible place which promotes opportunities to learn, share and enjoy wildlife.
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To date we have:
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built a large church shaped bug house and planted 30 wild flower perennial plug plants in the grass
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acquired 4 bird boxes and feeders, a squirrel house and 2 hedgehog houses which we are in the process of locating.
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appointed 2 young people as Rangers to take responsibility for researching and promoting specific habitats for Pollinators and Hedgehogs.
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liaised with the Council to cut the grass in this area in late October when natural seeding of the wild-flowers and grasses will have taken place.
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This is just one example of the range of developments that we are exploring. The Eco Church project is multi-faceted, ongoing and there is never a dull moment for everyone involved!
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We look forward to sharing more of our adventures with everyone in future months and to hearing about similar projects which are happening in our parish.