Cherishing Churchyards Week

This week, we are cherishing the value of churchyards...

These are some photos from Salcombe Regis:



St Mary & St Peter, Salcombe Regis - Sid Valley Mission Community



Photos of Lychgate, St. Mary and St. Peter Church, Salcombe Regis, near Sidmouth - Beautiful England



Salcombe Regis church (C) Mick Melvin :: Geograph Britain and Ireland

Cherishing Churchyards Week

Saturday 6th June - Sunday 14th June 2015

Join us for a special week to celebrate churchyards and burial grounds and to raise awareness of the treasures they contain.

Churchyards are special places:

• They often contain a rich diversity of plant and animal life.
• They are important places for archaeology and history.
• They often have distinctive and veteran trees.
• The stonework and boundary walls provide a home for a mosaic of mosses, ferns and lichens.
• They provide a tranquil place for quiet reflection.
• They are a resource for inspiration and community learning.

Churchyards are often within walking distance of local communities and can provide a focus for community involvement.

Are you interested in celebrating your local churchyard or burial ground?

Examples of activities include:

For families: A quiz, a treasure hunt, a mini beast safari, tree bingo, letter or leaf rubbing, making gargoyles out of clay…

Open days: guided tours, slide talks, tower tours...

Volunteer activities: making compost areas, scything the grass, repairing the boundary walls, memorial recording, bramble clearing, nest box making, path clearing…

Workshops: dry stone walling, memorial safety and care, plant identification, animal identification, dawn chorus, geology, tree care, archaeology, creative writing, art, singing…

Please visit Conservation Advice/Advice Sheets for Download section on this website if you feel the following information may be useful:

• Activities for Young People
• Attracting Volunteers
• Health & Safety Information
• Cherishing Churchyard Logo

If you would like to register your event as part of National Cherishing Churchyards week, please download and fill out the registration form.

Cherishing Churchyards Week

Cherish your Churchyard and protect local wildlife

Shrinking the Footprint and conservation charity Caring for God's Acre (CfGA), are encouraging people to celebrateCherishing Churchyards Week - which started June 8 - to protect local wildlife.

This follows the publication of the State of Nature report last month, launched by Sir David Attenborough and UK conservation charities, which shows that 60% of UK species have declined in number.

Churchyards and Burial Grounds are placed at the heart of communities where Veteran yew trees, old flower rich meadowland, tiny lichens and ferns, birds, butterflies and bees all find a home. Sometimes only small changes to the care of churchyard habitats such as the grassland, trees, shrubs and old stonework are needed to make a big difference to wildlife, advises CfGA.

David Shreeve, the CofE's national environment adviser said: "The Church of England has more than 10,000 churchyards - many of them providing the only 'green lung' in the local community.  Added together they are a huge national park rich in biodiversity which can often be taken for granted. A week spent cherishing churchyards is an excellent opportunity for everyone to take stock of these very special places."

Andrea Gilpin, of CfGA said: "Churchyards are wonderful places, often right on our doorsteps, and every year more and more groups are holding events and celebrating their churchyards as part of this dedicated week."

EventsCherishing Churchyards Week 2013 (June 8 - 16) is being celebrated in counties across England and Wales with events ranging from a World War 1 Grave tour, a family day Going Wild in the Churchyard, to training in the art of scything and lime-mortared walling. This demonstrates the range of activities that are possible when celebrating Cherishing Churchyards Week.

People wanting to do something unplanned could begin a list of plants and animals seen in the churchyard, perhaps adding to the information with photographs. This will be helpful for future conservation tasks or for spreading the word about the wildlife value of the local churchyard.

Caring for God's Acre has further ideas of ways to celebrate on their website, as well as helpful guidance and a registration form.

Cherish your Churchyard and protect local wildlife
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