We're delighted to have achieved the Silver Eco Church Award, by A Rocha UK – the Christian environmental charity committed to equipping churches and their congregations to care for the environment.
After achieving Bronze last year, the Eco Group has been busy working towards Silver, implementing a number of initiatives to improve our eco rating and involve the whole community.
The most recent of which, a rewilding project to create a wildlife habitat, has been picked as one of Co-op UK’s Local Community Fund causes for the second year running.
Last year the Eco Group was awarded National Lottery Funding for its ‘Living Gently on the Earth’ project; a series of community events, talks and workshops on caring for our planet.
Around 10, well-attended sessions have been hosted over the past year, including a vegetarian cooking demo, ethical investments, reducing and acting on waste and plastic, growing your own food, active travel, energy use and measuring and acting on your carbon footprint.
We also held a Big Green Eco Fair in the medieval cloister last October and look forward to making it an annual event for the whole community to come together and celebrate eco-friendly living.
Amongst other work, an Energy Assessment and Carbon Emissions Report has also been completed, renewable energy sources explored, rainwater collection facilities and bird-feeders installed around the site, annual wildlife and wildflower surveys implemented and composting facilities utilised. We have also been engaging with local MPs on a number of issues.