ECO CHURCH

We are committed to integrating environmental care into worship, facilities, community engagement, and personal lifestyles, working towards sustainability and stewardship of the earth.

A ROCHA SILVER AWARD

In July 2021, St Mary’s Church received a silver Eco Church award from A Rocha UK, recognising our commitment to sustainability across church life. The Eco Church framework helps churches manage their buildings and land responsibly while integrating creation care into worship and teaching.

The framework that we adhere to falls under the following actions:

  • We learn the value of God’s creation through teaching, prayer and worship

  • We celebrate CreationTide in September but do not limit our teaching ton creation care to that

  • We support creation care through teaching e.g. Lent courses (which we did in 2017 and 2021 and have taken part in Making COP26 Count)

  • We mark Climate Sunday (which we have done since 2019)

We focus on sustainable building practices, including using eco-friendly materials in St Mary's Church Centre and auditing energy use every decade. Our buildings are energy-efficient, with green electricity, upgraded boilers, and bike racks. We minimise paper use, support Fairtrade, and avoid single-use plastics.

We also manage our land to support biodiversity, conducting wildlife surveys and enhancing habitats at St Mary's and St Peter’s. Our churchyards feature a “Let It Grow” zone, bat boxes, and a garden of remembrance, promoting both environmental care and local wildlife.

Through these efforts, we continue to prioritise the care of God's creation in both spiritual and practical ways.

Management of Church Buildings

  • We use sustainable materials in all new building work e.g. St Mary's Church Centre.

  • We audit our energy use every ten years (2010 & 2020).

  • We have taken measures to reduce heat loss and upgraded our boilers.

  • We are using the Energy Footprint Tool in our parish returns.

  • We consume green electricity and gas.

  • We have installed bike racks.

Management of Land

  • We have conducted wildlife surveys - including plants, bugs, bats and reptiles - often taking part in Churches Count on Nature. Five species of bat have been identified flying around St Mary's, and our south porch has been a registered natterer's bat roost. 

  • St Peter's has some relatively uncommon species such as betony, orchids, grasshoppers and dark bush crickets. We have taken BBOWT advice in managing their habitat.

  • In the chalkpit, which is adjacent to a small nature reserve, we have added a garden of remembrance, put bat boxes onto trees and spotted woodpeckers and tree creepers.

  • We work to improve the biodiversity of all of our land, for example the “Let It Grow” zones both St Mary's and St Peter’s churchyards.

Lifestyle

  • We have been a Fairtrade Church since 1997 and provide Fairtrade coffee, tea and sugar.

  • We try to minimise our use of paper in services and communications, in favour of an audio-visual system and emails.

  • We provide recycled toilet paper in our toilets, all but one of which have automatically controlled lighting.

  • We do our best to avoid single-use plastic and have Affiliate Status with Twyford Rethinks its Plastic.

Community & Global Engagement

  • In June 2010, a talk by Sir John Houghton was the catalyst for transition initiatives in our community, including a communal orchard, two nature reserves, an Apple Day at which we ran a stand, and sessions on renewable energy at St Mary's which encouraged some residents to install solar panels.

  • We manage the Mill Green conservation area adjacent to St Mary's for the benefit of the community.

  • We have engaged children in Bible-based wildlife activities, for example at Knowl Hill Academy and in summer holiday clubs.

  • We lead monthly rambles open to all. In July 2021, we supported the YCCN relay walk from Cornwall to Glasgow by organising a tributary to meet it as it passed through our parish.

  • Globally, we support agencies that work for people and planet, primarily Tearfund, Fairtrade and, until they sadly had to close in January 2023, Traidcraft.

  • We have also donated to A Rocha UK and sponsored a water borehole in Kenya through the Maasai Evangelical Alliance.