Adrienne Hughes, Eco-champion at St Michael & All Angels, Flax Bourton, shares some of their Eco Church journey to Gold.  I’m sure you are aware that a successful journey relies on careful planning and the right footwear! When the Flax Bourton Church Team started out on the journey to Eco Church Bronze back in 2022, we did a little planning but mainly wandered about in metaphorical flip-flops, letting a dandelion grow here and there, whilst sipping our Fairtrade coffee and dreaming of a greener church! However, a few months later, with the Bronze award under our belt, we put our best foot forward (in our gardening boots) and started work in the churchyard. Lots of people helped us with this project so that today we have, amongst other things, a bodged bench, herb planters, crab-apple trees, hazel fence and climbing plants. We also added all sorts of homes and feeding places for a host of creatures. Biodiversity surveys indicate an increase in the number of species that can be found in our churchyard, which is great news.  Success with a Silver award in late 2023 inspired us to put on our running shoes and set bigger goals to achieve, such …

We were encouraged to hear this recent story of two churches supporting each other on their Eco Church journeys. Priory Church of St Mary’s Usk, who are working towards their Gold Eco Church award, paid a visit to St Peter’s Church in Henleaze, Bristol, who achieved Gold in 2024, to see what they could learn. They even travelled to another country to do so – travelling from south east Wales down to Bristol – okay, so not that far in reality!  We spoke to both churches to see how the visit went and what they discovered along the way. Carol from Priory Church of St Mary’s, Usk, shared: “We spent a lovely morning at St Peter’s Church, Henleaze, where we received a warm welcome from Rev Mark Pilgrim and Clare Fussell, and also her fabulous two year old daughter! We were very impressed with how they have used their limited amount of land, with a wildflower garden, the five-storey bug hotel and pond. Indoors, we gained many ideas about further recycling, especially candles, and will be contacting a local candle maker as a result. Since the visit, we have already instigated a wool swap, and it is proving very popular. …

Churches Count on Nature (CCoN) is an annual scheme where people visit church and chapel yards and record the plant and animal species they encounter. Often, this land is home to precious biodiverse habitats and managing them for people and nature is important. Churches across all denominations in England and Wales can register to participate from 16th March 2026, and CCoN 2026 will run from 6-14 June.  If you don’t have a churchyard or graveyard, you can still participate by connecting with another local church that does. Or maybe you could get a local school or wildlife group involved? Inspiration from churches who hosted a Churches Count on Nature event in previous years St Anne’s, Penparcau, Aberystwyth Eco Church does take you to some strange and interesting places, but I’d never imagined that it would lead me to a church committee meeting where I would be asking for permission to build a sunbed …for reptiles …at church. You can imagine the looks that I got!   So, how did I end up there, and was I successful? Well, in spring 2023, St Anne’s, Penparcau, Aberystwyth, already held a bronze Eco Church award. As we worked towards silver, we were starting to …