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Caring for God’s Acre is a small independent charity which offers the following support to community groups:
- Advice and information on churchyard management e.g. grassland, trees, stonework
- Site visits and management plans
- Informative illustrated talks
- Caring for God’s Acre Action Pack and Mow a Meadow DVD for sale
- Advice on grants and grant applications
- Training courses
Churchyards are very special places because they often contain a rich diversity of plants and animals. They are also important places for archaeology and history, revealing evidence of the past and documenting the lives of people who have lived and worked in the parish.
BIODIVERSITY IN CHURCHYARDS
The word “biodiversity” means all species of plants and animals and the ecosystems of which they are part. It includes the commonplace species which we see in our local area, urban or rural, as well as those which are critically endangered.
Churchyards, many being ancient sites, unaltered for hundreds of years, contain a rich variety of habitats. Of particular importance as Priority Habitats in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) are the stonework, walls and gravestones and their fascinating and often rare collections of lichens and mosses, ancient grassland which has been untouched by artificial fertilisers and pesticides, hedgerows, and veteran trees such as ancient yews. Many of the plants, fungi and animals from micro-moths to mammals, which are often found in ancient churchyards are UKBAP Priority Species.
Newer churchyards and cemeteries in urban areas can also be of great biodiversity importance to species such as swift, starling, house sparrow and song thrush, and their semi-natural habitats are essential in the ecological quality and connectivity of the urban environment.
Although your local churchyard or burial ground may only be “an acre”, there are tens of thousands of “acres” of potential value for biodiversity around the UK. Churchyards can be sensitively managed to benefit both people and wildlife.
Above all, churchyards provide a focus for community activity and are a peaceful, tranquil place for quiet reflection.