Bishop Martin recently attended the first conference for the Sustainable Church Flowers movement, held in the Chapel Royal at St James’ Palace.
Sustainable Church Flowers (SCF) was founded in 2019 in the parish of Harpley in our diocese and is spreading throughout the Church of England and beyond. Members are passionate about the sustainability of the flowers used in our churches and cathedrals and are gently campaigning for change, encouraging churches to move away from the use of floral foam (oasis) and use flowers grown locally without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides.
The conference was held in St James’ Chapel with advocates of SCF welcomed by Sub-Dean of the Chapel Royal, Canon Paul Wright, whose wife is a flower arranger and supporter of the Sustainable Church Flowers movement. Those present heard from members of the committee who explained the scientific and theological basis of sustainable flowers and were treated to a demonstration of flower arranging from Shane Connolly, who was responsible for the flowers for HM the King’s Coronation.
Bishop Martin said: “It is a joy to be here with you today. Flowers have always been a part of church life and sustainability is a really important issue. The Sustainable Church Flowers movement is wonderful, thank you all for coming and showing your support.”
Dr Jill Timms is senior lecturer in Sociology at the University of Surrey and has undertaken significant research into the environmental impact of the floriculture sector. She said: “Often people aren’t aware of the issues with flowers. A bunch of supermarket flowers can sometimes have a bigger carbon footprint the entirety of the rest of the shop! By working with flowers that are locally grown, we can make a huge difference environmentally and the more we have these conversations, the quicker things will change.”
During his demonstration, Shane Connolly reflected on his experience of working with the flower arrangers at Worcester Cathedral and what he had learnt from them. He said: “I discovered that one of the key issues when not working with floral foam is the weight of a bucket of water. However, there are many other different containers which could be used, it’s a case of looking around for what works on the stands that churches currently have.” Shane demonstrated using chicken wire or a nest of old twigs in a bowl as well as a hand-tied bouquet of flowers.
Find out more about Sustainable Church Flowers at https://suschurchflowers.com.
