Love your burial ground week and churches count on nature runs from Saturday 7 – Sunday 15 June. It’s a week dedicated to celebrating our churchyards and the biodiversity which can found there. Many churches will be organising events to mark the week and from history talks to wildlife surveys, there will be something for everyone!
St Peter’s Church in Pedmore have a number of ways in which people can get involved with this week. They have put together activity sheets which families can use to do grave or bark rubbing, hunt for bugs, write a prayer or do a quiz. They have bug boxes with a magnifier for people to borrow, and children can plant a sunflower or wildflowers in a pot to take home to grow. All the materials will be available in the Lychgate or on a table in the churchyard for people to do whenever they are able.
Pauline Rollason has organised the activities at the church. She said: “We are advertising our plans at the local primary school so the children can come and enjoy the activites, and our local Beavers and Scouts also enjoy taking part each year! This year, participants can download the iNaturalist App to record what they find and help them to identify different species.”
Using the iNaturalist app means every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. The findings are shared with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to help scientists find and use the data collected.
Other things happening around the Diocese for Love Your Burial Ground Week and Churches Count on Nature include:
- At St Andrew’s Church in Ombersley, children from the local school will take part in activities, including a bug hunt with the early years age groups.
- Great Malvern Priory are planning a plant count during the week.
- At Hanley Castle there will be a nature trail round the churchyard. Trail guides, spotter books and identification sheets will all be available in the church.
- St Stephen’s Church in Worcester are planning a nature count of the wildlife and plants
- St Mary’s Church in Ripple are offering a History and Nature Tour on 15 June from 3 – 4pm.
Love your Burial Ground
Week is a celebratory week which has been running for many years. Caring for God’s Acre has been encouraging all who help to look after churchyards, chapel yards and cemeteries to celebrate these fantastic places in the lovely month of June – in any way you choose. There have been history talks, picnics, volunteering work parties and even abseiling teddy bears!
Churches Count on Nature 2025 runs at the same time as Love Your Burial Ground Week, and focuses on the brilliant wildlife to be found in churchyards and chapel yards. It is a joint initiative promoted by Caring for God’s Acre, the Church of England, the Church in Wales and A Rocha UK.
Find a map of all events taking place at: www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk/view/view-events-25/
