Earlier in the year, Great Malvern Priory achieved their Silver Eco Church Award.
The work was led by the Priory Environmental Group, who looked at every aspect of Priory life from an eco-perspective. They have continued many of the things put in place to achieve their Bronze award in 2022, including articles in the Priory magazine to raise awareness of environmental issues, an Environment Group tip of the month on the weekly notice sheet to encourage ethical or sustainable behaviour, wildlife surveys in the churchyard and installing a water butt at Church House.
To achieve Silver, the group has also strengthened the Priory’s eco credentials in other ways. They have worked with the local council to establish a wildflower area in the churchyard and developed a Land Management Plan, built a bug hotel in Church House garden, introduced a sustainable flower policy for the flower arrangers and organised a Book and Games Swap in church during Big Green Week.
They have also made sure to include the wider congregation with an annual Environment Day service, setting up a display board to raise awareness of the availability of Fairtrade products and reinstating a board for communal Christmas cards. They have updated the eco information on the Priory’s website and also organised a lifestyle survey among members of the congregation, which was completed by 218 people!
The group are now encouraging the Buildings and Grounds Committee to consider the possibilities of generating renewable energy on their premises, for example through solar panels, and the Priory is currently applying for a faculty to install an air source heat pump having installed underfloor heating in the nave.
The Silver Eco-Church Award is part of A Rocha UK’s Eco Church programme, which gives a framework to help churches take practical action to care for God’s earth. In order to achieve a particular award, churches need to demonstrate that the required standard had been reached in five areas - worship and teaching, land, buildings, community and global engagement, and lifestyle.
Each Eco-Church level builds on the previous one, so having achieved Bronze and Silver, the Priory is now aiming for Gold!
We would love more churches to get involved in the Eco Church Award Scheme. Find out more information here and do get in touch if you need support with any aspect of the scheme.
