St Hilda's Church, Bilsdale Priory St Hilda's Church Bilsdale Priory is registered as an Eco Church and we have received the Bronze Award from A Roche UK for addressing 5 key areas. One of the 5 key stages is Management of Church Land which we are addressing at the moment. We have cared for the Church yard, the wild flowers, grasses, wild life including small animals, birds and insects for a few years now so we welcome this new initiative of Eco Church. It is a large church yard surrounded by trees and a stone wall. It is a haven for wild flowers so the grass was cut once last year when the wild flowers had gone back. We try to keep some set aside for butterflies etc. A small team from St Hilda's congregation are carrying out a survey of wild flowers and grasses in the church yard, this is to commemorate King Charles's Coronation. In the spring the church yard is awash with daffodils and snow drops. A survey of the trees was performed by an arboricultural consultant in 2021 which shows the different types of trees in the Church yard and which may need attention. With a grant from North York Moors National Park last year, we were able to have the surrounding church yard wall repaired in places that needed attention. Recently a new Owl box replaced the old rotten one. However, the Barn Owls seem to prefer the Church porch! There are new blue tit boxes on most trees, thank you from locals who bought some for us at the Owl evening a few months ago. Swallows have nested in the porch for years and years so we have to take steps to catch their droppings which can be a lot once the youngsters have hatched. We do this by putting cardboard on the porch stone flags. In the Church yard it is a haven for small animals and insects and we have a sign for them which reads on the outside: 'Small animal and insect winter home, please wipe your feet on way in, all welcome'. Where St Hilda's church is situated, near the hamlet of Urra, Chop Gate, it is so tranquil and peaceful, especially on a hot summer's day, there are benches for visitors to sit and walkers are often seen eating their refreshments. However, in the winter it is cold and often windy but it is still a great place to visit and very picturesque especially when there is snow on the ground
