Eco Church working party at All Saints CofE Church, Appley BridgeWe are moving towards the Silver Eco award from the A Rocha Eco Church Awards scheme, and on Sunday June 25th a large group of the church family and friends did a massive job in the churchyard, including tree husbandry, grave plot refurbishment, wildlife refuge building, bird box installation, raised bed creation and planting fruit bushes along the boundary fence line. This was followed by a well timed picnic <a></a>lunch in church as the rain came hammering down.Thanks to everyone who took part. Thanks also to Sarah Mapple for the photographs, David Mapple for generous donation of essentials for the work: Crisps, Biscuits and Water Bottles, and Mark Atherton for the essential spade!The work was done according to the principles of the A Rocha scheme, namely Being Good Stewards of God’s Earth.1. Reduce wasteHome made compost was used, donated water butts installation started (to reduce mains water used for watering plants etc)2. ReuseOld food containers have been used to grow blackcurrant, blackberry and raspberry plants to form a new hedge line on the boundary, also used for growing herbs for the raised beds.3. RecycleTwo donated nest boxes installed on churchyard trees.4. MeasureWe increased biodiversity by providing new homes for plants and animals: the habitats are logpile, scrub (uncut) grass, mown grass, shady areas under trees, a new rockery, and a new raised bed.
The photo shows some of the scaffolding which was erected to facilitate the completion of repairs to the church roof recently. We are very grateful to Whitemoss Community Fund for a generous grant which enabled us to undertake this work: it is now complete and the scaffolding has gone.So many people in the Appley Bridge Community benefit from using our church building in the week: Moo Music, a parents’ and toddlers’ music group; Hartbeeps, another toddler group; two pilates groups; All Saints’ School; Little Saints’ Playgroup; and, of course, our own church congregation. All are grateful for leak free a building!
Eco ♻️ Award: All Saints’ church has been confirmed as the recipient of the A Rocha Eco Church Bronze award 🥉after the work done on the churchyard. 👍 A plaque for display in church is on its way to us, and of course we are continuing to make plans to achieve the silver 🥈award, and indeed in good time the gold 🥇award. Our aim is to make All Saints’ into a beacon church in our community for environmentally friendly activity and provide opportunities for all people to engage in and learn about caring for God’s creation. A big thank you especially to the working party that did so much in the church garden. Watch this space for our next working party shortly!Our next phase will involve looking at and implementing ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint at All Saints, including things like car sharing for journeys to and from church (could you offer a regular lift to another member of the family??) Check out the attached CofE checklist (see attached). Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with all of us in the All Saints’ family. We have never been more conscious of the need to reduce our impact on the planet – everyone can do their bit, and the time for us is NOW!Share your thoughts via email to mark.ashley@blackburn.anglican.org
