Churchyards and graveyards are important refuges for wildlife while also encapsulating the history of our community. Their management for wildlife needs to be balanced with the other values and uses, past a present : the Wildlife Trust Churchyard Conservation Awards encourage the management of these spaces for the benefit of all species, including us. St James's churchyard has a Wildlife Trusts Bronze Award, through the Northants Churchyard Conservation Scheme.

Monthly Wildlife blogs

We produce regular 'Wildlife by the month' nature notes on what you might see in and around the churchyards. Recent 'blogs' include:

• February 2026: Shadows of spring - weather forecasting at Candlemas, and  Starlings and drugs
• January 2026: New Year winter flowers (survey week) and Joy Illimited - song thrushes

If you'd like to get the latest blog when it is released, follow St James's Gretton on Facebook.

All our past blogs - nearly two years' worth - have been combined into one document : 'Wildlife by the month blogs'

Our surveys and plans:

• Our wild churchyard - some background, maps and lists - inclduing surveys of plants and animals
• Biodiversity plan, 2025-26 - our wildlife priorities for the coming year
• Grass cutting and wildflowers plans, 2025 (upper churchyard)
• Churchyard questionnaire - giving villagers and visitors a voice on how we can improve the churchyard for all users
• Guide to the church and a walk around the churchyard.

Posters (that have been up in the church) about:

• Bats - we have several species of bats flying around the churchyard, along with our own colony of soprano pipstrelles in the porch
• Wild flowers - Around 100 species of wild flowering plants, grasses and trees have been recorded in the churchyard
• Moths - a summary from 2023 and list of macromoths identified
• Some background to our churchyard wildlife.

Useful external websites:

• Caring for God's Acre charity for Protecting Wildlife, Preserving Heritage, Involving People providing information on the history and natural history of church yards
• Church of England's advice on wildlife in churchyards which can be surprisingly rich in nature
• Rockingham Forest Vision - connecting local communities to the natural and cultural heritage of Rockingham Forest and raising its local and national profile; connecting the core remaining wooded areas with enriched biodiverse landscapes.