Caring For God's Acre > About Us > News & Blog > 2019

Year: 2019

Dancing with Bees at the Caring for God’s Acre AGM!

4th September 2019

AGM Tuesday 12th of November 1.30pm the Bishop’s Palace, Hereford Dancing with Bees This year we are delighted to welcome Brigit Strawbridge Howard to our AGM where she will give an illustrated talk on the wonderful world of bees. Brigit is a naturalist, wildlife gardener, bee advocate and has just released her book ‘Dancing with […]

24 Hours in the Churchyard

23rd August 2019

A guest blog by Julie Howarth from St Editha’s Church, Church Eaton, Staffordshire. On 15th June, in St Editha’s churchyard, we undertook a bold project as part of ‘Love Your Burial Ground’ week in conjunction with the project run by Caring for God’s Acre. Jacqui Hodgkinson and myself pitched camp behind the church at 10a.m. […]

National Biodiversity Network Awards for Wildlife Recording

15th July 2019

One of our key partners in the Beautiful Burial Ground Project – The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) are running awards for Wildlife Recording. The awards were developed in 2015 by the National Biodiversity Network Trust, the National Forum for Biological Recording and the Biological Records Centre to celebrate the achievements of individuals and groups in the wildlife recording sector. […]

A cast of thousands

4th June 2019

Guest blog by Keith Fowler, leader of Joy of Wildlife group. Longden Road Cemetery, Wednesday 22nd May 2019 Remember those films that boasted “Cast of 1000s” as part of their advertising? Yes? Well we had our own version of this for our visit to the cemetery at Longden Road in Shrewsbury. Not literally 1000’s, more […]

Swallows, House Martins and Swifts – Birds of summer that need our buildings

9th May 2019

Guest blog post written by Peta Sams from Shropshire Swift Group The saying “One Swallow doesn’t make a summer” may, literally, have been disproved this year!  Certainly the very hot days over the Easter holiday has made it feel like as though we have moved to summer and spring has now gone. I saw my […]

Hedgehogs in burial grounds

9th May 2019

Guest blog post by Hugh Warwick, Ecologist, Writer and Communications Officer for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society The graveyard on North Ronaldsay is, like the island, fairly small. The drystone wall surrounds the upright head stones – giving some protection from the wind that is a very constant companion on this, the most northerly of […]

A little bird told me – New evidence supports the work of those caring for churchyards!

27th March 2019

Guest blog post by Kayleigh Hunt – BSc Zoology graduate and churchyard management advocate. As our world becomes ever more urbanised and agricultural practices more intensive, it is important that our pockets of green space are protected and preserved. Churchyards can often be the only remaining unimproved green area within fragmented landscapes and therefore have […]

A Graveyard Matter

13th March 2019

Guest blog by Chris Riley from Cressage, Shropshire As a recent incomer to Cressage, I have wanted to involve myself usefully with local people in the local community. Then I saw that our churchyard was to receive a visit from the charity Caring for God’s Acre. This organisation, based in Craven Arms, helps maintain and […]

Yellow Rattle – guest blog post by Nick Mann, Director of Habitat Aid

5th March 2019

Yellow Rattle, Rhinanthus minor Yellow Rattle, or Hay Rattle, or Cockscomb, used to be a common plant of short grassland. The rattle of its delicate disc like seeds was traditionally a harbinger of the harvest. It’s a pretty annual wildflower and is still found across the UK, including Highland Machair. We think there are at least […]

Churchyard crosses, especially in Herefordshire

25th February 2019

Guest blog by Judith Leigh – Trustee, Caring for God’s Acre and member of Diocesan Advisory Committees  Historic churchyard crosses are often overlooked by visitors to churches, but they are likely to be the largest structures in a churchyard. There are important, rare, examples from the early Christian period but the more familiar ones date […]

Birds in Burial Grounds Part 2: How to improve burial grounds for birds

25th January 2019

Guest blog by John Arnfield – Chair, Shropshire Ornithological Society     If you have a list of birds seen in your burial ground we would love to hear from you – contact liam@cfga.org.uk or pop to our ‘Share your records’ page.

Birds in Burial Grounds Part 1

25th January 2019

Guest blog by John Arnfield, Chair of Shropshire Ornithological Society If you have a list of birds seen in your burial ground we would love to hear from you – contact liam@cfga.org.uk or pop to our ‘Share your records’ page.