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Category: Wildlife

God’s Acre

16th December 2020

I am in my local Parish Churchyard, St. Marys, Bromfield. The weather is mild, breezy and threatening rain but the flowering Ivy on the Scots Pine on the left of the gate is humming with insects, mainly Honeybees, assorted flies and a few wasps. The sweet scent of the Ivy flowers wafts in the humid […]

Bioblitz at St John’s Churchyard

22nd July 2020

Over the years we have been encouraging groups to undertake a bioblitz in their burial ground. A bioblitz is a period of biological surveying (often over 24hours) which attempts to record as many species as possible within a set area. It is usually organised by a local conservation group or the community who bring in […]

Hazel dormice hold on in biodiverse churchyards

23rd June 2020

Guest blog post written by Sam Devine-Turner, Mammal Detective and Chair of Shropshire Dormouse Group With a decline of 50% since the year 2000, the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius is disappearing from the British countryside at an alarming rate. Not only are their numbers dwindling, but they have become extinct in 17 counties since 1885 […]

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 […]

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 […]