Webinars – Summer 2025

This webinar will help you get started with planning management of your churchyard, cemetery or chapel yard, providing a simple structure to aid decision making. It will cover consideration of people, wildlife and heritage, finding a way through often conflicting ideas and priorities on how best to manage these special places. You will also receive tips on engaging the wider community and hopefully generating new volunteers.

Harriet Carty, from the conservation charity Caring for God’s Acre is a seasoned ecologist with a passion for wildlife. From the Seychelles to the Orkney Islands, she’s worked on nature reserves, focusing on land management. landscape-scale habitat restoration, volunteering and training. Harriet has been working for Caring for God’s Acre for ten years and has been director of the charity since January 2017.  

This webinar will cover Eco Church’s wider work, the online survey, and recent changes that encourage churches of all sizes, locations and denominations to care for nature all year round, whether they directly manage land or not. Hear stories about Eco Churches making a difference for nature and people, and be inspired to re-envision your church’s interaction with nature.

Helen Stephens is Church Relations Manager at A Rocha UK where she has overseen the growth of the Eco Church programme for over seven years. She worked for her Vicar before joining ARUK and also has a background in the telecommunications industry including in corporate responsibility. Delyth Higgins has been Eco Church Officer for Wales for just over three years. Previously she worked with Renew Wales, both as a local coordinator and then as Communications Officer, and before that, worked in various community development and environmental community engagement roles in the Swansea area for nearly 15 years.

Managing a churchyard for biodiversity doesn’t mean letting everything go wild – far from it! Speakers from churchyards as far apart as South Shropshire and the Lincolnshire Wolds talk about how they have approached managing their churchyards, bringing other people on board with their vision and the day to day practicalities. They will discuss some of the challenges and share the positives in terms of encouraging more understanding of biodiversity and providing opportunities for the local community to share in the churchyard.

Isabel and Mike Carter both studied Plant Sciences at university and worked for many years in international development, teaching agriculture in Papua New Guinea and working with farmers in Kenya.  Since retiring they’ve renewed their interest in the natural sciences, surveying local fauna and flora, and getting involved in the practical management of local nature reserves. 

Ruth Russell-Jones is sole churchwarden at St Helena’s Church in Willoughby [in a group of churches in the fifth year of vacancy] on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. Ruth works on the premise that ‘church’ is as much in the churchyard as in the building; she is endlessly fascinated by the biodiversity at St Helena’s.

Maiya will introduce the amphibians and reptiles likely to be found within churchyards and cemeteries. This talk will cover where and when to look for them, how to identify them, looking after the animals that are present including legal protections and also how to improve a site for both groups.

Maiya Evans is chair of Nottinghamshire Amphibian and Reptile Group with her main role being training members in surveying and Identification as well as an intern for ARGUK. She has surveyed amphibians and reptiles for 8 years and still continues to enjoy every minute! 

Helen James will chair a discussion about accessibility in churchyards in its widest form, with a panel of people with lived experience or professional expertise. As well as addressing aspects of physical accessibility, the discussion will include topics such as sensory overload and how to communicate that these are places that welcome everybody. 

Helen James is the Project Manager for the Disability Project 2024, an initiative funded by the National Church to promote and enhance the accessibility, inclusion and participation of Deaf and disabled people across all areas of our Church’s life. Helen lives on the sunny south coast, and loves travelling by bike and train!

Jeanette Appleton is a retired occupational therapist; a member of General Synod’s Committee for Ministry of and among Deaf and Disabled People and a member of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Disability Inclusion group.

Claire Strachan has been working in the heritage sector for over 20 years and is currently the Church Buildings Projects Officer for the Diocese of Coventry. She has a keen passion for the role that the heritage and nature in churchyards can play in connecting people to these special places. Claire’s commitment to accessibility and inclusivity is driven by her personal experience as parent to her brilliant 10-year-old ‘neurospicy’ son, which fuels her dedication to creating welcoming and inclusive environments for everyone.