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Lichfield Diocese Lychgate Autumn / Winter 2019 Churchyard Award Scheme We appreciate the hard work of volunteers across the diocese in caring for our churchyards. Since 1993, the Churchyard Award Scheme has encouraged parishes to take care of the sacred grounds which surround our church buildings. Our churchyards offer comfort and solace to those remembering loved ones, and can be a place where people encounter God in beauty, peace, and silence. The Scheme is free to join. A panel of volunteer judges visit through the summer, prior an award ceremony in the autumn. There is a separate certificate for places Sign up to our where diversity of native flora and fauna is actively promoted. Through the Scheme, advice is shared and e-newsletter achievements celebrated. This year over 40 churches If you would like to receive our quarterly e-newsletters, participated, urban and rural, large and small, all please send us your e-mail address or sign up directly receiving diocesan recognition for their care of God’s on our website. Each issue contains short articles with Acre. links to current news in burial ground conservation. Application forms and further details are available at www.lichfield.anglican.org/churchyard_awards @ The Church of England around Staffordshire, northern Shropshire and the Black Country Lichfield Diocese Lychgate Autumn / Winter 2019 In 2020 Caring for God’s Acre will be 20 years the people we meet; working old. Throughout this time, we have been raising away in their own ‘patch,’ awareness about how brilliant burial grounds are giving us inspiration. Please and supporting those fantastic people who manage help us to celebrate our 20th them, usually on a voluntary basis. birthday. Join in with The It’s thanks for you, our members that we are still Year of the Burial Ground; tell here, still doing this vital work and growing in our people about Caring for God’s capacity and influence with every passing year. It’s Acre and keep supporting not always been easy, (the current economic situation and encouraging us! is particularly challenging), but it’s always been fascinating, with the enthusiasm and commitment of itinerary – inspiring attendees to Run an event as part of Love your investigate and record in burial Burial Ground Week Year of the grounds and show how records can Sure to be the biggest yet – the be used to help with management second week of June. Burial Ground decisions and interpretation. Enter our Photographic More details to be released later this competition 2020 year but in the meantime, here are More details to be released in the dates for your diary: 2020 will be the 20th Anniversary December. Thursday March 12th of Caring for God’s Acre and we Use the year to raise the profile of National Museum, Cardiff are celebrating with a ‘Year of the your own burial ground Thursday March 26th Burial Ground’. Contact us for press release The Circle, Sheffield During the year we will be templates and ideas for articles to • Enjoy our detailed monthly blog partnering with experts and go into your local newsletters. posts from experts in the field organisations to raise the profile Join us on social media From memorials to migrating birds, and celebrate the unique heritage visit our website or sign up to our Using the hashtag within these special sites. e-newsletter to learn fascinating #yearoftheburialground so we can There will be many ways of facts about all things burial ground make contact, retweet and see what becoming involved: related. you are up to. • Attend one of our conferences • Submit your wildlife sightings If you want to be involved please We have organised two ‘Beautiful To our new Beautiful Burial Ground e-mail Prue and she will e-mail Burial Ground’ conferences in database and look up what wildlife you our Year of the Burial Ground March. These days will bring is in a burial ground near you! Information Pack later this year – together experts for a packed [email protected] , 01588 673041 Love your Burial Ground Week - 24 hours in the Churchyard Written by Julie Howarth from St Editha’s Churchyard, Church Eaton On 15th June, in St Editha’s churchyard, we feathered visitors, spider around for the last time undertook a bold project as part of ‘Love Your Burial web traps, memory cards and gathered our things Ground’ week in conjunction with the Beautiful for the day, ladybird and at 10 a.m. on Sunday Burial Ground project run by Caring for God’s Acre. hotels and much more. 16th June, we completed We welcomed during our 24 hour vigil and what the day a local amateur a superb time it was- time photographer who took out to observe, listen hundreds of shots at (to the dawn chorus), different times of the day meet, chat and share. An and night and we look unforgettable day when forward to perhaps an we learned so much more exhibition of photos at a about our churchyard to later date. take us forward into the Another part of our future planning – mission amazing day involved an accomplished! outdoor service at 3p.m. Please see our displays in outside with more than the church. 12 of us singing songs Thank God for our and hymns about nature beautiful world. as well as reading poems followed by homemade Julie Jacqui Hodgkinson and in flora, fauna and even scones, tea and coffee- myself pitched camp the 150 species of U.K. what a fabulous behind the church at dandelion! We spotted act of celebration 10a.m. on Saturday and logged 57 varieties and community. morning and set up our of creature and following Following our stall – a day and night’s a visit by knowledgeable night-time worth of activities for friends, a list was later vigil, the 8a.m. all ages to celebrate made of 42 different service on our churchyard and wildflowers in our Sunday morning to connect with the churchyard, all proof that was really well community. Luckily, it our burial ground is home attended by was market day in Church to a vast variety of species regulars and other Eaton, so after shopping of flora and fauna and an supporters which and breakfast at the essential part of our local began outside in market in the Institute, environment. the churchyard visitors made their way During the day, using and continued over to see what we were binoculars and cameras, in church, all doing and to have a chat lard, cheese, bird seed, rounded off by and a look around. sticks, porridge oats and a warm bacon We had the most amazing variety of other stocks, we rolls and tea and day chatting to visitors, managed to photograph coffee after the taking walks around with and log our visitors, make service. Following people knowledgeable feeding stations for the this, we scouted Lichfield Diocese Lychgate Autumn / Winter 2019 Recording update In 2018 we launched our Burial Grounds recording form, making it easier for everybody to submit their biological records via our website. This spring and summer we were thrilled to see the form taken up by lots of enthusiastic recorders, so much so that we can only mention a fraction of those involved. Here is a glimpse of some birds, butterflies and of the highlights: bees to name but a few Shropshire county species groups, and we ecologist Dan Wrench saw records coming kicked off the year with in from Herefordshire, snowdrops in February, Northamptonshire followed up by a Great and Worcestershire in Spotted Woodpecker. particular. At the end of Three recorders did a May we ran a memorable spot of birdwatching BioBlitz at the wonderful in Norfolk; highlights York Cemetery, where we included Barn Owl and were joined by mammal, Little Owl. invertebrate, lichen and moss experts. I managed In March, one of our to make a brief visit to Shropshire volunteers Holy Trinity Goodramgate, Anna McCann, met a tiny churchyard with a hedgehog whilst providing some respite botanising at St Chad’s from the hustle and bustle in Montford. I took the of central York. opportunity presented by a March wedding to take a Our second BioBlitz of look around King Charles the year was held in June the Martyr in Newtown; at St Michael’s Lichfield, a site with botanical organised with the potential and deserving of indefatigable Ray Allen. a more in-depth survey. At We were supported by a Falmouth Cemetery, Kevin whole host of recorders, resulting in records for Thomas shared records to submit records almost weekly for 6 different types of bees whilst 126 different species, and bringing throughout 2019. Margaret the total for the churchyard up to an Richard Comont of the Bumblebee Markland and Jane Ing kindly Conservation Trust recorded a wide amazing 1,258. The Dartmoor based contributed to the Shropshire Moor Meadows group got stuck array of species groups at Wyche: Burial Grounds botany efforts and All Saints, Worcestershire, including into churchyards and together we a training day at Hopesay rewarded have encouraged churchwardens to plants, fungi, birds, insects, participants with Slowworms and crustaceans, and molluscs. manage areas of their churchyards both Smooth and Palmate Newts. as wildflower meadows. April saw records pouring in as As we came into May our local our conservation volunteers noted In August we received a record of volunteers continued to make a Grass snake from church warden species whilst out and about, records as did Tammy Stretton including plants, birds, amphibians Jim Logan of Bromfield, this species from Montgomeryshire Wildlife is known to use compost heaps and reptiles. Down by the seaside Trust who is recording in Welshpool Val Appleyard submitted the first for laying eggs (look out for empty Cemetery, now seen as a potential egg cases).