Wildlife support scheme for village church

PLANS to make a Dilton Marsh church more environmentally friendly by transforming the churchyard into a natural meadow are underway.

Holy Trinity Church is aiming to attain an Eco Church Bronze Award, and has already made a number of changes to its churchyard, including the installation of nest boxes, a compost bin, and marking off areas to create wildflower meadows.

The church says, “The village will soon start to see a few changes in the churchyard that surrounds the beautiful 19th Century church as plans are drawn up to create and incorporating nature-friendly areas. 

“So far several nest boxes have been installed, made of recycled wood, and areas have been marked off to create wildflower meadows by leaving the grass to grow to see what else is naturally growing in that area.

“It is then they will introduce native wildflower seed mixes, according to what is needed. So, if you see some parts of the churchyard looking slightly more unkempt than normal, it is because nature and wildlife are the focus, not cost cutting! 

“When you are dividing your spring bulbs, cowslips or native primroses and find you have excess, please get in touch with the church because they could make use of them!

“The churchyard is also registered with the British Trust for Ornithology’s ‘Garden Birdwatch’ scheme, a project that surveys the amount of wildlife in the registered area.

“The congregation of Holy Trinity Church, Dilton Marsh have been exploring how to care for creation as an integral part of loving their neighbours and following God faithfully and have enrolled to become an Eco Church. 

“They have undertaken a survey to looks at how we are caring for God’s earth in different areas of the life and work of the church. The survey takes into account whether or not the church had buildings or land, and things such as whether they served Fairtrade tea and coffee for refreshments; whether they had a wildflower area, bird boxes; how green we were; whether there are signs to switch off lights when not in use and many other questions.

“The survey itself looks at five key areas of church life, worship and teaching, management of church buildings, management of church land, community and global engagement and lifestyle. First results show that the church will soon be applying for a bronze award.”