Environmental issues, Biodiversity, Net Zero Carbon, Archaeology

BIODIVERSITY

Plants and animals are essential for sustaining the ecosystems that give us food, fuel, health and wealth.

As Christians we are called to care for our God-given creation. Churches and their churchyards are an important part of the diverse natural habitat of England.

This page on the ChurchCare website has a wealth of advice and information to help you care for your church and churchyard: Biodiversity

GETTING TO NET ZERO

The Church of England is running a series of webinars designed to support and equip you to reach the Church's ambitious "net zero carbon" emissions target. Topics include choosing the best heating solution for your church, what to consider when replacing your heating or lighting system, simple steps to reduce energy bills, management of church lighting and solar PV panels. For full details of topics, dates and how to book, go to:

Webinars on getting to Net Zero Carbon

If you miss the webinars, they are available to view online afterwards. Highly recommended is the webinar 'Conservation pitfalls and how to avoid them, en route to Net Zero Carbon' by Tobit Curteis, Architectural Conservator. The webinar covered:

• some of the conservation pitfalls that projects often encounter, when trying to make environmental changes to historic buildings, and how to avoid them,
• questions people can ask themselves at the very beginning of a project, which will help get projects on the right track,
• examples of changes which can be made that are good environmentally and good for the conservation of historic buildings / interiors.

There is a link to the recording on this page: Webinars on getting to Net Zero Carbon

Carbon footprint, energy and buildings

To calculate your church's energy emissions, use the Energy Footprint Tool (EFT) and carbon calculator on this page: dioceseofyork.org.uk/running-your-church/environment/carbon-footprint-energy-and-buildings/

FIRE AND FLOOD - PROTECTING YOUR CHURCH

Protecting your church from wildfire

With average temperatures increasing year on year the incidences of wildfires affecting communities are likely to increase. The Church of England has issued guidance on how to balance keeping areas of long grass in a churchyard to encourage biodiversity whilst also ensuring that such areas do not provide fuel for the fire. Here is a link to the webpage PROTECTING A CHURCH FROM WILDFIRE and the case study MANAGING GRASSLAND TO REDUCE THE RISK OF WILDFIRE

Creating a flood resilient church building

At the other end of the spectrum, climate change is causing more and more sudden and catastrophic flooding. Here is a link to the Church of England's guidance on CREATING A FLOOD RESILIENT CHURCH BUILDING and the CASE STUDY

TRENCH ARCH DRAINAGE SYSTEMS

Trench arch drainage systems may be introduced into rural churchyards as a possible solution for churches wishing to install WC and kitchen facilities where suitable mains drainage does not exist. Such a system will always require faculty permission.

You should seek your church architect's advice as to whether or not such a system would be an appropriate solution for your church. You will need to consider:

• the amount of land required
• the effect of such a system on existing graves
• the effect that such a system may have on the space available for future burials
• whether the system is strong enough to withstand the passage over it of vehicular traffic (especially if the system lies under roads, tracks or paths)
• whether an archaeological watching brief is required.

A report by Oxford Archaeology South for Historic England 'Assessing the Impact of Trench Arch Drainage Systems on Archaeological Remains in Churchyards' (August 2016) contains a useful summary of Historic England's recommendations on the installation of new trench arch drainage systems. You can find it HERE.

[Page updated 22nd June 2023]