Welcome to the first EcoNews of 2025! Thank you for all you continue to do in your locality to ensure that we strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. | |
Next Eco Forum - save the date!
Sacred Spaces, Wild Places: an introduction to wildlife recording in your churchyard
Tue 20 May | 10am - 12:30pm | Norwich Cathedral
We're excited to offer our next in-person forum in partnership with Norfolk Wildlife Trust and Norwich Cathedral.
How can you start recording wildlife in your churchyard, what do you need, where do you send your records, and why is it important? In this session we will look at why this is an expression of our faith in action, how to get started with wildlife recording, why recording wildlife is so important for the long-term monitoring of your churchyard, and how you can get involved in national and regional citizen science projects.
This interactive workshop will also give you the opportunity to go out with an expert and have a go at recording either birds, plants or pollinators in the Cathedral grounds and neighbouring Bishop's Garden.
Cost: FREE, but booking essential as places will be limited to about 40.
Booking link to follow - please check the Diocese of Norwich website events listings/social media in due course.
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Coat of Hopes in our Diocese | |
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The Coat of Hopes is a patchwork pilgrim coat, on an ongoing walk through Britain. Made, worn and walked by many hundreds of people during and since the pilgrimage on which it was created from the south coast of England to the gates of COP 26, the UN climate summit, in Glasgow. It arrived in our Diocese in King's Lynn last month (see story here) and is now in Norwich. It is an amazing learning experience - do try to get to one of the following venues to view it and where possible, try it on, before it heads on to Lowestoft from 22 March.
FRIDAY 28 FEB, 7.30PM, ST GILES, INTERFAITH EVENT
- with a talk from a pilgrim, the opportunity to see the coat and also chat and enjoy refreshments together.
Sun 2 March - on display at Norwich Quaker Meeting House, Pottergate
3 & 4 March - at Town Close School, Norwich
5, 6, & 7 March - on display at the Hostry, Norwich Cathedral
8 March - at writing workshop, Norwich Quaker Meeting House
9 March - Octagon Chapel, Colegate Norwich
Churches open for Coat to be viewed & tried on:
Tue 11 March 9.30-12.30; St George, Tombland
Wed 12 March 10-1; St George, Colegate
Thur 13 March 10-1; St Giles on the Hill
Sat 15 March - Act Locally, Think Globally event at Norwich Quaker Meeting House
Sun 16 March - Norwich Quaker Meeting House
Mon 17 March - St Catherine's, Mile Cross
21 & 21 March - St Peter Mancroft, Norwich
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Clergy housing
The final element of our Housing demonstrator project has now been completed. The solar PV panels and battery storage system is up and running at the Rectory in Bradwell.
The Reverend Steve Deall and family have stoically endured having their home reconfigured during the cold months of winter with not only a complete heating refurbishment and Air Source heat pump system being fitted but also new triple glazed windows, a new roof and solar panels.
The works will hopefully bring the property up from an EPC rating of D to an A and reduce the CO2 emissions from 8.5 tonnes a year to 0.5 tonnes. (result in a 94% drop in CO2 emissions). What we can say for certain is that we have learned a huge amount so far from this project, information that will be fed into our plans for future housing retrofits.
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Energy Footprint Tool & green energy tariffs
The Energy Footprint Tool portal is now open for submissions and 43 PCCs have already submitted which is great! There have been a couple of changes to the reporting format the biggest of which is that there is now an approved list of Green Energy Tariffs. The national team have commissioned an in-depth assessment of the tariffs available to establish which ones were really sourcing electricity and which ones were not. More information on the changes and what they might mean for your parish can be found here: green-energy-companies-and-the-energy-footprint-tool-feb-2025.pdf
As always, we are here to help, please contact Ed Cotterill. Find a step-by-step guide and more at the button below.
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Eco Church awards & newbies | | |
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Welcome to those who've just started and congratulations to those who achieved their awards.
SILVER - All Saints', Mundesley, Diocesan House, St Nicholas, Swafield, Great Yarmouth Minster
BRONZE - St Michael's, Oulton, St Mary's, Watton, St Nicholas, Wells-next-the-Sea
NEWLY REGISTERED - , St Peter's, Reymerston, All Saints Church, Beighton, St Mary's, Surlingham, St Margaret's, Stratton Strawless
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Clothes swap first at East Church
Some of our churches on the Eco Church journey can find the lifestyle and community engagement sections of the Eco Church survey a challenge. James Lee from East Church in Norwich (St Thomas’s) shares the lessons learned from their recent event that addressed both of these areas.
“As the Creation Care team at East Church, we decided to put on a community clothes swap event to encourage sustainable consumption in the congregation and community." Read the full story HERE
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The Trunch group magnificent seven
Liz Carr, Eco Church lead for the Trunch Group of Parishes in Bradfield, Gimingham, Knapton, Mundesley, Paston, Swafield, and Trunch says,
"Having been working on our eco-church credentials for the past couple of years, we are beginning to embed and make adjustments to improve our scores in the A Rocha Eco Church award scheme. We are thrilled that all our seven churches now have either a bronze or silver award." Read full story HERE
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Eco Silver awards celebrated
The Parish Support Team recently achieved Silver for Diocesan House. Tim Sweeting, Diocesan Secretary, said: “Our purpose as a team is to support the local mission and ministry of the Church of England, and these environmental improvements are part of our wider efforts to assist our churches, schools and chaplaincies to lead in this area for the good of everyone in our local communities.” Read more HERE
It's a Silver celebration for Great Yarmouth Minster too! Paul Spychal, Churchwarden and Eco Team member outlines the five key actions that got them there and keep them moving forward HERE
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Sourcing funding and grants towards environmental initiatives is always a challenge, but here's a round-up of ones that are aimed a local areas. Do let us know if you have any success!
Climate Action Fund The Climate Action Fund is supporting communities across the UK to take action on climate change, seeking to involve more people in climate action. You can apply for funding from the Climate Action Fund to help do this until Spring 2025.
They'll fund projects that reach more people by either:
- linking climate action to the everyday lives and interests of local communities. And inspiring them to take action.
- influencing communities at a regional or national level. Like linking up groups across locations. Or a campaign that inspires change across one country, or the whole UK.
Find out more. You do not have to be a climate or environment focused organisation to apply.
Norfolk Community Foundation: Grants for Groups A number of funds are currently open for applications, including Love Norfolk grants (up to £5,000), the Microgrants Fund (up to £500), and the Saracen’s Norfolk Fund (for projects in South Norfolk, up to £5,000). View them here.
Hornsea 3 Community Fund The Hornsea 3 Community Fund is part of the community engagement programme for Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm which is located approximately 120 km off the Norfolk coast and 160 km off the Yorkshire coast.Grants from £500 up to £75,000 are available to projects for the benefit of communities within the funding area. Learn more here.
Crowdfund Norfolk Norfolk County Council have teamed up with Crowdfunder to launch Crowdfund Norfolk. Using the power of the crowd, they’re helping environmental, sustainability and net zero projects to get the funding they need to turn their ideas into a reality. Projects that match the eligibility criteria will be eligible for 50% funding, up to the maximum value of £10,000. Find out more.
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Churchyard management: discover how churchyards can be havens for wildlife and ways to help it continue to thrive
16 May | 10am - 4pm | Pakefield Parish Church
For our parishes in the Waveney area, or South Norfolk, SWT is offering a day's course aimed at those managing churchyards, offering an opportunity to explore the wildlife found in the grounds of Pakefield Parish Church. Led by Cathy Smith, Conservation Adviser for Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Find out how to understand the wildlife value of burial grounds, the place of churchyards within a wider network of habitats and how to record any sightings. We will be focusing in particular on meadow flowers but covering the wider wildlife interest, such as veteran trees, found in churchyards too. We will explore how churchyards can be managed to balance the needs of different user groups and the interests of nature. Learn how nature forms a vital role within the Eco Church award and ways in which church communities can engage with the wider parish community. Cost £20 full details and booking link HERE
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Earth Hour
22 March 22, 8.30 - 9.30pm
Earth Hour is an annual event to raise awareness of climate change. It's organised by the World Wildlife Fund and the idea is to switch off lights for an hour and do something in that 60 seconds that is positive for the earth and its life. This year the theme is "Create the Biggest Hour for Earth." Find resources and ideas HERE
Last year in Reepham, (see above) more than 20 people switched off their lights and walked to St Michael’s to light a candle and leave a pledge to do something positive for the planet. There was also a food chain challenge and an outdoor trail to find the creatures named in the challenge. This also provided a wonderful opportunity to do a bit of star-gazing!
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Churches Count on Nature 2025 registration 17 March
Churches Count on Nature is part of Love Your Burial Ground Week (now in its 15th year), focusing on the brilliant wildlife to be found in churchyards and chapel yards. It is a joint initiative of Caring for God's Acre, the Church of England, the Church in Wales and A Rocha UK.
It's a wonderful way to encourage your local community into your churchyard!
Registration starts on 17 March and they are looking forward to welcoming even more history talks, picnics, bioblitzes, recording events and photography competitions!
More information can be found here
From zebras in Brisley to bees in Trowse, see what some of our parishes did in previous years here: Churches Count on Nature across the Diocese. Taking part in events like these counts towards both the land and community engagement parts of the Eco Church survey.
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Better Food Traders
- is a UK-wide organisation that is working to change the food system to make it more sustainable and local. They support independent food traders who focus on selling climate- and nature-friendly produce, and they also work with Local Authorities and Local Food Partnerships to strengthen routes to market for sustainable food, and to rebuild our regional food systems. They are particularly interested in supporting churches to use their buildings and churchyards to host farmers' markets, food hubs, cafes, and cooking and growing projects.
If you would like to learn more, please email julia@betterfoodtraders.org or see Better Food Traders
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A Rocha webinar: The Green Heart of Mission
Tue 11 March I 2 - 3pm I Online
Do you see caring for creation as an integral part of your faith, and core to the mission of the Church? Perhaps you do, but meet others who are less convinced that caring for the earth is a key part of the Gospel and missional work.
Join the team from A Rocha as they discuss these themes, with Paul Kunert, author of Jesus Died to Save the Planet, stories from Eco Churches and others. We’ll explore how creation care is at the heart of mission and how a newly refreshed Eco Church survey helps put this into practice.
Click here for details and to book your free place.
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Climate Justice & Discipleship – online Lent course
Following Jesus, responding to the climate and ecological emergency, and renewing our faith and discipleship aren’t rival projects. They may turn out to be the same thing. For Lent 2025, we are invited to join those across the Diocese of London to reflect deeply on five significant moments in Jesus’ life and ministry.
"As we take this journey together, how might we encounter Christ through creation, pursue justice from within, and convert our fearful reactions into a loving response?" Tuesdays during Lent – Online, 7:30 – 8:30pm
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Nature & climate - a conversation
On Thursday 13 March, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, and Felbeck Trust patron and wildlife expert Nick Acheson, will talk about nature, climate, the Church of England and caring for our environment, both locally and further afield, at St Andrew’s parish church in Holt. The event begins with drinks in the meeting room next to the church (drinks not included in price) at 6.30pm.
Hear Bishop Graham and Nick Acheson talk from 7.15pm, followed by a question and answer session until 8.45pm. Tickets for the evening are £11.50 with proceeds going to the Felbeck Trust. Tickets available at https://felbeckfundraiser.eventbrite.co.uk
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Further Lent resources
Living Hope
This Lent we are encouraged to put down deep roots of hope by connecting with God who is with us at all times.
The Church of England’s Lent theme for 2025 is Living Hope.
In Lent we journey with Jesus on the difficult and thorny road that leads all the way to the cross on Good Friday – and beyond, to the transformation of Easter Day. Living Hope offers us the opportunity to deepen our hope in God and be part of what God is doing to bring hope in the world. Details and resources.
The Whole Easter Story: Why the cross is good news for all creation
This 40-day Lent Devotional includes a six-week small group discussion guide and explores how the cross transforms not just our own individual connection with Jesus, but also our relationships with each other and our world. Through Bible readings, reflections and stories from A Rocha’s global conservation efforts, Jo Swinney shows how the cross transforms not just our own individual connection with Jesus, but also our relationships with each other and our world. Click here for details and to order copies online. All royalties go to A Rocha’s conservation work around the world. A Rocha are also running an online Lent book club, with author Jo Swinney and other contributors, starting on 5 March. Click here for details and to book. Also available in eBook format click here.
Ripple Effect: Pray during Lent for families living on the frontline of climate crisis
Prayer resources from Ripple Effect (formerly Send a Cow) to help guide your prayers through Lent for families in rural Africa, living on the frontline of the climate crisis. Download everything you need to set up a prayer station in your church or host a Lent lunch. You’ll find a prayer, a story from a farmer in Kenya and information about sustainable farming techniques. There’s also a video of Ripple’s sustainability manager, speaking about the challenges families are experiencing in rural Africa and asking people to pray with him.
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Ed and Barbara are happy to come out to your deanery or benefice with their "Eco Roadshow" presentation - just get in touch! | |
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