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Gwent Wildlife Trust is looking for churchyards with wildlife
appeal to take part in a new Living Churchyards Project. The Trust has
been successful in securing funding for the 3 year project thanks to the
Heritage Lottery Fund, CCW, Wye Valley AONB, WAG and 4 of Gwent’s five Local
Authorities.
What we want to do ….
Increase awareness of Gwent’s
churchyards, cemeteries and sacred grounds as sites of great value for
wildlife, and provide support and advice to help local communities learn
more about the wildlife and heritage of churchyards wildlife, and how to
conserve it.
Gwent’s Churchyards ….
Our churchyards have always been
special places. They are places of quiet solitude, where, for centuries,
people of all denominations have come to reflect and to remember. We
think of these places as havens of peace and tranquillity and for many a
place to remember their loved ones. What is perhaps surprising is just
how important our churchyards can be for wildlife!
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Caring for God's Acre |
Gwent’s churchyards are some of the few areas left that have
escaped the pressures of modern farming and artificial fertilisers, and
as a result provide havens for wildlife to thrive. They support some of
our finest displays of wildflowers and ancient trees, and are home to a
variety of wildlife including bats, birds and butterflies. They are also
important places for archaeology and history, revealing evidence of the
past and documenting the lives of people who have lived and worked in
the parish.
The project is based on the long running success of the
Caring for Gods Acre scheme in Herefordshire. Their experience shows
churchyards can become a focus for human activity as well as wildlife,
yet still remain a place of quiet solace and contemplation. We want to
work with churches and local communities to achieve the same in Gwent.
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Web Links ....
Caring for God’s Acre -
www.caringforgodsacre.co.uk
Caring for God’s Acre is a small independent charity promoting the
conservation of churchyards, cemeteries and burial grounds across the
Hereford diocese.
Churches Tourism Network Wales -
www.ctnw.co.uk
CTNW seek to support all Christian churches in Wales , and aim to
encourage increased and better managed access for the public to church
buildings
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Churchyard cowslips © R. Price |
If you know of a churchyard in Gwent with potential wildlife appeal, would like
to learn more or are keen to develop a living churchyards group in your area
please contact:
Rebecca Price - Living Churchyards Project Officer
01600 740358
rprice@gwentwildlife.org
If you have skills you’d like to offer to our
living churchyards around the county then we would like to hear from
you.
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