Edible Churchscapes

preparing the ground

The Churches Conservation Trust - the national charity protecting historic churches at risk - is piloting Edible Churchscapes, a new scheme to help communities understand and better manage the bio-diversity of churchyards, while at the same time creating a local food hub as they learn processes such as fruit grafting, apple tree care and cider making.

The scheme will launch a special training day on 29 October (National Apple Day) at the historic church of St Martin's at Preston Gubbals, Shropshire, which is the first location to trial the initiative.

Activities will include cider making and a fungi and moth survey. Cared for by the CCT, the church and churchyard dates back to the Medieval period. The churchyard is already home to wide variety of plants and animals, illustrating the value these historic patches of land can provide to local communities.

The CCT cares for historic churches that are no longer used for regular worship but which remain consecrated. Its new edible churchyard scheme provides a framework for just one example of how communities can best manage the churchyards of the 340 churches under its care, while at the same time teaching local populations the principals of biodiversity management and sustainable food production which can be practiced anywhere.

Robert Milton, Development Officer of The Churches Conservation Trust, said: "The Churches Conservation Trust's Edible Churchyard Scheme will help people both appreciate the biodiversity value of redundant churchyards and explore their potential for local food production and as community focal points, creating a lasting legacy for wildlife and people in a way which remains sensitive to the sacred nature of these spaces. Ultimately we want local communities to take ownership and pride in these important communal spaces."

Gareth Parry, Community Biodiversity Officer for Shropshire County Council said: "Churchyards are often remnants of ancient meadows, but flora & fauna present in CCT churchyards is frequently unknown and unmapped. St Martin's at Preston Gubbals has been churchyard since medieval times and there are records of local and national priority species in the surrounding landscape. We are looking forward to working with local people to help them find out more and manage this overlooked resource in a genuinely beneficial way."

For more information find the Edible Churchscapes page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/EdibleChurchscapes?ref=ts