The Wensum Valley Churchyards Project offers local communities an exciting and excellent chance to work together and help improve the environment of their parish.

The project aims to improve the management of churchyards and cemeteries for wildlife and foster a greater understanding by both churchyard managers and the wider community of the potential wildlife habitat of churchyards and cemeteries. Through the project, we will offer advice, supply volunteers and set up community groups to help carry out management work. These volunteer groups will be formed into local ‘clusters’ for the sharing of equipment and work, information exchange and morale-boosting. By forming ‘clusters’ and working together, local people will feel a sense of community cohesion. A sense of getting involved and caring for one’s environment will be engendered.

Why churchyards? A churchyard is often a remnant of an ancient meadow and can be an oasis of a habitat which has declined nationwide. Furthermore, the variety of stone used in church walls and gravestones represents a valuable habitat for lichen, moss and fern flora. This is especially important for the survival of some species in Norfolk, where stone walls and natural stone outcrops are scarce. Other habitats of value in churchyards include veteran trees, hedges and their associated ‘woodland edge’ flora. Both churchyards and cemeteries can provide valuable, largely undisturbed habitat for species such as butterflies, slow worms, lizards and bats, if managed sympathetically.