Pupils search churchyard for all creatures great and small
Youngsters from a Woodbridge primary school have visited a village church to record the flourishing wildlife in its churchyard. Three classes from St Mary’s Church of England Primary School took part in the Churches Count on Nature scheme, a national initiative to create a database of wildlife in the UK.
The children scoured the St Mary’s churchyard in Woodbridge for creepy crawlies, birds, animals and plants, making a note of everything they discovered.
Father Nigel Prior said the children loved their day out and hoped it would inspire in them a lifelong love of wildlife. He said: “The project was to encourage all churches to take special care of their local wildlife and to discover what is living around their churchyards. The children were on the lookout for all creatures great and small, from insects to plants, and to jot it down in their workbooks. This will form a national record of wildlife around the country. I hope this is something we be able to do every year, it was great to get the children together and everyone had a wonderful time.”
Karen Read, headteacher at St Mary’s Primary School, said the children really enjoyed their outing and were fascinated by the variety of wildlife living near the church. She said: “It was very exciting as this was our first trip out of school since the pandemic began. We couldn’t believe the range of biodiversity in such a small space – we saw so many different types of insects and flowers. I accompanied the year six pupils, getting them to think about habitats and biodiversity as they looked around the churchyard. The younger children, from years two and four, were asked to try and name different wildlife and plant types. The children were very enthusiastic about the project and loved every moment – plus the weather was glorious.”
The Church of England in Suffolk is committed to caring for the environment and in June this year decisively approved the target to achieving net zero carbon by 2030 throughout the diocese.
As Christians we believe caring for God’s creation is a fundamental part of our mission and our churchyards offer amble space for biodiversity and wildlife to flourish and we welcome members of the wider community to join with us in environmental projects in our parishes. For more information please visit our website here: