Eco issues
Human activity is causing our climate to warm whilst having devastating impacts on nature. Here at St Andrew’s, we are committed to doing what we can to look after God’s creation.
We decided to become an Eco Church and were delighted to become the first church in the area to get an Eco Church Silver Award. To do this we had to assess our impacts in five areas namely; worship and teaching, buildings, land, community and global engagement and lifestyle.
Luckily, we were already doing quite well in some areas, but we had to change our approach elsewhere to get the credits we needed. But this is not about box ticking, it is about making a real difference. Castle Combe is very much connected with the past, but with Eco Church we are ensuring we are absolutely focussed on a better future.
What are some of the things we do?
Worship and teaching – we include care for God’s creation in preaching and prayer as much as possible and have services dedicated to the environment
Buildings – we’ve changed our lighting to LED and stopped any non-essential energy use. We use eco-friendly cleaning products
Land – we maintain much of the churchyard for nature and avoid the use of any herbicides and pesticides. We’ve erected 6 new bird and insect boxes and made log and stone piles.
Community and local engagement – we’ve twinned our toilet and communicate regularly on environmental issues with our MP and other local representatives. We seek to inform and inspire people from around the world who visit our church.
Lifestyle – we’ve become a Fairtrade Church and use local and organic food wherever possible. We provide tips and information for people to reduce their negative impact on the planet.
Sustainability
Following on from COP 26 held in Glasgow in October / November 2021, this calendar has been launched to hopefully shed some light on what is crucial for the healthy survival of humanity and our planet.
Each month a different big subject relating to sustainable living is examined to provide us with explanations, information, tips and opportunities for action at home or perhaps in your business or with your local community.
The monthly themes are:
– Carbon (January)
– Money and Investments (February)
– Fairtrade and Fairness (March)
– Waste (April)
– Nature (May)
– Water (June)
– Transport and Travel (July)
– Influence (August)
– Food (September)
– Energy (October)
– Community (November)
– Shopping and Stuff (December).
If you are interested in local sustainability issues and would be keen to get involved and/or have ideas for a community project, please contact Mike Roberts.