an environmental toolkit for churches

Module 9aPlanting and conserving Eden

Practical ideas to care for church landA Rocha Eco-congregation is an ecumenical program to help churches make the link between

environmental issues and their Christian faith and respond in practical action in the church and wider community.

Eco-congregation (USA) is a project of A Rocha USA, a 501(c) organizationA Rocha USA, PO Box 1338, Fredericksburg TX 78624

830.522.5319 / usa@arocha.org / www.arocha-usa.org

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ContentsSetting the scene...............................................................................................................................................3Conserving or planting Eden?..........................................................................................................................3Putting it on the church agenda........................................................................................................................4General approaches to maintaining church grounds – in a resource- and wildlife-friendly way.....................5Conserving Eden............................................................................................................................................10

The Living Churchyard Project..................................................................................................................10Veteran trees...............................................................................................................................................12Bats.............................................................................................................................................................12

Planting Eden..................................................................................................................................................13Stories from Churches................................................................................................................................13

Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor..............................................................................................................13Community Garden in Urbana...............................................................................................................13Sprucing up an alley...............................................................................................................................14Butterfly garden in Doylestown.............................................................................................................14Greening Herringthorpe United Reformed Church................................................................................15In the beginning… by the children.........................................................................................................16Living Churchyards Award in Leeds.....................................................................................................17Untidy grass to wildlife haven in Cleveland..........................................................................................18Cleaning up the landscape at Our Lady of Nazareth..............................................................................18Building homes for birds........................................................................................................................19Trees for the Community........................................................................................................................19

Further Resources...........................................................................................................................................20A directory of useful organizations................................................................................................................22About A Rocha Eco-congregation..................................................................................................................23

© A Rocha USA 2012

Feedback on Eco-Congregation (USA) is encouraged.

We have attempted to credit photographs and quotes correctly. We apologize if we have not given credit appropriately; please write to us to amend any errors.

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Setting the scene

Here in the USA, what were once unbroken tracts of wild grassland and forest have been converted to farmland or ‘exurbs’ – sprawling housing developments far from the city. It is important to achieve a balance between the needs of God’s people for food and living space, and the preservation of God’s beautiful creation. This balance calls for a healthy agriculture with fewer pesticides and avoidance of excess fertilizer; space left on field edges for wildlife to persist; and a saner approach to farm subsidies, which rarely benefit the smaller farmer. The challenge of urban sprawl, with the seemingly inevitable multiplication of freeways and huge single-family homes, has also raised questions in people’s minds – what are the consequences of craving the best that our rich economy has to offer? How much is enough?

But what has this to do with us, as Christians, and our places of worship? Urban backyards and gardens can be considered a nature reserve, as long as herbicides, insecticides and overzealous tidying are kept to the minimum. In a similar way, the grounds of our churches can be oases of calm and contemplation for us, and at the same time, a sanctuary for wildlife – bats, bees, birds and butterflies.

Conserving or planting Eden?

From Genesis…‘The Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and look after it.’

Genesis 2:15 (Revised English Bible [REB])…to Revelation

‘The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations.’Revelation 22:2b (REB)

Many churches are responsible for a piece of land. Some churches have a long established churchyard containing a rich variety of plant and animal species. This is particularly likely in ancient churchyards that have not been subject to modern land management practice including pesticide and herbicide applications. It is important to conserve these habitats – the church is often a wildlife ‘island’ surrounded by development or intensively cultivated land.

Other churches, often those more recently built in urban areas, may have little more than a suburban-style front garden, or a larger area of land around the premises with little wildlife or community value – maybe a parking lot with tightly mown grass edges. For these churches, let’s think about refashioning the area for more wildlife value.

This module contains a section entitled ‘Putting it on the church agenda’ to help churches get started. Then, after a general review of good practices to encourage wildlife and conserve natural resources, there are two sections. The first, ‘Conserving Eden’, is for churches that should manage and conserve their churchyard because it is

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already a valuable wildlife habitat. The other, ‘Planting Eden’, is for churches that wish to increase the value of their church grounds for conservation - as well as church and community purposes.

The patch or area of land around churches can be viewed as a millstone, a mixed blessing or an area full of potential. ‘Planting and conserving Eden’ is designed to inspire you to care for your ‘patch’ so that it may witness to God the creator and be a place for the congregation and local community to find and enjoy the love of God.

For further inspiration, look at Module 6 ‘Exploring God’s green word’, which contains a Bible study based on Gardening stories.

Putting it on the church agenda

Here are some suggestions to help you get going, but you will need to tailor these according to the circumstances of your church, the size of membership and the nature and size of the churchyard that you are dealing with.

Step 1: Gather together a small group of people to start to make some plans. Consider inviting people because of their personal skills and interest, their church responsibilities (e.g. it makes good sense to involve anyone who has responsibility for the church grounds!) and a representative from organizations that could usefully be involved (e.g. from church uniformed organizations or a local school).

Step 2: Review the area of land and, if possible, undertake a survey noting details of plants and animals that are present or use the site (try to include the less obvious things such as insects or lichens on gravestones and walls). Seek expert advice if you suspect that your area might have conservation value because of the animals or plants present. Often the local Audubon society or state Wildlife Service will be able to help. At this stage you will be able to decide whether to adopt a management strategy to conserve a valuable habitat or initiate some wildlife-friendly landscaping. This could include creating areas that are visually attractive, a wildlife haven, places for contemplation, a safe place for children to play or an education resource.

Step 3: Review the general guidelines, below, as well as the ideas in the Conserving Eden and Planting Eden sections, and draw up a set of plans for your site, including estimates of cost and plans for maintenance.

Step 4: Consider and consult other appropriate people and organizations on desirable management practices for the site and sources of grants, technical support and even labor (e.g. church body, local authority, Audubon group, A Rocha group, local school).

Step 5: After consultation, present these plans to the appropriate church decision-making body.

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Step 6: Gain support by involving and informing as many people in the church as possible. This spreads the load, informs others of what is happening and why, and builds support for and a sense of pride in the church. To spread the word, write articles for the church magazine. People may wish to support the work through:

raising funds

donating items, e.g. benches, equipment/tools, plants (or cuttings or seeds)

drawing up a list of useful resources and asking for offers

giving an item or plant in memory of a loved one

consulting the local community about the plans

involving appropriate groups, e.g. a youth group, school, gardening club

sharing the news with the community through the local press

Step 7: Get going! Put your plans into action.

Step 8: Review your scheme after a year.

General approaches to maintaining church grounds – in a resource- and wildlife-friendly way

(We are grateful to John Humphreys – www.wildlifegardening.org – for many of these suggestions)

Firstly, limit obsessive ‘tidiness’. Leaving a strip of lawn unmowed and untreated will encourage wildflowers and beneficial insects….in turn bumblebees and butterflies, as well as seed- and insect-eating birds.

Secondly, have perennial beds rather than annuals. Although plants like Zinnias and Petunias have their place, and do attract butterflies, they tend to be very demanding of water, and expensive to replace each season. Perennials expand each year and offer consistent color and wildlife interest.

Depending on your area, they will include plants such as Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Columbines, bee balm, evening primrose, Phlox, Lobelia, native honeysuckles, Asters, golden-rod, Gaillardia, Verbena, Coreopsis, Scabious, Milkweeds, Penstemon and Hibiscus.

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Favor single-flowered varieties, rather than frilly ‘double’ ones, which tend to be less attractive to insects.

Where possible, choose plants that grow naturally where you live. Native plants are much the best for all manner of wildlife and will tough out the harshest winter and driest summer. A lot of them will serve as food plants for caterpillars (e.g., milkweeds for the Monarch butterfly) …don’t forget, no food plants = no moths or butterflies.

Research what is best for your area by visiting the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website, http://www.wildflower.org; other useful sites include http://www.plantnative.org, and http://plants.usda.gov)

Coreopsis Swallowtail on Echinacea

Amelanchier

(photos © John Humphreys, www.wildlifegardening.org)

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Thirdly, plant berry-bearing trees and bushes. Hollies will feed birds as well as offer Christmas decorating supplies; and in addition to berries, serviceberries (Amelanchier), chokeberry (Aronia) and Viburnums (‘guelder rose’) provide spring flowers and fall color.

Ilex verticillata, the “Winterberry Holly”…photo Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln.

Fourthly, water is always at a premium. In drier parts of the country, particularly the South-West, consider ‘xeriscaping’ – the logical ‘native plant’ response to a climate that was never designed for the English lawn! It means cacti, Agaves and other succulents, and ALSO means plenty of flowers, plenty of beauty, many hummingbirds and no watering to worry about at all. Even in areas with plenty of rainfall, watering only when needed and then only early in the morning or late at night will conserve this most precious of natural resources. See http://www.wikihow.com/Xeriscape for a step-by-step guide on how to do this! This University of Arizona gardening site is also very comprehensive: http://ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/desertgardening.htm

Chandler, Arizona Xeriscape Demonstration Garden, http://chandleraz.gov

Fifthly, if your congregation has people whose green thumbs lend themselves to vegetable gardening, consider starting a garden to engage the community and, if all goes well, offer healthy, local produce to people on a low income. Go organic –

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intersperse veggies with ‘companion’ plants that repel pests. If located alongside native plants and perennials there will be plenty of beneficial insects like ladybugs and hoverflies to keep the bad bugs under control. For detailed guidance, see http://www.arocha-usa.org/garden-manual The cool thing as well is that growing herbs can in itself attract very desirable wildlife – for instance, fennel is a prime food plant for swallowtail butterflies, and they don’t eat the bit we eat!

Then you can observe this……

….turning into this:

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(photo of swallowtail caterpillar on fennel, and photographs of emergent swallowtail © John Humphreys, www.wildlifegardening.org)