Eco Church

Saving our planet, one step at a time

As churches – often pressed for both time and money - it can be overwhelming to think about the climate challenge and where to start in caring for creation. A Rocha’s Eco Church initiative is a great place to start!
 
It breaks church life into five areas, making it easier to assess how well we are caring for God’s earth in each of these areas, and what steps we can take to improve things. By registering with Eco Church and completing their questionnaire you can easily see how sustainable your church is currently. You can then discover how to improve these areas and gain Eco Church accreditation and a bronze, silver or gold award.
 
The five areas Eco Church assess are are: 
  1. Worship and teaching - this could include prayer, liturgy, children’s groups, bible study materials, outdoor worship, preaching, special services, seasons, youth groups, hymns and songs, meditation and muddy church.
  2. Management of church buildings - this could include sustainable church buildings, insulation, smart heating controls, renewable tariffs, double glazing, draughts, LEDs, water, recycling, cleaning products, travel, solar power, air source heating
  3. Management of church land - this could include biodiversity in the churchyard, wildlife surveys, bugs, bats, hedgehogs, birds, lichen, trees, wildflowers, mowing, chemicals, graves, composting, growing veg, orchards, allotments, community access, ponds, guerrilla gardening 
  4. Community and global engagement - this could include contacting your MP, inviting speakers, working with local groups on common causes, litter picking, beach clean-ups, green events, campaigning, Fairtrade, amplifying change, divestment, overseas links
  5. Lifestyle – you can think about carbon footprints, recycling, waste, plastics, ethical investment, travel, shopping, LOAF meals, an ethical diet, switching to renewable energy 
Many churches in our diocese are exploring Eco Church and are doing so in very different ways. Download the Eco Church in the Diocese of Bath and Wells sheet below to find out how.

Who to contact

Downloads