To achieve an Ecochurch award each of our Churches had to complete the unique online Eco Survey about how they are caring for God’s earth in different areas of their life and work. The answers a church provided collected points towards an Eco Church Award – the more each church did, the more points it got!
The survey takes us through five key areas of church life:
- Worship and teaching
- Management of church buildings
- Management of church land
- Community and global engagement
- Lifestyle
Below are some of the issues that have been discussed by our Ecochurch group. Click to expand each.
The Parish has decided that we will always use Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar and will use other Fairtrade products where possible.
Fairtrade is one simple way to spark change – and it starts with our choices. Choosing Fairtrade means standing with farmers for fairness and equality, and against some of the biggest challenges the world faces.
Fairtrade means fairer pay and more power in the hands of farmers, so that they can create change for us all, from investing in climate friendly farming techniques and clean water for their community, to nurturing women leaders and making sure children get an education. When you choose Fairtrade, you’re choosing the world you want to see.
With Fairtrade you have the power to change the world every day. With simple shopping choices you can get farmers a better deal. And that means they can make their own decisions, control their future and lead the dignified life everyone deserves.
For more details please visit https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/
The toilets in the three churches in the Parish are all part of this scheme.
By donating £60 to twin a toilet, you help fund a project in a poor community that will enable families to build a basic toilet, have access to clean water and learn about hygiene – a vital combination that saves lives.
When you twin, you are sent a certificate to hang in your loo – showing a photograph of your overseas toilet twin and GPS coordinates so you can look up your twin’s location on Google Maps!
For more details please visit https://www.toilettwinning.org/
LOAF stands for food which is:
Locally produced, Organically grown, Animal friendly and Fairly traded.
As a Parish we would like to encourage you to think LOAF when buying food.
To read more about this please visit http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/loaf-principles.html
The amount of waste we recycle has increased. But we are still behind some of our European neighbours, some of whom recycle over 70% of their waste. Plenty of recyclable waste still ends up in our landfills. Think of it as a waste hierarchy:
As well as basic paper, plastic, and glass recycling, think of ways to reduce and re-use your household or church waste:
- Food waste (see above).
- Textile waste: many councils and charities have textile recycling collection points (https://www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/clothing-textiles-0)
- Household item waste: do you have things that could be repaired rather than thrown out? You could take them to a repair café, or even set one up yourself. Or, if they are no longer needed, think about donating them to a charity shop or advertising them on Freecycle.
- Water waste: treating water is an intensive process which contributes to our carbon footprint. Take a look at Water Wise (https://waterwise.org.uk/save-water/) for their tips on how to save water.
- Energy waste (see below).
Part of reducing our waste is switching to a ‘circular economy’ mindset; working to get the most out of resources, rather than operating with a ‘use and dispose’ mindset.
The Parish has committed to pray for a specific overseas environmental project and will select a different project each year.
In 2024 the selected Project is the charity WaterAid UK
When a community gets clean water for the first time, it’s the start of something truly life-changing.
Right now, millions of children around the world like children in Ethiopia don’t have clean water to drink, decent toilets to use or good hygiene to protect themselves. Without these basics, breaking the cycle of poverty is just a dream.
But when you help WaterAid dig a well or install a tap in a community, you’re changing the lives of children for the better. Your donation today, can help children to stay in school instead of wasting their precious childhood walking to collect water.
Together, with your help, we’ll keep working until everyone, everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.
About WaterAid UK
The are an international not-for-profit, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation.
Since 1981, they’ve directly reached 28 million people with clean water; 28 million with decent toilets; and 26 million with good hygiene.
Only by tackling these three essentials in ways that last can people change their lives for good. With their supporters and partners, they will change millions of lives for the better.
How they work
They work closely with partners internationally and on the ground in some of the toughest places in the world, to help achieve widespread change. Millions of people have already taken control of their lives and built better futures.
They do more than install taps and toilets. To make lasting change happen on a massive scale, they convince governments to change laws; link policy makers with people on the ground; change attitudes and behaviours; pool knowledge and resources; and rally support from people and organisations around the world.
For more information or to make a donation please visit the WaterAid website – https://www.wateraid.org/uk
Ever heard of the Ecosia search engine? Why chose Ecosia as your default search engine?
Ecosia – the search engine that plants trees
They use all their profits for climate action, with at least 80% financing tree-planting projects around the world: over 165 million trees planted to date. The remaining 20% is invested in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture and protecting trees around the world. Once planted, Ecosia continues to work with local partners and uses satellite tech and field visits to ensure the trees survive. Transparent financial reports are published on their website monthly.
But the not-for-profit business model and transparency is not the only thing that makes Ecosia a somewhat unusual search engine.
Ecosia has become one of the most privacy-friendly search engines out there – which means they don’t do creepy things like selling your data to advertisers or creating a personal profile of you. It doesn’t use any third-party tracking tools, meaning that any search made on the service won’t be seen by any party other than Ecosia. And any search made on Ecosia becomes anonymised after one week. (In contrast, Google and Bing will hold onto bits of search data, even after deleting browser history and cookies).