Caring for God’s Earth – Taking time to notice

Eco Church

At an Eco Church webinar on increasing biodiversity, Bishop Graham gave a reflection on the Benedicite, a joyous canticle praising God for the wonders of creation, and said that ‘noticing’ is the first step to connecting with and valuing the beautiful but imperilled diversity of our world. To that end, notices have been put up in the ‘Wildlife Friendly Garden’, at the east end of St Mary’s, explaining why it has not been tidied up over winter. Leaving dead stalks and seed heads provides places for insects to hibernate and seeds for birds to eat. Leaving weeds for insect larvae to feed on also helps birds such as Blue Tits which eat the caterpillars, and emerging moths provide prey for the small number of Long-eared Bats which have a summer roost in St Mary’s chancel.

It is the small creatures, such as insects, that are the basis of the web of life, without them whole ecosystems would fail. We hope to have an information board on the plants in the conservation area during the summer, so that passers-by become aware of the special flowers which grow there: Bulbous Buttercup; Field Woodrush; Red Clover; Oxeye Daisy; Common Sorrel. All are plants of old hay meadows, a habitat which has been lost in Norfolk’s wider countryside but is preserved in churchyards such as ours throughout the county.