All Saints’ Church

Oving with Pitchcott

Churchyard - Living Churchyard

Wildlife conservation has become an important issue in recent years and the churchyard is an important national asset in terms of the habitat it provides for a wide range of grasses, mosses, lichens, fungi, flowers, trees, insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. The churchyard at All Saints’ has an abundance of flora and fauna. These form part of our national heritage and, once lost, cannot be regained.

The Living Churchyard and Cemetery Project is a national project which aims to increase the awareness and interest in churchyards ad cemeteries as places where wildlife can thrive. Often created from species-rich pasture land, churchyards and cemeteries can be havens for wild flowers and a variety of animal species.

In the Diocese of Oxford, the project is co-ordinated by a committee of representatives for the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), Butterfly Conservation, the Botanical Society of the British Isles, the Diocese of Oxford and independent ecologists. They provide advice and information on the management of churchyards and cemeteries for wildlife, organise networking events and run an award scheme to recognise the efforts of the volunteers involved.

Butterfly Conservation - www.lepidoptera.dsl.pipex.com

National Bumblebee Survey - www.nationalinsectweek.co.uk