They are in nearly every village, town and city across the UK, thousands of church buildings peppering the landscape. But while many may no longer be in regular use, the churchyards surrounding them \u2013 quiet, peaceful and often ancient \u2013 amount to what Olivia Graham, the bishop of Reading, equates to \u201ca small national park\u201d. The land beyond the church gate is some of the most biodiverse in the UK because it has largely stayed untouched.<\/p>\n
\u201cA churchyard is a little snapshot of how the countryside used to be,\u201d says Somerset Wildlife Trust\u2019s Pippa Rayner, who is working on Wilder Churches, a new initiative with the diocese of Bath and Wells \u201cto enhance churchyard biodiversity across the county\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery often in a highly industrialised rural landscape, the fields around villages may be covered in agricultural chemicals. You often find that the churchyard is the one place in the area where they haven\u2019t been using chemicals,\u201d says Rayner. \u201cThe fact that they generally have been managed differently to the rest of the countryside, and they have been looked after in a different way, has enabled species to still be there,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n God\u2019s own gardens: why churchyards are some of our wildest nature sites https:\/\/t.co\/Mau6RRHWM5<\/a><\/p>\n — The Guardian (@guardian) May 6, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n