A recent post on the CSC social media pages shared a piece from BBC Devon from back in January last year, when the group was launched, highlighting that “Sidmouth cemetery is to become a wildlife haven”.
Although the accompanying picture showed clumps of very bio-undiverse three-cornered leek(!) the district council’s portfolio holder for environment Cllr Geoff Jung said at the time: “We want to balance space for nature and the sympathetic management of the grave spaces so people can visit their loved ones.”
All sounds good and indeed, since then, the volunteers of the CSC working party have been doing their best to enhance both wildlife and graves to good effect.
As the posting on social media said, “Yesterday’s working party were busy with all sorts – including carrying out a survey of flora and fauna at Sidmouth Cemetery”. And in fact, several members of the CSC project are very experienced in such things, with years of spotting and recording both common and interesting things behind them.
The Natural History Museum has put a useful page together: There’s life among the dead: Wildlife in cemeteries. As they point out (as does the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan), these places provide important green corridors:
An urban refuge for biodiversity
Cemeteries are not only spaces for us to explore and enjoy, they’re also sanctuaries for wildlife. In an old cemetery, the graves, stone walls, shrubs and hedges provide plenty of nooks for wildlife to hide, old trees offer places for birds and bats to nest and undisturbed areas allow plants to grow.
Graveyards are so successful at housing wildlife that in London’s Tower Hamlets Cemetery, a local group found 1,111 different species living within its walls. More than 450 different species of beetle alone have been spotted among its graves.
In a month’s time, it’s Love Your Burial Ground Week and National Cemeteries Week from Saturday 7th to Sunday 15th June.
There’s more from the Caring For God’s Acre website Love your Burial Ground Week & Churches Count on Nature – FAQs – Caring For God’s Acre – the conservation charity for burial grounds across the UK:
If you are interested in counting wildlife in your local churchyard or cemetery – visit this page to learn how to get started and share your records .
Love your Burial Ground Week is a celebratory week which has been running for many years. Caring for God’s Acre has been encouraging all who help to look after churchyards, chapel yards and cemeteries to celebrate these fantastic places in the lovely month of June – in any way you choose. We’ve seen history talks, picnics, volunteering work parties and even abseiling teddy bears!
Churches Count on Nature 2025 runs at the same time as Love Your Burial Ground Week, and focuses on the brilliant wildlife to be found in churchyards and chapel yards. It is a joint initiative promoted by Caring for God’s Acre, the Church of England, the Church in Wales and A Rocha UK.Watch our Love Your Burial Ground week video – get some inspiration for your own events and enjoy these beautiful spaces. Love Your Burial Ground Week runs from Saturday 7th to Sunday 15th of June 2025.
Love Your Burial Ground Week – second week of June every year – YouTube
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