2010 begins

A New Year, another new year in a large and growing number that I would prefer to forget! But it's a new chance, too, a chance to make change. At least, that's what I hope. The next 12 months will tell. Now follows a short piece about the Church of England. It's about networking and making change within the environment, not theology and not missionary work, so don't worry. Please read on, you may be surprised and it may suggest, to you, ways in which you can use other networks to achieve change.

Last Sunday I travelled to Tower Hill, to my church, St Olave's in Hart Street. What has this got to do with the price of beans? Well, last spring the Rector drew my attention to a small memorial, one among many for the church is nearly a thousand years old. This one commemorated the fact that one William Turner had lived his last years in Crutched Friars and was buried in our churchyard.

The significance lies in the fact that Turner was a Reformation priest, a physician, botanist and ornithologist who published the first herbal - an illustrated 3 volume work on English plants - in the English language. He also published the first printed book on birds and he died in 1568.

Now, 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and Turner's work seemed to be an invitation for a project to engage the Church of England in a little practical and positive environmental work. There are an awful lot of Anglican churches with churchyards so here, perhaps, is a chance to get a bit of cooperation going and to engage with congregations and to use these little islands of space to encourage biodiversity.

Much of this is very simple; creating an area of wilderness, a space where grasses and wild flowers are allowed to grow to maturity, for example. Many churchyards are maintained by local authorities so it's not just churches but LAs that get some useful education. Beyond wilderness there is a simple requirement that a bit less maintenance gets done; leaves should be left to lie. Then come the exciting bits: bird and bat boxes, bird feeders and, at least as significant as all the rest, bee hives.

The last bit requires rather more thought and preparation but I've found a great deal of support from bee keepers, Natural England, the City of London and the good people of St Olave's.

At the same time, we are planning to reorder our small churchyard so that we incorporate a number of herbs. This will commemorate William Turner and provide a sensory element for blind people. Then out into the rest of the City, then into London Diocese and finally out around the country.

Will it work? I don't know, not until I have tried, that is. I'm promised not to bore you with Anglican theology but I will simply mention that the Anglican Communion, several years ago, adopted 'five marks of mission' and the fifth is caring for Creation - the environment, in other words. That gives a useful starting point to engage with the around 900,000 people who attend churches within the C of E, in the UK.

That could be a lot of bird boxes and bee hives, and bird feeders, particularly in an inner city setting, will encourage birds where local forage is low. Small changes but they will aggregate and, I hope, will lead to the next phase which will be about developing a network of environmental activists across the C of E. Then the lesson of aggregating small positive change can be used to engage with climate change and with a panoply of the other constituents of living sustainably.

There's still a bit of planning to complete and money to raise but it's looking good! Every Sunday I'm asked when the beehive will arrive and the entire congregation seem to want to be involved.

So, with a following wind, the sails will, I hope, soon fill and 2010 could be the beginning of a journey of change. Climate change is a looming danger - but so is loss of species, particularly the honey bee - in our Sceptered Isle.

p.s Note the sailing symbolism: soon I will post a short piece about the development of a group to protect the tidal Thames. Watch this space!!