It is with great joy that we are able to announce that Hatfield St Lawrence Church has been awarded Bronze Eco Church status in recognition of the work that we have done to care for God’s earth in many different categories. Huge thanks to the team, lead by Glenys Mashford and Chrissy Grindle, who have worked tirelessly over the past few years to keep Eco Church high on our agenda and in all our decisions as a church.
Here are some of the things that have been implemented to help us achieve this award:
- Including topics on looking after God’s creation in our worship and teaching, including our youth group.
- Reviewing craft materials used in our children’s ministry to ensure more natural materials are used and crafts are more easily recyclable.
- Refreshing of our recycling station in the church porch and having two bins inside to aid in the separation of recyclable and non-recyclable waste.
- Using LED lightbulbs where possible in all of our buildings.
- Monitoring our energy usage and heating of our Grade 1 listed building.
- Rewilding parts of our churchyard to be more friendly to local wildlife
- Installation of bird feeders in the churchyard
- Engaging with global issues through twinning our toilets in the Church, Barn and Parish Office.
- Having regular articles on eco friendly tips in our church magazine and newsletter.
- Encouraging our hospitality team to reduce waste by only bringing the food that is needed, following the principles of LOAF and composting coffee grinds.
- Changing our cleaning products to eco friendly ones and purchasing fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar where possible.
- Undertaking wildlife surveys in our churchyard and installing a hedgehog hotel.
- Organising local litter picks with our Hatfield Heroes Youth Group and for families to take part it.
- Organising events that encourage people to get outside and enjoy God’s creation such as our Garden Party, Yard Sale Trail, Chalk Prayer Path and Hatfield Monopoly.
- Running a Uniform Bank to encourage the recycling and reuse of school uniform locally
If you would like to know more about Eco Church please visit A Rocha’s website, or speak to Glenys or Chrissy. They would welcome more members of the Eco Church team to work towards our Silver Award, and to encourage all members of our congregation and community to look after God’s creation.
Hatfield St Lawrence Church 