THE winners of the 2024 Green Church Awards were finally revealed in an award ceremony in St John’s, Waterloo, in London.
The the Programmes, Partnerships and Advocacy Director for Embrace the Middle East, Dr Ruth Valerio, who chaired the judges, hosted the ceremony, on Thursday of last week. Three shortlisted entrants in each of the seven award categories attended, as well as representatives of the awards’ sponsors, judges, and special guests.
After a welcome from a member of the clergy team at St John’s, and the Church Times, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, who is the lead bishop for the environment, opened with a creation-inspired prayer.
The Lighthouse Church, the Wirral, an eco-build developed by Heswall parish on Heswall’s high street, was announced winner of the Green Buildings category, sponsored by Inspired Efficiency, while St Cecilia’s C of E School, Wandsworth, in London, and the Corporation of the Church House were highly commended.
The Rector of Heswall, the Revd Martin Cannam, said: “We’re delighted to have won our category, but I think even more pleased to be part of a church initiative which is seeking to care for God’s creation and is celebrating actions that people can take, both big and small, that are seeking to make a difference.”
In the Land and Nature category, sponsored by A Rocha UK (Eco Church), Chapel en le Frith Methodist Church, in Derbyshire, was announced winner for the development of the Townend Community Garden on the church’s land. The churchyard at St Luke’s, Sway, Hampshire, and the wildlife garden at St Matthew’s, Bristol, were highly commended in the category.
Mary Craner, Townend Community Garden lead, said of the award ceremony: “It’s been inspiring. There are things that we’re heard and thought: ‘We could do that’; so we’ve definitely got ideas that we can take away.”
The team said that they plan to put their £1000 prize money to fund a special project, rather than towards general running costs. “We are limited using the outside space,” Jules Murdy said; “so, we’re wondering about some sort of outside covering that would be a permanent space; that might enable us to engage with more young people . . . but the volunteers will probably have ideas as well.”
The Congregation and Community Action category, sponsored by Green Journey, was won by Watford Salvation Army for their community allotment. Highly commended were St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Dunblane, for ECO Fest, which has developed into a week-long collaborative community event, and Holy Trinity, Barnes, in London, for its “Growing Together” community garden.
“We’re about to have our harvest celebration on the allotment; so we will definitely be celebrating winning this award at that,” Captain Mark Scoulding, Commanding Officer at Watford Salvation Army, said.
Captain Scoulding said that prize money would probably be spent on adding to the sensory engagement of the plot, for pupils from Cherry Tree Primary School, who help in the allotment, as well as to developing a new creative project for pupils.
“Last year, we grew a meal — vegetable soup and cheese and tomato pizza — but we have quite a broad demographic; so maybe growing something from different continents. Hopefully, that will also engage parents and family at home in a different way, too.”
Samuel, aged eight, from Cherry Tree Primary, was at the award ceremony with his head teacher. One of his favourite activities has been taking part in “Taste Ed”: a programme to enable children to experience vegetables with their senses. Having grown “peas, tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots” at the allotment, he is now trying to grow vegetables at home.
The winner of the Green Health category, sponsored by the Conservation Foundation, was St Mary’s Therapeutic Garden, at St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham, in London. St Paul’s Woodland Garden, at St Paul’s, Camden, in London, and StPA Community Garden at St Peter’s, Quarrendon, in Aylesbury, were both highly commended.
Jane Boggan, one of the volunteers at St Mary’s Therapeutic Garden, said: “It’s a great validation for the work that’s been going on at St Mary’s.” And of the award ceremony she said: “There are so many really interesting things happening, and that’s been really inspiring.”
In the Training and Education category, sponsored by BRF Ministries (Messy Church), Worcester Cathedral’s “Living Gently on the Earth” programme, developed to train and educate people in the county on creation-care issues, was announced as winner of the category prize.
Highly commended in the category were the mini-farm, food-growing, and biodiversity efforts of pupils at Shinfield St Mary’s C of E Junior School, Wokingham, in Berkshire, and the diocese of St Albans Board of Education’s “Heart for the Earth” project, which is encouraging the diocese’s schools to become carbon-neutral.
Staffan Engström, a lay canon of Worcester Cathedral and chair of the EcoGroup, said: “We were most surprised, and also very pleased to win the award, especially having seen the quality of the other shortlisted candidates. It is a great honour to win, which we hope will give opportunities to share our learning with others, and to learn from them as well.”
Jean Carletta, director of HeatHack, was the winner of the Green Champion category, sponsored by Stewardship. Joanna Laynesmith and Rosemary Croft, from St John’s, Reading, and Helen Bradstock, from St Helen’s, St Helens, on the Isle of Wight, were highly commended.
“I’m very honoured and grateful to receive this award,” Ms Carletta said. “It was wonderful to meet so many like-minded people, and the prize money means I don’t need to worry about paying HeatHack’s basic costs. I can concentrate on what to do next.”
The Action on a Shoestring category, sponsored by Green Journey, was won by St Mary’s CE Academy, Walkley, in Sheffield, for the development of its Eco Council and its wide-ranging environmental initiatives. Highly commended were St Matthew’s, Walsall, in the West Midlands, for work to the churchyard, and Christ Church, Abbeystead, in Lancashire, for its Partners in Environment youth group.
The diocesan environment officer for Sheffield diocese, Dr Cathy Rhodes, encouraged St Mary’s to apply after seeing the school’s eco-garden, recycling, active-travel, energy-saving, and nature-surveying efforts. She said: “This is really meaningful for them, because the teacher, Sylvia Roux, has quietly got on and captured the imagination of these children, and it’s set them a fantastic foundation for the rest of their lives, knowing about creation and the importance of taking action. . .
“One of the things the Church can offer is hope and support, and the Church Times award has allowed us to celebrate what they have done. They are going to be absolutely over the moon.”
The church-operations director of the awards’ headline sponsors Ecclesiastical Insurance, Helen Richards, said: “Ecclesiastical were delighted to be the main sponsor of the 2024 Church Times Green Church Awards.
“It’s really important to celebrate and acknowledge the work that churches across the country do, and these awards were a great way to do so. We heard some incredibly inspiring stories from the entrants, and I want to congratulate all of them, and in particular the winners, for the amazing — and hugely important — work they are doing.
“It was an absolute privilege for Stuart Blackie, our principal risk-management surveyor, to be invited to join such a prestigious judging panel, and work with the Church Times and the other judges and sponsors to select the winners.
“I know he found the process of choosing between the many superb entries extremely difficult — though, at the same time, it offered an inspiring and fascinating insight into the vast range of activity taking place to help fight climate change and biodiversity loss.”
The 2024 Church Times Green Church Awards were organised in association with the Church of England’s environment programme, the Methodist Church, the Salvation Army and Eco Congregation Scotland.
ecclesiastical.com
inspiredefficiency.co.uk
arocha.org.uk
greenjourney.org
conservationfoundation.co.uk
brf.org.uk
stewardship.org.uk