Examples of Gwent's 'Living Churchyards' - Gwent Wildlife Trust
Examples of Gwent's 'Living Churchyards' - Gwent Wildlife Trust
Examples of Gwent's 'Living Churchyards' - Gwent Wildlife Trust
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<strong>Examples</strong> <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Gwent</strong>’s ‘Living<br />
Churchyards’<br />
1
Index<br />
Churchyard/Cemetery<br />
Page number<br />
St James,Rudry 3<br />
St Michaels & All Angels, Lower Machen 6<br />
St Michaels, Tintern 8<br />
St Teilos, Llantilio Pertholey 11<br />
Monmouth Cemetery 14<br />
St Michaels, Llantarnam 17<br />
All Saints, Llanfrechfa 20<br />
St Cadocs, Raglan 23<br />
St Illtyds, Llanhilleth 26<br />
St Cadocs, Tevethin 28<br />
St Michaels, Glascoed 30<br />
St Peter’s Pantside 33<br />
Bettws Newydd 36<br />
St Martins, Cwmyoy 39<br />
Groeswen Chapel 41<br />
Ebbw Vale & Cefn Gollau Cemeteries 45<br />
St Woolos & Christchurch Cemeteries 46<br />
Abercarn & Brithdir Cemeteries 47<br />
2
St James, Rudry<br />
Local Contact: Margaret Jones<br />
Website: www.parishbmr.org.uk/news<br />
3
Churchyard activity….<br />
Wildflower meadow area - cut and raked twice a year<br />
by volunteers<br />
Annual ‘rake & bake day’, bird boxes, stag beetle<br />
bucket and children’s activities<br />
Basic wildlife survey<br />
Stone interpretation panel to be installed<br />
4
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Wildflowers, slow worms, waxcap fungi,<br />
veteran yew trees……..<br />
5
St Michael’s & All<br />
Angels, Lower Machen<br />
Local contact: George Hughes<br />
Website: www.parishbmr.org.uk/news<br />
6
Churchyard activity…..<br />
Nurturing <strong>of</strong> a wildlife area in ‘new’ churchyard<br />
Grant from Newport Community Fund 2010 for new notice<br />
board and launch event<br />
‘Rake and bake’ community get together<br />
Basic survey <strong>of</strong> wildlife area<br />
7
St Michael’s, Tintern<br />
Local contact: Revd Nora Hill & Bernard Bradshaw<br />
8
Churchyard activity……<br />
Basic wildlife survey<br />
New compost bin, relocated away from yew tree<br />
Church & churchyard open days<br />
Wildflower meadow area & sowing <strong>of</strong> wildflower seed<br />
Digitising <strong>of</strong> burial records by local volunteer<br />
Gravestone recording day, bat evening, gravestones talk,<br />
visit to a local hay meadow<br />
Host for ‘Churchyards in Wye Valley Day’<br />
Successful grant applications inc for spring bulb planting,<br />
notice board, path resurfacing, strimmer, bench (Keep<br />
Wales Tidy, Monmouthshire CC)<br />
Tree survey & tree works<br />
9
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Veteran yews, bats, wildflowers, masonry<br />
bees……<br />
10
St Teilo’s, Llantilio<br />
Pertholey<br />
Local contact: Maurice Rolls & Anne Davies<br />
Website:www.stteiloschurch.org.uk/churchyardproject<br />
11
Churchyard activity…….<br />
Basic wildlife survey<br />
Trial meadow area, extended in 2010 to include<br />
churchyard margins<br />
Lichen identification session (British Lichen Society)<br />
Bee and butterfly hotels, bird boxes<br />
Church & churchyard open days, including visit by local<br />
invertebrate expert<br />
Talks to other groups locally to explain what’s been<br />
happening<br />
Wildflower plug planting with school children<br />
Planting <strong>of</strong> a living celtic cross<br />
Grant from Monmouthshire CC for interpretation board<br />
& leaflets<br />
12
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Veteran yews, wildflowers, slow<br />
worms, fungi, 83 species <strong>of</strong><br />
lichen……<br />
13
Monmouth Cemetery<br />
Local contact: Debbie McCarty & Daphne Smith<br />
Website:www.monmouthpartnershipforum.org/<br />
cemetery_group<br />
14
Cemetery activity…..<br />
Managed by Friends <strong>of</strong> group & Monmouthshire CC<br />
European funding for restoration <strong>of</strong> chapel including<br />
interpretative materials for biodiversity & history<br />
Basic wildlife survey & plan<br />
Wildflower meadow area<br />
Annual hay day, history walks<br />
Moth trapping session (30+moths) & wildlife wander<br />
15
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Mature trees, wildflowers, bats, slow<br />
worms, glow worms ……<br />
16
St Michael’s,<br />
Llantarnam<br />
Local contact: Roger & Myra Alma<br />
Website:www.stmichaels-llantarnam.co.uk/Churchyard<br />
17
Churchyard activity……<br />
Basic wildlife survey & plan<br />
Bird boxes<br />
<strong>Wildlife</strong> sightings book for visitors<br />
‘Llantarnam through the seasons’ – a collection <strong>of</strong><br />
photos taken by Roger Alma<br />
18
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Mature trees, spring flowers,<br />
fungi, birds……<br />
19
All Saints, Llanfrechfa<br />
Local contact: John Palmer<br />
20
Churchyard activity…..<br />
Basic wildlife survey & plan<br />
Churchyard open day, including children’s bug hunt<br />
Update <strong>of</strong> church leaflet to include churchyard<br />
Plans for an interpretation board<br />
21
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Mature trees, spring flowers……<br />
22
St Cadocs, Raglan<br />
Local contact: Reg & Viv Davies<br />
Website:www.raglan-parishes.org.uk<br />
23
Churchyard activity…..<br />
Basic wildlife survey<br />
Trial wild plant areas<br />
Promotion <strong>of</strong> conservation areas within entry to Village<br />
in Bloom competition<br />
24
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Mature trees, stone walls, lower<br />
plants, wildflowers……..<br />
25
St Illtyd’s, Llanhilleth<br />
Local contact: Merril Davies<br />
Website: www.illtyd.abelalways.co.uk/<br />
26
Churchyard activity…..<br />
Established friends <strong>of</strong> group<br />
Managed as a wildflower meadow<br />
Moth trapping session, gravestone recording<br />
Repair <strong>of</strong> stone walls<br />
Wildflower seed collecting<br />
Plant chart for visitors<br />
Heritage days<br />
Visit by British Lichen Society churchyard sub group<br />
27
St Cadoc’s, Trevethin<br />
Local contact: Malcolm McElhone<br />
Website:ftscc.org.uk<br />
28
Churchyard activity…<br />
Established Friends <strong>of</strong> group have worked with a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> partners to undertake wildlife survey & management<br />
plan and implement ‘wildlife friendly’ care<br />
Meadow area established<br />
New interpretation board<br />
Open days, wildlife walks, how to research your<br />
churchyard history session<br />
<strong>Wildlife</strong> work groups<br />
29
St Michael’s, Glascoed<br />
30
Churchyard activity…<br />
Sensitively managed to support its large variety <strong>of</strong><br />
wildflowers<br />
Basic wildlife survey<br />
Was identified in 2005 as a ‘Local <strong>Wildlife</strong> Site’<br />
(recognises sites <strong>of</strong> importance locally for wildlife)<br />
Churchyard open days – ‘Orchid & Cowslip spectacular’<br />
31
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Wildflowers (including early purple<br />
orchids) & waxcap fungi<br />
32
St Peter’s, Pantside<br />
33
Churchyard activity…..<br />
Basic wildlife survey<br />
Bug hunt & bird box making with youth group<br />
Community hedgerow planting event<br />
Wildflower seed sowing<br />
Grassland cut and raked<br />
Litter picks<br />
34
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Wildflowers (including native<br />
bluebells), new native hedgerow…..<br />
35
Bettws Newydd<br />
36
Churchyard activity…..<br />
Grant for artistic yew tree interpretation panel and<br />
leaflet<br />
Sunday school yew tree activities<br />
Talk by Fred Hageneder (author <strong>of</strong> ‘Yew; a History’.)<br />
Visit by Saced Space Project (Wrexham)<br />
Gravestone recording session<br />
37
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Famous veteran yew – over<br />
2000 yrs old & one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
oldest living things in <strong>Gwent</strong> !<br />
38
St Martin’s, Cwmyoy<br />
39
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
Spring flora (inc native bluebells),<br />
slow worms, mistletoe, yellow<br />
meadow ants, Grimmia ovalis<br />
(nationally scarce moss)……..<br />
40
Groeswen Chapel<br />
‘The Westminster Abbey <strong>of</strong> Wales’<br />
41
Chapel-yard activities….<br />
Rebuilding a section <strong>of</strong> stone<br />
wall<br />
42
<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />
43
Bethania Chapel -<br />
Regeneration project by Ystrad Mynach students &<br />
Keep Wales Tidy - clearing pathways, cutting down<br />
overgrown brambles to reveal hidden graves,<br />
development <strong>of</strong> a plan <strong>of</strong> the cemetery and research<br />
into the history <strong>of</strong> the gravestones.<br />
Website: www.ystrad-mynach.ac.uk/press-releases/ystradmynach-students-help-improve-their-local-area<br />
44
Ebbw Vale & Cefn Gollau<br />
Cemeteries, Blaenau <strong>Gwent</strong> -<br />
Wildflower meadow, new pond, dawn chorus walk,<br />
venue for a biodiversity blitz’ (over 300 species<br />
recorded inc brown hawker dragonfly), BGCBC<br />
environment awards nominee<br />
45
St Woolos & Christchurch<br />
cemeteries, Newport –<br />
Found to be an important Welsh site for waxcap<br />
fungi following specialist fungi surveys, fungi walks<br />
led by <strong>Gwent</strong> Fungus Group<br />
46
Abercarn & Brithdir<br />
cemeteries, Caerphilly -<br />
Changes to cutting regime in parts <strong>of</strong> the cemeteries<br />
to encourage wildflowers, following a basic wild plant<br />
survey - at Abercarn this includes a heathland flora<br />
(with heather, wavy hair grass, bilberry, goldenrod,<br />
wood sage, tormentil & lousewort)<br />
47
<strong>Gwent</strong> Living<br />
Churchyards Project<br />
December 2007 – November 2010<br />
Thank you to our funders:<br />
48<br />
Photos by R Alma, S Evans, C Goring, Keep Wales Tidy, D McCarty & R Price
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