World Environment Day

World Environment Day, on June 5th, is the UN’s most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.

The Church of England has a Christian presence in every community across England and in Europe, and is committed to making a positive impact on the environment. Learn more about what some church communities are up to here.

Holy Trinity Tulse Hill (Diocese of Southwark)

What are they doing? 
Building a new community hall made out of straw bales that is environmentally friendly.

How could your church come up with a big idea to make a positive impact on the environment? Holy Trinity Tulse Hill are looking at their impact to the environment in a big way. Their vision is to build a new community hall made out of straw bales that is environmentally friendly and built for the good of the people of Tulse Hill.

Big ideas can lead to big changes. Thinking outside the box can capture the imagination of a community and lead to lots of involvement and interest.

Find out more about this project on their website and follow their progress on their Facebook page.

The straw bale building sketch

All Saints Kings Heath (Diocese of Birmingham)

What are they doing? Engaging with lots of simple ideas that are transforming different areas of the church.

What simple ideas could your church come up with to begin making a positive impact on the environment? All Saints Kings Heath are making little changes across everything they do in order to help change the impact their church has on the environment. From installing LED lights inside the church building to recycling jam jars for a new church food shop, they see these individual projects contributing to the bigger picture of how the church can engage with world issues.

There are small opportunities everywhere for your church to make a difference. Each step helps in some way and can involve lots of different people.

Watch a video from the Diocese of Birmingham about All Saints becoming an Eco Church and read more about Eco Church on their website.

St Mary Greenhithe (Diocese of Rochester)

What are they doing? Providing free fruit and vegetables to the town grown in the church’s new edible garden.

Does your church have spare land it could use to kickstart healthy eating in the local community? St Mary Greenhithe is creating a new edible garden in their grounds so they can give away free fruit and vegetables around their town to help encourage healthy eating. By engaging with other local organisations, their reach and impact across their community is made even greater.

Serving the community by providing free and healthy food shows how churches can engage with their local communities in positive ways.

Read more about this project on the Diocese of Rochester website.

People standing around a new vegetable patch