By Jenny Walker

Members of St Augustine’s Church in Scaynes Hill are exploring ways in which it can help to protect the environment and as a part of this we have signed up for the A Rocha Eco Church Awards. Eco Church is an environmental award scheme for churches run by A Rocha, equipping churches to care for God’s creation through their worship, buildings, land, community engagement and individual lifestyles. There are three award levels - Bronze, Silver and Gold and we are at the point of submitting our application for the Silver award.

Ultimately this work is not about the award itself but about analysing our impact on the environment and making changes to make this a more positive one. We have already made a number of changes including LED lighting, using green electricity, using Fairtrade tea and coffee, toilet twinning, recycling milk bottle tops, organising a communal card scheme at Christmas and planting a native tree in the churchyard to encourage wildlife. Recently we have set up an Eco Church Team who have lots of ideas for further actions that we can consider.

Last September our Vicar, Rev Beverley Miles, started a monthly Eco Church session called 23@3. Through this we have engaged with our local MP, Mims Davies, on environmental matters. She joined us at 23@3 for a walk in nearby woodland and a discussion on local environmental matters. We subsequently wrote to her ahead of COP26 raising our concerns about various environmental issues.

At present our focus is on encouraging our church community to consider how to make their own lifestyles more environmentally friendly. To help with this we have set up an ‘Eco Table’ at church to facilitate reusing and recycling goods. People can bring along unwanted items and take away items that they can make use of and for which they give a small donation. All of these donations are used to help the charities which St Augustine’s Church supports.

We are planning a larger scale event to encourage the reuse and recycling of the clothes which most of us have in our wardrobes and no longer require. Our Spring Pre-loved Clothes Sale will take place on Friday 11th March from 10am to 7pm and Saturday 12th March from 10 am to 4pm in the church. Menswear, womenswear and clothes for babies and children can all be donated as well as accessories. All items must be in good condition. We are hoping to have two enjoyable days with refreshments served and everyone is welcome to come along for a browse. As part of our commitment to caring for God’s creation, St Augustine’s Church is also hoping to hold an ‘Eco Festival’ in September with a range of events and activities aimed at engaging people with eco matters and educating and empowering people in their understanding of how to adopt a more eco-friendly, sustainable lifestyle.