Holy Trinity Church Bradford on Avon is trialling a rewilding scheme for part of the churchyard, after it recently produced a Churchyard Policy written by ecologists Ali and Dave Green, and Mike Fuller, a lepidopterist. The policy explains how to maintain and develop the churchyard as a real eco-resource to the community, in keeping with Holy Trinity's Eco Church status.

Currently a trial strip has been left unmown to encourage the wildflowers that have seeded there and and at the end of the year another area will be cordoned off and left unmown until the high summer 2020, as a mini conservation area. The church hopes that with the abundance of brambles there it will be an attractive area for butterflies and other insects, as well as small birds and mammals.

Holy Trinity is also supporting The Blue Campaign which was highlighted at Bradford on Avon Town Council’s recent Climate Emergency Meeting and Dave Green has made a Blue Heart using recycled bits of wood.

This tells neighbours and friends that rewilding is in process and that it is not just the owner or council being lazy.

The campaign was conceived in 2014 in response to a report on the State of Nature published that year, which highlighted the dramatic decline in biodiversity and biomass across the UK and was founded by wildlife film maker, Fergus Beeley, who has produced award winning films with Sir David Attenborough, including The Life Of Birds.

It promotes the rewilding of our gardens, parks, road verges, schools and churches and suggests that a part of this ground is set aside and left to grow through the summer.