Registrations are open on the Caring for God’s Acre website now
Register now for Love Your Burial Ground Week with Churches Count on Nature, an annual initiative to celebrate and monitor the wildlife to be found in churchyards, chapel yards and cemeteries across the UK.
The dates this year are Saturday 6 - Sunday 14 June.
It is promoted by Caring for God’s Acre in partnership with the Church of England, the Church in Wales and A Rocha UK. It coincides with National Cemeteries Week, hosted by the National Federation of Cemetery Friends, as well as with the Great Big Green Week run by the Climate Coalition.
Burial Ground managers, PCCs and Friends groups are encouraged to get together with congregations and local residents to run events observing and recording wildlife, whether hosted by a local expert, as a fun activity for families, or any number of options in between.
Feedback from 2025 was overwhelmingly positive, with 97% of participating groups giving either a 4-star or 5-star rating. A fantastic 58% said that attendees included people from outside their usual community, indicating that running an event helped to bring in new people to appreciate the wildlife treasures to be found.
When asked to describe the highlight, quotes sent in by participating groups included
“Finding hedgehog poo in our city centre churchyard!”
and
“A lovely evening looking for nature at its best.”
Records can be submitted to CfGA via the iNaturalist app, an enjoyable and straightforward way to document findings that also assists in species identification, enhancing wildlife encounters. Simply visit the CfGA website to find out how to join the Beautiful Burial Grounds Project within the app and start submitting your records.
In 2026 the focus is specifically on swifts, and the first 500 to sign up can request a booklet supplied by Action for Swifts, as well as the option to request copies of our Starter Guide to Burial Ground Heritage and Wildlife, plus a Guide to the Wildlife of Burial Grounds specially produced for us by the Field Studies Council.