Environment

Eco Parish Prayer Walks

Did you know that the Stoke Gifford Church Parish covers 2.2 square miles?  The Eco Group will be running two walks on Saturdays 8 and 15 August to explore the green areas within our parish, and pray for the whole area. 

We will meet outside the coffee shop at 10:15am to start at 10:30am.  The walks will be around 5.5 – 6 miles, taking around 4 hours, we will stop for packed lunch (please bring your own) and there will be time for a drink at the Beaufort Arms after the walk.

The walk on Saturday 8 August will explore the parish to the north of the railway, on paths that are suitable for dogs on leads, and pushchairs but not wheelchairs.  The walk on Saturday 15 August  will be south of the railway, and is also suitable for dogs on leads but not pushchairs or wheelchairs.

Do come along and join us, please be prepared for whatever weather is predicted!

Eco Group Lifestyle Survey

We have made an Environmental Commitment as a church and are currently working towards the Silver Eco Church Award, having gained the Bronze award in 2022.  To support our Environmental Commitment, the Eco Group is conducting a lifestyle survey. This survey aims to understand how we care for creation, find the best ways to share environmental information, and gather suggestions on how we can all reduce our environmental impact.

Our sustainable transport survey in 2022 had 125 responses; we would love to equal or exceed that amount!

We hope you will participate in this survey, which will close in July. The survey is also available in paper form if you cannot complete the online form.

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE FORM

Eco Church

St Michael’s Environmental Commitment

God created the world and everything in it. 

As Christians, it is our responsibility to care for creation, using resources wisely in order that climate change is mitigated, biodiversity protected or enhanced, finite resources conserved, and waste and pollution minimised.

As a church community, we recognise the need to take responsibility for our own environmental impact and to take the practical steps necessary to mitigate it.

We achieved the Eco Church Bronze Award with A Rocha in 2022 and are working towards achieving the Silver award.

The award covers five key areas of church life: Worship and teaching, Buildings and energy, Land and nature, Community and global engagement, and Lifestyle.

Eco church

St Michael’s Eco Group was formed in October 2021 on the back of celebrating Climate Sunday the previous month. In the two years that have followed, we have achieved a lot and come a long way.

The following things we have set up and happen regularly:

  • Repair Café happens monthly
  • We buy Eco-friendly washing up liquid in bulk and sell at Repair Cafe and upon request.
  • We grow some of our own vegetables
  • We have recycling facilities in every room and in the churchyard
  • We use ECO friendly paper
  • Our toilet paper is either recycled or Eco friendly
  • All our toilet roll holders are made from recycled tetra paks

We have put the following things in place:

  • We no longer use disposable cups in any of our Church Services
  • We have twinned all our toilets through a toilet twinning charity
  • We have held Clothes Swap Events
  • We have held Plant Swap Events
  • We have held community litter picks
  • We have installed solar panels on our Church Centre
  • We have put up a Bee pole in the Churchyard
  • We have a water butt on site
  • We have held a 5-week sermon series on God’s Creation
  • We have created, published and analysed a sustainable travel survey
  • We have updated our travel page to include all forms of sustainable transport
  • Left an area of the Churchyard un-mowed and wild
  • We no longer serve individually wrapped biscuits

It is hoped that by all of us making small changes we can help to influence the culture at St Michael’s to help us look after our Environment. If you would like any more information on the Eco Group please contact eco@stmichaelsbristol.org

Going forward we are looking to:

  • Have an energy audit on all our buildings
  • Plant wild flowers to encourage more wildlife
  • Buy more Eco-friendly items in bulk to sell
  • Look into having an electric charging point installed in our car park