Holy Trinity holds the Eco Church Silver Award. To learn more about A Rocha’s Eco Church, its focus on how we care for Creation in our worship and teaching; in how we look after our buildings and land; in how we engage with our local community and the wider world, and in the personal lifestyles of our congregation, go to: https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/
The Eco Team have put together a list of interesting webinars on environmental issues from various sources, including the Church of England and the Oxford Martin School (part of Oxford University) – see below. Some are on church issues and others are of more general interest.
Talks
Environment Matters Autumn talk series
James Martin Memorial lecture: Time To Look Up – in conversation with Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma about the climate crisis
Thursday 26 October, 5.00 – 6.00pm, Sheldonian Theatre
After a summer of extreme heatwaves, devastating wildfires and deadly flooding across the world, all made worse by climate change, the Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma, President of COP26 in Glasgow 2021, will discuss the ongoing climate crisis with Director of the Oxford Martin School, Professor Sir Charles Godfray. In the run up to COP28, Sir Alok will describe his hopes for the summit and his views on the future of the COP process, as well as the role of the UK in international climate policy. He will explore the importance of business in tackling climate change, and the challenges of financing the scale of climate action required. And climate action requires a facilitating political environment: how strong is the climate agenda and how much support does it have amongst citizens and in the private sector.
To attend in person in Oxford: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/events/james-martin-memorial-lecture-alok-sharma/
To watch live online: https://livestream.com/oxuni/sharma
Webinars
Managing Glebe Land for Biodiversity and Climate
Thursday 12 October, 12 – 2 pm
This webinar will introduce you to recent guidance prepared by the Church of England Environment Programme. The guidance aims to help people in dioceses who deal with decisions on glebe land to endorse and adopt policies that embed issues of nature and climate into their decision-making. There will be a panel of speakers sharing their various experience of managing glebe land.
Book here
Managing Veteran/Ancient Yews
Tuesday 17th October, 2 – 3.30 pm
Join Russell Ball of Arbo EuroConsulting Ltd for a fascinating talk on ancient yews. The talk will cover best-practice management of these precious trees with a few mismanagement myths thrown in. Russell is a Chartered biologist with a Botany degree and post-graduate diploma in Landscape Management. Currently he is a consulting arborist and chair and founder of the registered charity Fund4Trees.
Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/veteran-trees-tickets-721123759577?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
Seeking Sanctuary – conserving amphibians and reptiles in burial grounds
Tuesday 24th October, 2 – 3.30 pm
A webinar on reptiles and amphibians in burial grounds from Dr Angela Julian from Amphibian and Reptile Groups of UK (ARG UK). Angela is Coordinator of the network of volunteer amphibian and reptile groups who aim to conserve our UK-native amphibians and reptiles. The presentation will introduce our widespread amphibians and reptiles, and discuss how we can best nurture and conserve them in burial grounds through sympathetic management, working in partnership with land managers, maintenance contractors and local communities.
Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reptiles-and-amphibians-tickets-721139275987?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
Planning, publicising & running guided walks in your burial ground
Tuesday 28th November, 2 – 3.30 pm
Public Engagement Manager Janine Marriott from Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust in Bristol will walk you through the process of encouraging people to join you for a guided walk at your site. She will talk you through how to create the tour, how to market it, and the practicalities of running a tour. You will leave the talk with lots of ideas and helpful hints on the process and you will be running your own tours in no time at all.
Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/planning-publicising-running-guided-walks-in-your-burial-ground-tickets-721177640737?aff=oddtdtcreator
Past webinars which are available to watch again
For links to the range of C of E Net Zero Carbon webinars, and environmental fundraising go to: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/environment-and-climate-change/webinars-getting-net-zero-carbon#na
Oxford Diocese Eco Hub
This describes itself as ’a one-stop shop for information, practical advice and theological reflection on how we can best care for God’s creation.’ It brings together resources from various organisations and groups, enabling us to find information to become agents of change.
Parish Buying Scheme
For clean electricity, and much more besides at competitive prices (including LED lighting, photocopiers, phones and broadband, insurance, office products, church supplies, furniture, fire safety, audio visual, and even Covid-19 supplies).
Ravenous: How to get Ourselves and our Planet into Shape
Recording from Oxford Martin School
This webinar discusses how our food system is no longer simply a means of sustenance. It is one of the most successful, most innovative and most destructive industries on earth. It sustains us, but it is also killing us.
Diet-related disease is now the biggest cause of preventable illness and death in the developed world – far worse than smoking. The environmental damage done by the food system is also changing climate patterns and degrading the earth, risking our food security.
Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, government adviser and author of the radical National Food Strategy, takes us behind the scenes to reveal the mechanisms that act together to shape the modern diet – and therefore the world. He explains not just why the food system is leading us into disaster, but what can be done about it. To listen to the recording: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/videos/ravenous/
If you missed previous Church of England webinars, you can find a huge range of recordings, sorted into a number of playlists. To skip the ads click the button which appears after a few seconds towards the bottom of the screen, on the right.