Environmental Awareness At St Chad’s

In 2000 St Chad’s Green Team started promoting awareness of our responsibilities towards the environment and sustainability of planet earth. Each year we hold at least one special service (usually in the summer) which focusses on an aspect of our responsibilities to the environment. There are recycling boxes in the Welcome Porch of the church for USED reading glasses, USED contact lens packs, USED postage stamps, USED Biros, Pens & Felt Tips and USED chocolate bar & sweet wrappers (multipack sweet pouches and outer bag plastic packaging only). See our leaflet here.

The churchyard is maintained for the benefit of wildlife, whilst always remembering its prime purpose as a resting place for the deceased. (see Churchyard as wildlife haven for further details).

Read about our most recent recognition award from the Church Times here.

The following list shows some of our achievements and publicity:

2003 (July) Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Living Churchyard Award Runner Up
2005 (October) First Eco-congregation Award
2006 (April) Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Jubilee event held St Chad’s
2006 BBC “Springwatch” filmed & broadcast short sequence in the churchyard
2007 Green Apple Award (Bronze) for Charity & Community Project.
2007 Church Times Green Awards “Biodiversity” category Winner
2008 June featured in The Dalesman magazine
2008 Leeds City Council “Community & City Pride” Awards. Recycling Project of the Year Runner Up
2009 Leeds City Council “Community & City Pride” Award
2008 Interpretive Boards erected in churchyard
2008 Second Eco-congregation Award
2012 Third Eco-congregation Award

2013 Yorkshire Post Environment Awards Short-listed for Community Award
2014 (May) “A Walk Round St Chad’s churchyard, Far Headingley” published professionally
2014 (December) St Chad’s Churchyard featured in British Wildlife Journal
2015 “St Chad’s Church Far Headingley Geological Trail” published professionally
2015 Yorkshire Post Environment Awards Winner Community category
2016 (June) Churchyard featured in the Yorkshire Post Magazine during ‘Celebrating Churchyards Week’
2016 Eco Church Silver Award (The Eco Church Award, launched in February 2016, replaces the Eco Congregation scheme, and is run by A Rocha UK, a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world). Read more here
2017 Green Champions Award, The Church Times. Read more here

Bishop Paul with Revd Tom Lusty and some members of the St Chad’s Green Team – (left to right) Alan Griggs, Mary Henderson, Katie Fabri, Helen Cruickshank, and Mike Willison, receiving their 2016 Eco Church Silver Award.

Some members of St Chad’s Green Team receiving the Yorkshire Post Environment Award in the Community Category from Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party in July 2015