A group of conservation volunteers have been given a royal seal of approval… and now they’re inviting more people to join them. The Churchyard Task Team have won a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – ‘the MBE for charities’ – for their work managing burial grounds in a wildlife-friendly way. The team, run by national charity Caring for God’s Acre (CfGA) based in Craven Arms, use traditional skills to preserve these unique sites, and they received their award in September from Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Sir Algernon Heber-Percy.
Volunteer coordinator Alex Logan explains, “One day we’re scything and raking grass in a churchyard in north Shropshire, a few days later we can be working in Shrewsbury cemetery, and the following week we’ll be tidying up hedges and walls in a tiny village on the Welsh borders. Everyone is welcome to join us. We’ll give you training and provide any equipment you’ll need. We also run regular dry-stone wall and scything training courses.”
To find out more, call 01588 673041 or visit caringforgodsacre.org.uk.
Picture courtesy of Shropshire Star
