Dear Eco-congregation Members,
I attach two position papers which may be of interest to you – both are particularly relevant to managing churchyards in the best interests of biodiversity. The first makes the case against using so-called wildflower seed mixtures and the second is about protecting the flora of old walls. Both papers were produced by the Dublin Naturalists’ Field Club in response to the biodiversity crisis. We recognise that church grounds can be very important refugia for native species given their long, historical continuity of low-intensity management practices.
I’d be very grateful if you would bring these papers to the attention of those involved in maintaining church grounds and I hope that they might stimulate discussion around these topics.
Kind regards,
Melinda Lyons