The rewilding winning ways of Higham Ferrers and going for gold pays off
For six years, The Friends of St Mary's Church in Higham Ferrers have dedicated themselves to improving the habitat for wildlife in the churchyard. Now their hard work has paid off with not just one award but two.
And their efforts went ''way beyond'' what even judges of the prestigious national Wildlife Trust's gold award were expecting.
''They have done an amazing job. The judges were very impressed,'' said Lisa Rowley, the administrator and conservation officer of the Regional Wildlife Trust.
Winning the gold award put the Friends of St Mary's in line for the solid oak trophy for best churchyard of the year- and they clinched that title too.
They will remain the Gold Award winners for three years while the best churchyard is theirs for twelve months.
The gold award followed the silver award they won three years ago.
The Friends and everyone who helped in the churchyard over the years, marked their double awards with a special celebration in the churchyard's Bede House where they enjoyed refreshments and a slice of Alison Wilkinson's specially made cake.
Brenda Lofthouse, chairperson of the Friends. recalled finding a ''magnificent set of criteria'' developed by the Wildlife Trust for the Friends to follow to gain the silver award.
''That gave us a schedule to follow and gradually we worked towards the ultimate- the gold,'' she recalled.
To gain the gold, candidates were assessed against a range of criteria, which were grouped into different aspects related to supporting wildlife in the churchyard.
The groupings were: grassland and meadow plants: trees, shrubs and herbs: management, education and public relations as well as the variety of habitats.
They had to meet all the requiremants of the silver award, plus scoring 40 points, including at least five from each section.
''We also had to provide evidence of an ongoing programme of monitoring and recording wildlife. We met all the requirements apart from having a water butt, which we cannot install on Grade 1 listed buildings. There are a total of 49 points available and we got 48,'' explained Carol Fitzgerald, the secretary.
Katherine Banham, a Wildlife Trust conservation officer, who attended the celebration with Lisa Rowley, said there had been '' wonderful community involvement'' in the churchyard.
There had also been good interpretation of what the Friends had been doing '' letting people know what was happening and why it was happening''.
The Gold Award plaque will now be placed next to the silver award on the gatepost by the WW1 memorial in the churchyard.