Pupils enjoy day of nature in churchyard

The pupils from Pelsall Village School spent a morning walking around the churchyard of St Michael's and All Angels Pelsall to discover as many different types of wildlife as they could.

The study is part of Churches Count on Nature, a joint initiative promoted by Caring for God's Acre, A Rocha UK, the Church of England and the Church of Wales, and Love your Burial Ground week.

The two events are national events which act as a springboard to start recording wildlife in churchyards, as well as raise the profile of cemeteries as places of stillness and environmentally friendly places for insects and animals to develop.

Reverend Alison Morris, interim minister of St Michael's and All Angels Pelsall, spoke about the importance of the study.

She said: "It's about looking at God's creation and getting that enrichment from God's space, as well as looking at the flora and fauna of the churchyard.

"The study also looks at the environmental issue of protecting insects, trees, plants and wildlife.

"We've had three schools come in, with Pelsall Village School, St Michael's Church of England and Ryders Hayes Community Primary School as well."

The pupils were given record sheets to tick off the different animals and insects as they found them.

Mrs Morris said there had been a lot of excited noises from the churchyard as the pupils had been discovering different species to put on their sheets.

She said: "They were ticking off a lot, with many of them finding ladybirds, insects, moths, butterflies and slugs.

"They were out there identifying all these creatures, with some of using magnifying glasses to really see what was in the grassy areas.

"A lot of them won't have seen the little summer daisies you get on lawns or dandelions, so this has been a really good day for everyone involved."

Mrs Morris also said it would help the relationship between the schools and the church by helping the children to appreciate the location they live in and develop environmental trends for the church.

She said: "You learn more about the natural world being there than you would in a text book and it's great to see the sheer delight on their faces when they see a bug move or a ladybird fly.

"It's captured on their faces that they're learning, but they're also learning about it in God's environment, rather than a classroom."