The Greening of Herringthorpe URC

The greening of Herringthorpe United Reform Church, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, began on January 18th, 1991. The Church Meeting passed a statement of 'values' including the commitment to, as a church, 'have a practical concern for the community and the environment locally and worldwide'.

This commitment came at a time when Herringthorpe was beginning to plan some rebuilding and extension work, partly due to subsidence. Environmentally concerned church members put forward practical suggestions to the building committee at the earliest stages. The 'Building Regulations' already required, for example, good insulation and low consumption loos, but our thoughts were on the long-term relationship of the building with its environment. Energy Use

A pitched roof and the use of good quality materials require less maintenance resources. Selective sizing of windows achieve a balance between good natural light and minimal heat loss, with 12mm double glazing installed as a matter of course. Programmed gas heating is fitted in most areas, with local 'zone over-rides' minimising waste from partial building usage. This system was chosen to lessen the financial burden on future generations. A kitchen heat recovery unit and low energy lighting are amongst other new features.

The south-facing main entrance is a weather porch which is effective at keeping a pleasant environment inside, and also skilfully blends the new architecture with the old. For other than ecological reasons, we chose to re-use some of the original materials, particularly some of the brickwork, so that the replacement work matched the original. The 'spin-off' was that it was 'greener' as well, by using less 'new' materials. We agreed not to use any tropical hardwood. For the floor we chose red oak, grown in Canada as a farmed crop. All the other wood is softwood.

The building was rededicated in October 1994. Once it was in full use, it was time to consider other green initiatives. First of all a meeting was held for anyone interested in doing an 'Ecological Audit', using for guidance Sheet 11 of the 'Sustainability Pack' produced by CEL. Several of us met and the EaRTH (Environmental and Resources Thinking at Herringthorpe) group was formed. We considered where to start, and felt that we wanted to 'get our teeth into' something practical. One of the group had already persuaded the Elders that we should not use Nescafe for coffee served on the premises, and a change was made to Traidcraft 'Campaign' coffee and Cafe Direct, both of which support small producers in the Third World, rather than multinationals. As part of this initiative, the church agreed to have a Traidcraft stall after service once a month. We were pleased with the initial success, and some members now buy the tea, coffee, dried fruit etc. on a regular basis.

Recycling

Recycling is one of the major issues that the EaRTH group has tried to address. We were perhaps a little ambitious or over zealous in this area. We had visions of recycling skips being placed on the church car park, to be used by everyone including local residents. After discussion at Elders Meeting and Church Meeting this proposal was given a 'No' vote, because of the understandable problems of broken glass and general untidiness. As a minority group we accepted this as a democratic decision, not expecting to get a 'sympathy vote'!

Our next idea proved to be more acceptable. We now have a list of people who are willing to take responsibility for collecting various products for recycling, eg Mrs X collects paper, Mrs Y collects aluminium and Miss Z collects stamps, etc. This method prevents untidiness by people bringing recyclables and just leaving them anywhere. Aluminium and newspapers are taken to the local hospital which has an established recycling scheme, the money raised being used for patient and staff comforts. Used postage stamps help to raise funds for our new local Hospice.

We have expanded this scheme in a small way by using the homes of one or two members as collecting points for several households nearby. This is particularly useful for older people who either do not have transport or are unable to carry heavy bags. Many of our more able-bodied church members already take their own glass, paper, etc. to a local recycling point, and we are thinking of other ways to motivate people and raise awareness of the need to recycle. Earlier this year we held two Recycling Days. The first was a Can Day in early January, to try to collect the Christmas and New Year empties. We invited members, and the public, to bring their cans to the church for recycling. The response was not great, but we raised a little money from the aluminium cans. The organiser of a local can collection scheme was most helpful and provided us with an impressive Ali the Alligator suit which one of the youngsters at church wore on the day. We hope to make this an annual event, despite the rather poor start.

Far more successful was our first Shoe Day! Mister Minit, the shoe repair company, runs a national shoe recycling scheme. Shoes in any condition are collected at their shops. These are sold to a recycling company, and the money raised is given to the Red Cross. The shoes are then sorted, and those still wearable sent to countries where they are supplied at low cost to needy people. Any usable bits and pieces from 'worn-out' shoes (eg buckles, laces) are saved for re-use.

One of the church members works for Mister Minit and was able to arrange for us to have a collection at church. We were able to combine this with a coffee morning arranged by another church group. This worked well, and we collected over 400 pairs of shoes! We are currently organising another one.

Another initiative is to encourage all the groups who use our premises to be aware that the church is trying to be environmentally friendlier, by asking them to help us. We have put up notices which read:

PLEASE Switch off lights and heating which are not necessary Avoid products with excess packaging Take rubbish that can be recycled to a recycling centre Use the china cups and plates rather than disposable ones

In addition, bike racks have just been fitted to encourage people to abandon their cars.

In May 1995 we were given the use of a display board on a permanent basis. So far, under the heading of 'EaRTHmatters' we have used it, for monthly periods, to give information on recycling, transport, water conservation and energy saving. The emphasis has been on what individuals can do to care for the environment. During the summer this year we had a display entitled 'Pray for the Planet' and the current one is about green consumerism.

In October 1995, Harvest seemed a good time to focus the attention of the church community on our responsibility as Christians to care for Creation. Borrowing an idea from the Earth Summit at Rio, we asked people to pledge themselves to do something practical, from walking and cycling instead of driving, to using low energy light bulbs and recycling as much waste as possible. Members of the congregation, from the 3 year olds to the most senior, thought of ways in which they could help. The promises were written on coloured paper fruit which were used to make a bright display in the church lounge, encircling a picture of the world.

Since the early 1990s, one of the EaRTH group members has periodically contributed items to the monthly church newsletter to raise awareness on environmental issues, eg the use of alternatives to peat in gardening; recycling; the problem of overpackaging. Information for these came from various sources, but mainly from Friends of the Earth. Being keen to introduce green initiatives at Herringthorpe, it seems a very slow process. We are learning that it is probably better to begin gradually, so that those who are less convinced do not feel threatened by the changes. In the long term we hope this will be more effective.

The EaRTH group at Herringthorpe would be delighted to hear from other churches with green initiatives, and share ideas on environmental issues.

Contact Ruth Holdsworth, 9 Sycamore Farm Close, Wickersley, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S66 0BJ, or phone 01709 547098

Note. Any views expressed are those of the authors.

Home    Millennium Challenge    About CEL    Membership    Resources    Events    Carfree Sunday    Green Christians home page    ChurchLink       News   Links    New on the Website    Site map