All Saint’s Churchyard Report – Fosdyke.

The main problem we faced in the churchyard in Fosdyke, was that it had been neglected for a number of years and was overgrown. Invasive plants such as ivy and ground elder were taking control of the area, to the detriment of trees and plants we wanted to survive and thrive.

A Faith and Environment Project was discussed and initiated, a team of volunteers from the village met every Tuesday morning to tackle various aspects of the churchyard. This team was later joined by a Group supported and resourced by Laura Rodriques, a Social Prescribing Link Worker from Sutterton. A local farmer very kindly collected our garden waste and disposed of it for us, we could not have cleared so much, so quickly without this help.

Using the resources of our volunteers and Laura’s group, trees were cut back, ivy, vines etc were cut back and a number of previously “hidden” gravestones and headstones were revealed. Which gave us a huge boost in confidence knowing that we were revealing the village’s past so no-one was going to be “lost” of forgotten. We have “discovered a number of headstones that have fallen over, it would be huge if we could somehow right them and transcribe the details….but that is for the future.

We realised from the beginning that we would have limitations, some trees were too big for us to tackle and we could not touch those trees with preservation orders on them. Boston Council were approached, as they are responsible for the closed churchyard in Fosdyke, that these trees, covered with ivy, would eventually cause a serious health risk, if and when they succumbed to the ravages of nature. The path that leads from the road to the church entrance is becoming dangerous and will need addressing in the coming months.

Our ultimate aim is two-fold:-

1. To create a Nature Garden at the rear of church, with a bench, wild flowers etc to attract insects, butterflies and other wild creatures. Whilst providing a reflective space for those who want to just sit and contemplate, whilst enjoying the unobstructed view we are creating.

2. The church and churchyard are focal points of the village and very important to all of us, to have a well maintained safe area to walk around is great for everyone even those who are not religious, take great pride in their village and what we are going to achieve.

We also want to encourage children to take part in creating our wildlife garden, to give them a sense of purpose, learning, joy, health optimism, life itself….we have a butterfly house and bat box donated so far….would be wonderful if we could record what kind of wildlife we can attract….

The Church path is giving cause for concern especially for the elderly and for wheelchairs etc

We would very much like to re-site fallen headstones, but they are very heavy and will need specialist handling.

These are trees with preservation orders on them, which only Boston Council can deal with….but they are being attacked by ivy.

This is the view we have created at the rear of the church, where the nature/wildlife garden will be along with a bench…..so much better than last year when walking around the church was almost impossible.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed time and effort, blood and sweat in making this project the success it is going to be.