Eco News from Bellie Parish Church, Fochabers

Thank you to Bellie Parish Church for sharing with us their Eco-Congregation activities. Read and be inspired:

Having fairly recently joined as an Eco-Congregation we thought we would send you some news of our progress in Eco matters.

Prior to signing up we had already put in hand a number of measures including recycling paper and clothing (with Rag Bag). There is a regular Traidcraft table every Sunday (and on other occasions). A group of ladies use leftover wool to knit items for Malawi.

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Ahead of our Church re-order three years ago, a survey of its carbon footprint was undertaken to identify ways of improving heating and saving energy.

We decided to have an “Eco Awareness Day” in October in the Church Hall when members of the congregation and the general public were invited to drop in between 10.30 – 3.30.

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Fair-trade tea and coffee available all day and a range of displays were on view. Examples of recycling including Rag Bag (dropping off clothing on the day was encouraged), the collection of mobile phones, spectacles for Vision Aid, and ink cartridges. At the same time Moray Waste Aware was invited to reinforce its collections in the local area.

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The food side of things was also covered. A local group, Community Food Moray, which makes use of surplus foodstuffs, was represented. Our local Co-op had a display of its fair-trade products and our own Traidcraft table offered its range of foods, gifts and other products.

Craftwork was included. The ladies who knit for Malawi brought a colourful range of items and did knitting all day. The Speyside Quilters, a group that meet in the Church, stitched “Bags for Life” out of left over material and these were sold as they were getting made.

The “Burn of Fochabers Trust” presented a photographic display of the work done in the village caring for the environment. Finally we had a kids’ corner with drawing on white boards and some word searches to help learn more about the environment.

Since the Eco Day we have continued with our recycling efforts, and set up an Eco notice board to keep the congregation informed. There is an Eco suggestions box in order to gain more ideas. This has encouraged us to investigate the possibility of Solar Panels for the Church Hall. We are also trying to source a cheap supplier of recycled paper for Church publications (if you know of any we would like to hear from you).

By Avril C Clark, Eco Co-ordinator