ECO CHURCH

In 2024 St Margaret’s, Putney set out its primary mission goal as “Putting care of creation at the forefront of the whole life of St Margaret’s”. We want to build on the work we’ve been doing since we first registered with A Rocha as an Eco-Church in 2011, where in 2011 and then in 2019 we achieved Bronze awards. At the end of 2025 we submitted our audit and achieved the Eco-Church Silver award, which is a testimony to advances made in making our buildings more sustainable, with investment in solar panels and infrared heaters, in some incredible work in our garden, making it a place of beauty, peace, education, reflection and joy, and work in our leadership, small groups and community to put care of the environment at the forefront of our worship and community. The work is not finished and the silver award is first of all a reminder that there is a standard now to be upheld and a further piece of work to be done.

St Margaret's Environmental Policy 2025

St Margaret's Land Management Plan (LMP)

Worship

At St Margaret’s we understand worship as an act in which we engage with all creation in honouring God. Through our readings, hymns, the times and seasons of the church, festivals and in small groups we contextualise our worship in our embeddedness in, dependence upon and relationship with Creation. This is demonstrated by:

Maintaining the season of Creationtide in September and up to the feast of St Francis
Celebrating Harvest and encouraging our local schools, foodbank, community and allotments to participate in this with us.
Having an Annual Creation Sunday held outside in our natural surroundings
Beginning Palm Sunday in our local park and processing up the lane to church
Preaching on the subject of creation at least once/year
Having an Annual animal blessing, focussed on dogs
Having flowers in church that are as far as possible seasonal and locally sourced
Using our intercessions to lament the damage done to our world by human actions, and to pray for a better relationship with the natural world.
Addressing the subject of Care of Creation within Sunday School and through our children’s education (including Confirmation).
Involving our Sunday School in actual care of creation within our churchyard and community (allotments).
Having regular small groups to talk about our concerns for the climate crisis and loss of habitats and species
Creation is also taken as a subject within Lent Courses, Lectures, Bible Studies etc. with outsider speakers occasionally brought in.

We have highlighted our care of creation as our number one mission priority, following the Church of England’s prioritising of Care of Creation as the Fifth Mark of Mission and our diocese equal prioritising of this concern.

Building

We recognise that there is a climate crisis and that tackling this is a matter of urgency and a matter of justice. We are committed with our diocese to reducing our carbon footprint with the goal of reaching net zero. Each year we calculate our Energy footprint using the Church of England’s scheme and use the 360 carbon footprint from Climate Stewards. We recognise that at present we are dependent on a gas boiler, but are committed to looking for a longer term solution which will end our dependency on fossil fuels. We also note that we have care of an historic building and are not always in a position to place efficiency above conservation.

We are taking the following measures to improve our performance:

We have appointed asuitable Eco Church Champion, Johanna Sanchez Mawkin, to hold the PCC accountable for its environmental impact
We monitor our energy consumption and carbon footprint each year
We have recently carried out an energy audit on our building and will look for viable ways to increase its efficiency.
We have switched over our lighting to LED
Although we are using gas still, our current boiler is a very high efficiency condensing gas boiler, and our heating is on a thermostat and remote timer
In our offices and crypt and halls and parish centre we use heat pumps and infrared panels
We have installed solar panels on the roof of the church hall and are monitoring their progress
We have installed an outside water butt to collect rainwater.
We aim at maximising use of and attendance in our spaces in order to maximise their efficiency, being a warm space for the community during winter
We employ professional waste disposal and ensure everything that can be is recycled

Land

At St Margaret’s we are blessed with a beautiful and peaceful natural garden. We seek to use this as a place of community, spirituality, beauty, education while supporting and encouraging biodiversity and our plant and animal life. To this end we have undertaken the following:

Created a LMP (land management plan) to consciously think through what we are hoping to achieve with each section of our space.
Having birdboxes, bug hotels, log piles and composting to support wildlife
Considering our mowing patterns
Planting appropriate trees that are good for our garden
We do not use peat, synthetic fertilisers or pesticides and are creating our own compost
We are supporting A Rocha T25 project by encouraging wildflowers, especially with the council’s development of Putney Park Lane, and protecting hedgehogs, birds and hedgerows
We are encouraging our children especially in doing litter-picks in our garden and on Putney Park Lane
We have recently put in 3 new benches so more people can enjoy our garden and are developing a wildlife trail as well as signage to help people identify species.
We undertake an annual accessibility audit to ensure accessibility where possible
We have a gardening team with a gardening lead (Sue Mason) who works with our regular gardener Hugh
We are conscious of maintaining a resilient environment through creating places of shade and sunshine, using rainwater through water butts and composting our own garden waste

We will continue to maintain a beautiful space for all the community which fulfils the various needs of all people who come to us seeking inspiration, peace, friendship and a place for reflection, while also being a place of adventure and fun for children.

LIFESTYLE

We are a church. But a church is first of all a collection of people committed to following Jesus in pursuing a life which honours God and seeks the common good. As Christians we are called upon to challenge ourselves in living a life in harmony with our environment. This means considering the following:

Are there ways in which I could campaign and join the call of charities and other institutions for greater care of our world?
Can I reduce my carbon footprint and energy use? Simple steps can be taken such as choosing greener companies and tariffs, installing a smart meter and reducing consumption.
Are there decisions I could make about food, finance, consumption of goods and services that would be more sustainable? Many of our members consciously try and reduce their consumption of meat. The diocese of Southwark has recently divested from investments connected with fossil fuels. Have we considered the ethical implications of our investments? And could we try and repair and reuse? St Mary’s and the Roehampton Community Shed run repair workshops. Why not give it a go?
Do you think about waste? Recycling is getting easier and Wandsworth now collect compostable material. Can we send less to land fill?
Transport is an area where we can make a real difference. London has one of the best public transport systems in the world and it’s often quicker to cycle or more pleasant to walk. Can we use our cars less? Several members of our congregation place limits on their flying. Could we find alternative modes of transport for travel and holidays?
How do I appreciate, experience, care and protect for nature? We are surrounded here by the most beautiful parts of London – Putney Common and Heath, Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. Is it time to take a walk down to the river?
How do I look after my garden or any outside area I can? Can I make more friendly to lcoal wildlife?

We are working to create a more sustainable church in harmony with the nature, but we are also called as individuals to love, protect and honour our world. As a church we want to encourage people in thinking about, discussing and discerning what an ethical lifestyle looks like.

We have a Green champion and a number of church members working actively to connect our life and worship to environmental concerns and support those who are troubled by the climate crisis and loss of species in the world. Where there are local environmental concerns we will press to involve our members in getting involved and contacting their MP and councillors.

Resources

Calculate your environmental footprint: https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/

Think about your finances with resources from the Just Money Movement: https://justmoney.org.uk/

Consider how you can make your garden/area more wildlife friendly with the Royal Horticultural Society: https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/resources/wildlife

Or the National Trust: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/gardening-tips/how-to-build-a-wildlife-friendly-garden

COMMUNITY

At St Margaret’s we take our responsibility for the care of creation seriously, but we recognise that it’s an issue that has to go beyond our church community. As a spiritual and moral centre we have a duty to lead on this issue and campaign to help build a community that cares about the quality of our air, the way our space is used and the current danger that exists in the utilitarian approach to nature in our country and across the world. As a church we believe in justice and reflect that it is other parts of the world that are most affected by climate change and least responsible for it. We understand our role in the care of creation as a moral duty for which we must all take responsibility.

As such, we discuss issues of environmental and social justice within our core team and PCC (for example at our Mission meetings) and we hope to engage with and impact the community beyond our congregation. In particular, we are committed to:

Considering local plans for change and discussing within the team where appropriate. This may involve then consulting with our local council and Putney Society. This is particularly the case with Putney Park Lane and by extension Putney Common and Putney Heath.
Supporting all DEC campaigns with collections, which are frequently the result of climate change
We support local meetings and are happy to host our local residents association, our council and other groups where they are committed to listening and making changes
We invite our elected representatives to events and services
We hold meetings which are open to all to discuss fears and action concerning climate issues
We recognise that we can have more impact if we work with other churches and work with Churches Together in Putney and Roehampton each year to support Christian Aid which has a strong interest in climate justice.
From time to time we organise groups that benefit from time outside including a cycle event round churches in Putney and a running/walking club
We buy fairtrade goods where possible
We always offer a vegetarian/vegan option when food is served
We offer a recycling stop including batteries, bulbs, stamps etc. for our local community
We have bike racks and encourage cycling. We also offer car-sharing lifts to church services for those who would not otherwise be able to attend.
We aim through printed material, our website and social media to promote our missional-priority of care for the environment.