Caring for God's Acre is an initiative that encourages churchyards across the UK to be managed with nature in mind. The intention is to create wildlife havens for all to enjoy.
Residents of Stoke Fleming Parish were keen to understand the existing biodiversity of their churchyard as a benchmark for their project. The prospect of a quiet hour counting bees was too much for me to resist so I volunteered to survey for insects, birds and grasses.
So memorable was the time spent amongst the gravestones and daisies investigating bugs and taking photographs I decided to turned my survey into a ‘sketch’.
The text beneath the photograph and paint…
Sunday 11. June 2023
Stoke Fleming Churchyard
12:15 - 13:15
Hot. Full sun 23°C
Meadow Brown
Red Admiral
Red Mason Bee
Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Narcissus Bulb Fly
Common Twist-tail Hoverfly
Grey-haired Mining Bee
Fairy-ring Longhorn Beetle
Honey Bee
Red-tailed Bumblebee
Fat-legged Flower Beetle
Thompson’s Groundbug
Common Yellow-face Bee
Common Froghopper
Juvenile grasshoppers
Tall Oat Grass
Common Soft Brome
Meadow Fescue
Rough Meadow Grass
Perennial RyeGrass
Sweet Vernal
Quaking Grass
Yorkshire Fog
Cock’s Foot
Smooth Meadow Grass
Swift
Goldfinch
Swallow
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Wood Pigeon
Dunnock
Swallow
Greenfinch
Song Thrush
House Sparrow
Jackdaws
Robin
