Cultivating Biodiversity in a Churchyard

Beki Hagger is at All Saints North Street on Thursday 8 October, talking about how the church's grounds are managed for biodiversity and wildlife. It's a short, informal session, and Hagger comes from St Nicks, so she's speaking from a place of practical, local experience rather than just theory.

Her talk centres on how the church grounds are being managed to support biodiversity, and she frames them as a vital link in the 'Green Corridors' that run through York's urban centre — those strips of greenery that allow wildlife to move across the city. She describes the space as a sanctuary for local wildlife, and says she hopes to inspire anyone with even a small patch of land to adopt management that lets flora and fauna thrive. If you've got a garden, a window box, or just a bit of outdoor space you're looking after, there's something in here for you.

It's a fitting spot for a talk on nature. All Saints North Street is one of York's finest medieval churches, dating back to at least 1089, and it's packed with history. It holds one of the finest collections of early 15th-century stained glass in the world, including the Pricke of Conscience depicting the last fifteen days of the world, and a brightly painted angel ceiling. A Roman column built into the walls shows how they reused existing materials when they put it up. More recent additions include the carved chancel screens of the 1920s and the modern anchorhold of 1910, which stands on the site of the original 1394 anchorhold where 'The York Visions' occurred.

The talk runs from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm at All Saints North Street, 18 North Street, York, YO1 6JD. Entry is free, with a retiring collection on the day.