Bungay church honoured for its green credentials
The rev Jacquie Evans collects an award from Alex Verwater in recognition of the work Emmanuel Church in Bungay is doing to be more eco-friendly. PHOTO: Nick Butcher - Credit: Nick Butcher
A Bungay church has been honoured by an environmental scheme recognising its efforts to become more green.
Emmanuel Church is the first church in the country to receive a silver Eco Church award.
Run by Christian charity Rocha UK, the scheme recognises churches in England and Wales helping the environment.
The church has spent more than £140,000 on its community buildings, which included a range of eco-fittings such as under floor heating, loft insulation, solar panels and a ground source heat pump.
The award is the culmination of nine years of work which began after a local climate change conference in 2007.
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The church helped form a community movement called Sustainable Bungay, and started its own ‘Going Green’ project to make the building work a reality.
The church has also been presented with an Energy Efficiency and Retrofit Award, with R A Brown Heating, the company behind the ground source heat pump, recognised for its innovative work on the project.
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And Margaret Sheppard representing Sustainable Bungay presented the church with one of the awards saying: “Well done to all of you, but in particular to Graham Gibb who instigated this whole thing and had the vision and the ingenuity to carry it through.”
The Eco Church award was presented by Alex Verwater, who comes from the Dutch parish of Hellevoetsluis near Rotterdam, whose church Emmanuel has been twinned with for the last 31 years.
Going Green project coordinator Mr Gibbs said: “It’s great to receive the recognition for all our efforts. We have been given a task by God to care for his creation. We have destroyed this wonderful world and I think it’s about time we repaired it.
“It’s not just about the buildings, it’s also about lifestyle and encourage church members to think much greener.”
