A 200-STRONG flash mob surprised visitors and churchgoers at St Paul’s Cathedral, on Saturday evening, with a musical message calling on the Church Commissioners to rewild church land.
Members of the Climate Choir Movement, alongside the campaign group Wild Card, burst into voice just before evensong on the cathedral, asking the Commissioners to commit themselves to rewilding 30 per cent of their 105,000 acres of land by 2030.
The Revd Sue Parfitt, a member of Christian Climate Action, was among the many singers. She said: “Creation care is so pivotal to our faith within the Church of England that we now have it because the fifth mark of mission. What a blessing, then, that we now have the prospect to place this into motion so practically, in the case of the land the Church owns!
“Caring for our land through rewilding, alongside responsible and sustainable agriculture, would create such beautiful ecosystems, where biodiversity can thrive. Let’s bring back a way of awe to this country, where we will feel God within the blowing of the wind through the wild trees and grasses.”
Andrea DomeniconiThe Revd Sue Parfitt
Choir members held images of native British species while singing a reworked version of the hymn “All things vibrant and exquisite”. The latest lyrics challenged the Commissioners to show greater consideration for wildlife, asking: “Does not nature cry out, For understanding, for restoration, for all creation. For life.”
A spokesperson for St Paul’s Cathedral said: “Shortly before evensong on Saturday, a bunch of demonstrators entered St Paul’s Cathedral; staff immediately engaged with them, and asked them to depart. The group left peacefully after a short while, and evensong took place as usual.”
The demonstration took place before the UN World Wildlife Day on Monday. The UK is within the bottom ten per cent of countries globally for biodiversity. Friends of the Earth report that three per cent of the Commissioners’ land is wooded, compared with a mean of ten per cent amongst institutional landowners.
A Wild Card co-founder, Hazel Draper, said: “The UK is signed as much as the United Nations goal of restoring and protecting 30 per cent of land and seas by 2030, nevertheless it cannot achieve this without motion from the country’s largest landowners. This is where the Church can, and will, be showing leadership.
“Hearing the voices of the Climate Choir ring out in support of nature, in considered one of the world’s most recognisable places of worship, sends a transparent message to the Church Commissioners that they need to fulfil their moral obligation to guard all creatures great and small.”
In October, Wild Card held an event outside St Paul’s, through which the BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham unrolled a nine-metre scroll described because the “95 Wild Theses”, which included arguments for the Commissioners to rewild their land (News, 11 October 2024).
Andrea DomeniconiMembers of the Climate Choir Movement, alongside the campaign group Wild Card, participate within the unscheduled event in St Paul’s Cathedral before evensong, on Saturday
The Commissioners’ head of sustainability for real assets, Paul Jaffe, said: “We are deeply committed to supporting nature through a spread of initiatives. We give attention to sustainable farming practices, collaborate with organisations just like the RSPB and FWAG, and actively integrate biodiversity projects, corresponding to woodland creation and wetland restoration, across our portfolio.
“Our approach ensures we balance food production with stewardship of the land, helping to safeguard nature for future generations, and thus large-scale rewilding will not be appropriate for our highly productive farmland.”
Joe Ware is senior climate journalist at Christian Aid.
