Stone Church, St Mary the Virgin
13th Century parish church of Stone-next-Dartford, Kent
A place of welcome, prayer, healing and peace.
Eco Church is an A Rocha UK project, run in partnership with Christian Aid, The Church of England, The Methodist Church, Tearfund, The United Reformed Church and Allchurches Trust Limited.
A Rocha UK is a charity committed to mobilising Christians to care for nature.
Here at St Mary's a small group from the congregation continues to work on the A Rocha eco church project. It completed the initial questionnaire to get an understanding of where we are now in terms of our current eco status, and is continuing to address those areas where more work needs to be done.
We will continue to share news of our progress on this page (see below) and hope that our work will encourage others to work with us both within the church family and across our local and wider community.
Click the logo for more information about A Rocha UK
At St Mary's this month - and into the early part of 2025 ....
May, June and July will be the months during which we
particularly look after the wildlife in our ancient churchyard
as we observe a period of 'no mowing', allowing the native plants to
grow, flower and set seed. During this time insects will be able to
feed on the nectar and pollen from the native flowering plants
and then will lay eggs to produce the next generation. A narrow
path way will be created, running through the churchyard, so that
everyone can explore and enjoy the beauty of the plants that thrive on this
small chalk grassland area.
March finally sees the early signs of Spring and once the sun starts to
shine, early queen bumblebees emerge from their long winter sleep
and look for nectar and pollen rich flowers on which to feed.
We have planted a variety of bulbs in the churchyard to provide for our
bumblebees and other insects, and soon some of the most important
wild flowers like dandelions will bloom to provide a continuing supply
of food for them all.
Focus on Creation
During Lent a seven stop journey called ‘Focus on Creation’ has been provided. Take some time to explore this; it is displayed inside the church on the Eco-Church Board AND in the churchyard upon the fencing around the Lantern Community Centre site. ‘Focus on Creation’ tells the traditional Easter story while also relating it to the suffering of the natural world that we see all over our planet at the moment. Each stop provides a reflection, a reflective activity to do in the churchyard or somewhere else, a link to a connected environmental charity and a short prayer. We look forward to hearing what you think of the Lenten journey and how you get on with it.
Forthcoming Environmental Dates and Events
March 2025
3rd March - World Wildlife Day https://wildlifeday.org/en
18th March - Global Recycling Day https://www.globalrecyclingday.com/
22nd March 8.30pm - World Wildlife Fund Earth Hour https://www.earthhour.org/
April 2025
4th April - National Walk to Work Day https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/walk-to-work-day-2025/
22nd April - Earth Day https://www.earthday.org/
25th April to 1st May - The Big River Watch (Spring) https://theriverstrust.org/take-action/the-big-river-watch
May 2025
All Month – No Mow May - https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/
11th May to 17th May – Christian Aid Week https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christian-aid-week
12th May to 16th May - Water Saving Week https://waterwise.org.uk/campaign/water-saving-week/
St Mary's is delighted to have achieved a Silver Eco church award.
The award and commemorative plaque were presented during our morning Eucharist on 30th October 2022 by the Mayor of Dartford, Cllr Paul Cutler, and can be seen on display in the church porch.
Planting for pollinators
Our old churchyard, like so many others, has many graves which have not been tended or visited by any family members for many decades.
An 'adopt a grave' scheme continues to be supported by a few members of the congregation who have each selected a very old and neglected grave and cleared out old grass and weed roots. Planting of the chosen sites with wildlife friendly plants and spring bulbs has been taking taking place over the past few years and the scheme encourages others to take part.
Our participation in the annual 'no mow May' within the churchyard continues and we have, in 2024, expanded this into 'let it bloom in June'. This is planned to continue over the coming years with the added bonus of providing plenty of forage for our resident (the Rector) bee keeper's hives. The honey is delicious!