Irish Bishops’ Conference – “Returning to Nature” 

Biodiversity 'gardens' in Irish dioceses

The decision by the Irish Bishops' Conference to allocate one third of parish land for the care of biodiversity reveals the concrete commitment of religions, and in particular the Catholic Church, in the planning, implementation and development of solutions oriented towards environmental protection.

More specifically, according to the decision of the Irish Bishops' Conference in the General Assembly held in March 2023, parishes have been asked to «expand circles of solidarity, to protect and care for biodiversity and creation on 30% of their land, and to care for this as a haven for pollinators, which the whole community can enjoy» (Irish Bishops' Conference Spring Declaration 2023).

A goal that can be placed in the broader framework of actions to counter the ecological crisis related to the Platform of Initiatives “Laudato sì” and that appears, moreover, to be inspired in its concrete formulation by the commitment made at the UN Conference on Biodiversity 2022 (COP15) by the 196 signatory countries of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to allocate 30% of the land and 30% of the oceans to nature by 2030, in order to actively contribute to the preservation of integrity, connectivity and resilience within all ecosystems. Nonetheless, in the run-up to the international summit on biological diversity, over fifty religious bodies and organisations had already expressed a particular interest in safeguarding biodiversity and signed a call to action - addressed both to world leaders attending the UN Summit and to their own communities - to represent their commitment to the development of long-term, «scientifically proven strategic plans to regenerate, protect and nurture the Earth's ecosystems for the next decade and beyond» (Faith 2020: Call to Action for the UN Biodiversity Summit).

In the context of such sustainable environmental design, the creation of natural habitats in Irish places of worship significantly marks the spiritual commitment of various religious communities to promote integral ecology. In fact, the creation of biodiversity 'gardens' contributes not only to the preservation of the various species of native flora and fauna in danger of extinction (as asserted during the Irish Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity held in September 2022), but also to the creation of green areas that can favour the recovery of the «different levels of ecological balance: the inner balance with oneself, the solidarity with others, the natural balance with all living beings, and the spiritual balance with God» (Pope Francis, Laudato sì, On the Care of the Common Home, no. 210).  

In this direction, the Irish Bishops' Conference has indicated to the parishes the guidelines to be observed for the conservation of biodiversity in their grounds. The following have been suggested: an initial mapping of land for pollinator gardens with the help of the ‘Church Grounds Mapping - Care for our Common Home’ platform, the formation of a parish group to carry out the work, the establishment of a biodiversity conservation day to raise awareness in their faith community, as well as a series of practical actions that are more likely to benefit Irish pollinators and which are more specifically set out in two specific documents:“Faith Community Pollinator Plan” and “Gardening for Biodiversity”.

Among the parish communities that have joined the project are: St. James' Church COI, Beechwood Church, Manresa Jesuit Centre of Spirituality, Our Mother of Divine Grace, St Michael's & All Angels Meadows, St. Mary's Church, Carlow Town, Church of the Holy Spirit, Dennehy's Cross, St Mary's Church - Carrigaline, Eco Parish Garden, St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church, Dennehy. Mary's Church, Carlow Town, Church of the Holy Spirit, Dennehy's Cross, St Mary's Church - Carrigaline, Eco Parish Garden, St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church, Dennehy's Cross, Church of the Three Patrons Rathgar Parish (All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021-2025). In such realities, it is possible to observe how the use of land restoration and adaptation techniques, even with the prospects opened by new technologies, does not change the natural balance.

It is evident that the destination to the preservation of biological diversity of green spaces pertaining to church buildings can have an important impact in the definition of models and programmes oriented towards progress towards sustainability. Nevertheless, if shared with local institutions and other religious communities, it can certainly contribute to the realisation of those processes of change that are essential to the common and responsible safeguarding of nature.

The creation of biodiversity 'gardens' in the Irish Catholic dioceses is in fact a concrete example of ecological conversion on a personal, and social, level. Even from such a project it emerges, in fact, how religious organisations are important community anchors in the promotion of a 'shared' ethic of responsibility towards the environment and creation.

Caterina Gagliardi