Friends of the Churchyard

Our gardening volunteer group meets once or twice a month to dig, prune, weed, seed, plant, water and tend church grounds.

New volunteers are very welcome – come to discover and care for our beautiful churchyard.

We aim to manage the churchyard as a haven for wildlife and to improve access to grave sites and so increase respect for the area as a burial ground and create a place of tranquillity for local people and visitors.

Since we started, we’ve mapped churchyard habitats, installed nest boxes (including a successful tawny owl box), built new flower beds and a memorial rose garden, and completed a gravestone recording project in the new churchyard.

Work is carried out by a fantastic team of volunteers, gathered from church members, local residents, and students. Their work has been supported by grants from the Parish Council. In 2026, we’ll be working with the Allotments Association on public wildlife events and striving to increase species diversity by sewing more wildflowers and building ‘bug hotels’. Longer term, we’re hoping to compile data on the churchyard’s war graves, work with the charity ‘Redhills Durham’ to conserve miners’ leaders’ memorials, and to improve public access.”

For further information join us on Facebook

Friends of St Margaret’s Churchyard, Durham:  bit.ly/FoSMCD

Or email us at: stmargdurham@yahoo.com