Rewild the Church
our challenge to one of ENGLAND’s largest landowners
What would Jesus do if he owned 105,000 acres (60,000 football pitches) of land? Would he farm it for profit, or would he use it to restore forests, wetlands and meadows to help save our vanishing wildlife?
This is the dilemma faced by the Church of England whose wealthy and secretive £10.3bn investment arm – the Church Commissioners – own just such an impressive amount of land throughout England. We’re calling on them to rewild 30% of that land by 2030.
The Church of England is one of the top ten landowners in the country.
Think of land owned by the Church of England and you might picture a small rural churchyard filled with wildflowers. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. In reality, the Church of England is one of the top ten landowners in the country owning 200,000 acres- three times the size of Birmingham!
Whilst most churchyards are lovingly tended for nature’s benefit by local congregations, half the Church’s land is managed by an investment body, the Church Commissioners. As a result, most of this land is in a dire ecological state with just 4% tree coverage and less than half of their protected sites in a favourable condition.
This flies in the face of the wishes of wider congregations who have consistently backed radical action on the climate and ecological emergency. It’s now time for the Church Commissioners to set large-scale rewilding targets that match the spiritual calling of the Church.
We’re Demanding that the church commissioners:
1
Collectively read and reflect on ‘The 95 Wild Theses’
2
Be transparent around resources by releasing a map of all the Church Commissioners’ land.
3
Rewild 30% of the Church Commissioner’s English land by 2030.
our 95 wild theses
Martin Luther made history when he published his 95 Theses in 1517, sparking a period of radical change across Europe. We thought it was time to create a new 95 Theses fit for the 21st Century, calling on the Church to make a radical change in its approach to protecting our planet.
The 95 wild theses were written by church leaders, scientists, authors, academics, actors, politicians, musicians, theologians, lawyers, broadcasters, naturalists, environmentalists, civil servants, students and more including:
Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Caroline Lucas, Former leader of the Green Party
Michael Gove, former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022-24
Professor Anthony Reddie Professor of Black Theology at University of Oxford and Director of Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture
Professor Dame Athene Donald, DBE FRS, Master, Churchill College and Professor Emerita, University of Cambridge
Stephen Fry, broadcaster, actor and writer
Chris Packham CBE, naturalist, broadcaster and author
Sir Robert T Watson, CMG, FRS, ex-Chief Scientific Advisor DEFRA, former chair United Nations IPBES and IPCC
George Eustice, Former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2020-2022
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Broadcaster and Chef
This is a call to action from people of all ages, across the country, with different interests, political affiliations and lived experiences. This document is a coming together of people to give a call to action to the Church of England – Rewild!
join our upcoming webinar!
7:00 – 8:30pm, 7th November
We hope you can join us, Chris, and our other speakers, for a stimulating and interactive evening of strategy and action as we kick off the next stage of this campaign, and try to secure groundbreaking change!
Help us send a message to the church!
On 6 October – join Chris Packham and Wild Card as we take a message to the church
On Sunday 6th October you are invited to gather together with churchgoers, families, scientists and artists to deliver the ’95 Wild Theses’ to the iconic St Pauls Cathedral. Together we will make the call for change impossible to ignore. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church Commissioners: its time to rewild the Church!
We will be joined by speakers including naturalist Chris Packham, author Guy Shrubsole, Revd Dr Clara Rushbrook, Wild Card Activist Imogen McBeath and Christian Climate Action!
Whether you are a church goer or a concerned citizen, scientist or priest, we look forward to seeing you!