Looking after our sacred spaces

Ramsons are among the plants to be seen at St Mary's, Chirk

Heather Williams, project officer for Sacred Space, describes the scheme which hopes to show the wealth of history and wildlife to be seen in your local churchyard

The Sacred Space project aims to help people explore and conserve the history and wildlife that can be found in 13 churchyards in the rural Wrexham area.

The project encourages people to take time to stand, sit and stare at the hidden wonders in rural Wrexham churchyards, experience a haven of wildlife in an oasis of calm and discover the history and stories of local people.

Some of the sights to be seen include:

• The magnificent yew, the 'Old Lady' of Gresford, believed to date from around 400AD. This ancient tree with a girth of 30ft (9.1m), survived a gale in 1859 which 'pruned' the top branches and is still going strong.

• The grave in Chirk of the man who was "in perfect health he left his home"' and lost his life in an explosion at Bersham Colliery in 1880. Enjoy the beautiful spring flowers - the white snowdrops and later, the ramsons.

• The fascinating ancient memorials in Hanmer churchyard which tell so much about the Hanmer and Kenyon families. Don't forget to see the striking Zwartbles sheep in the summer months grazing in the rear of the churchyard.

• The graves at Bettisfield which tell the tragic tale of the death of five children who drowned when the ice gave way on a local pool in 1905. See if you can spot the speckled wood and brimstone butterflies in the summer.

There are many activities for volunteers

You can also get more involved with the project through a variety of activities:

• Recording and photographing gravestones

• Carrying out wildlife surveys

• Carrying out conservation activities to encourage wildlife and environmental sustainability, such as planting flowers to attract the insects

• Taking part in workshops, visits and other events to discover in more depth about the variety of wildlife and history that can be found in the churchyards

• Helping to produce interpretation material - such as churchyard trails

Volunteers have been busy recording gravestones in Chirk, Isycoed and Bronington. Some survey work has taken place so that trees and flowering plants in all the project churchyards have been identified. Further surveys will include recording birds and even the more challenging lichens - which grow on the gravestones and trees.

The project has received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

You can find out more about the project by telephone on 01978 298386 or e-mail [e-mail].