‘Places of the living’: bishop of Norwich calls for churchyards to be rewilded

Local parishes are responsible for about 7,100 hectares (17,500 acres) of churchyards in England. Photograph: Chris Herring/Alamy

Churchyards should be rewilded to increase biodiversity and to make them “places of the living, not just the dead”, a Church of England bishop has said.

Local parishes are responsible for about 7,100 hectares (17,500 acres) of churchyards in England. The C of E also owns about 34,000 hectares of farmland, mostly let to tenant farmers, and 9,300 hectares of forestry.