If like me you have lived in your village or town for most of your life or even if you have just moved there and have a love of nature and the environment, then take some time to have a good look at your parish churchyard.
Are there any really large ancient looking trees in it, that at this time of year are providing a home for all types of nesting birds, a daytime roost for owls and bats, food for butterflies,moths, beetles and a host of other insects that are crucial to the biodiversity of nature that all the environmentalists are talking about and trying to get us to understand how important it is to our well being too.
In my village churchyard of West Drayton, five miles south of Retford between the A1 and the Great North Road there a number of such trees but one in particular is very special.
It is a large Black Poplar. You may have heard of this type of tree if like me you were watching the BBC programme, Countryfile a few weeks ago. I have always known that we had this tree in the churchyard but what I didn't know until that program was how rare and endangered this species is.
According to a spokesperson from Natural England, who was interviewed by Matt Baker, they are only 7000 left in England and only 600 of them are female.
Since that programme was broadcast I have found out that the tree is not subject to a local authority Tree Preservation Order and therefore has no legal protection.
Sadly, at the request of the owner of the neighbouring property, West Drayton Parochial Church Council (PCC) applied for a faculty (church terminology for planning permission) to remove it and thereby destroying all of its habitat for wildlife.
The process by which the PCC applied to the Southwell Diocese to carry out this work did not require any public consultation or notification to the parishioners, Parish, District or Town Council(s).
Why is it necessary to have the tree removed? The owner of the the neighbouring property seems convinced that it is in danger of falling into his garden and causing damage. As a member of the PCC he has petitioned them to apply for this faculty for its removal.
However there are other ways of mitigating this perceived danger without totally destroying a beautiful example of this endangered tree species that has stood in this quiet village churchyard for possibly hundreds of years.
The importance of these other solutions would be that the tree remains standing for future generations of residents and as a habitat for wildlife.
Much emphasis is put on the phrase 'Duty of Care'. West Drayton PCC have a duty of care to maintain Church, churchyard and everything within safely for future generations. The Southwell Diocesan Advisory Committee have a duty of care to the natural environment when they receive requests such as these, especially when there has been no public consultation.
The external setting of churchyards are as important as the buildings themselves for the communities which they serve.
However the overarching Duty of Care that is incumbent upon us all is to God's Creation, believers or none, we must own it and stand up for it when we see it at risk. What an irony it would be that if this magnificent endangered tree that has weathered the storms of the Hand of
God all these years were only to be destroyed by the Hand of Man.— Patricia Hardy
