The Community

Community engagement projects organised by Exeter Cathedral, which have had a positive environmental impact.

BioBlitz

  • The BioBlitz was a public wildlife search on Exeter Cathedral Green, as part of a wider initiative to involve the local community in recording species and monitoring biodiversity.
  • The event took place in partnership with local charities Butterfly Conservation, Devon Wildlife Trust, Double Elephant, Exeter Beekeepers, St Sidwell’s Community Centre, Diocese of Exeter, Exeter Seedbank and Tangled Bank Foraging.
  • The event included a huge variety of wildlife themed activities, such as snail racing, wildlife identification, a VR experience with Exeter Science Centre, and more.
  • Experts were excited to find many common moth species including three common Rustic moths, a lesser common Rustic, a Large Yellow Underwing, a Nut-tree Tussock, a Tachystola Arcoxantha and a Chrysoteuchia Cumella. Other unusual wildlife was also discovered, including a hummingbird hawk moth and a vole in the garden of the Bishop of Exeter’s Palace.
  • A range of exotic wild plants were discovered around the Cathedral, including a Creeping Bent, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Enchanters’ Nightshade, a Garden Yellow Archangel and over 65 lichens.

                  

Riddler in Residence

James Wilkes

  • Riddler in Residence James Wilkes held workshops to create poetry inspired by nature in the St Sidwell Community Centre garden.

Aly Stoneman

  • Riddler in Residence Aly Stoneman held Green Words poetry workshops, which involved exploring Exeter Cathedral Green and the Bishop’s Palace Garden to gather inspiration to write poetry. The poems were later shared at the Green Words Poetry Evening. 
  • Aly also curated the Green Words Poetry Anthology – a collection of poetry celebrating urban nature and wildlife in Exeter Cathedral’s green spaces and beyond.

             

Votives Project

Exeter Cathedral’s current art project, kindly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is being carried out using locally-sourced beeswax from Devon beekeepers.