The Community

Our community engagement projects aim to work with the local community and engage visitors in their heritage and with the Cathedral’s green spaces. 

BioBlitz
July 2023

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.

Supported by The National Lottery Heritage fund, 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

The Riddler in Residence project works with a range of local community groups, including families, young people and formal education settings, with the aim of inspiring them to creatively connect with their heritage. Many of our Riddlers have incorporated environmental themes and encourages visitors to explore the Cathedral’s green spaces.

James Wilkes
James Wilkes, Riddler in Residence from May-July 2023, held workshops to create poetry inspired by nature in the St Sidwell Community Centre garden. James also held public poetry sessions at Exeter Library with the local community, exploring themes of nature found within the collections of Exeter Cathedral’s Library and Archives. 

Aly Stoneman
Aly Stoneman, Riddler in Residence from August – November 2023, held Green Words poetry workshops, which involved exploring 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.

The Votives Project

Our Votive Project, led by Artists Neil Musson and Jono Retallick, aims to work with 1,000 people from the local community to create 1,000 wax objects which will be brought together to form From the Vow Made – a major new art installation that will be suspended in Exeter Cathedral in summer 2025. 

All wax used for the project was locally-sourced from Devon bees with the help of beekeeper, Caroline Taverner. To create all 1,000 wax objects, approximately 100kg of beeswax was needed!