In Spring 2025, Amersham Museum, in partnership with Wild Amersham, St. Mary’s Church, and Amersham Town Council, launched Bring It Back. This group came together to create a space for young volunteers to explore fascinating stories from the churchyard. Our main aims are to:
- Engage young adults and the public with churchyard history and nature
- Improve the biodiversity of the churchyard
- Connect the community
- Inspire others to act to protect our fragile and unique ecosystem
St. Mary’s churchyard, so important to the story of our town, was the ideal place to start. It has a rich history, with many stories to uncover about the lives of those buried on the site. Plus, it lies beside the Misbourne River, a rare chalk stream also deeply connected to our history – powering and providing water for the brewery, mills, and other historical industries.
Drawing on archival records, folklore tales, and insights from visiting experts in archaeology, history and ecology, the group has explored how the churchyard landscape has changed over time. Photographs from Amersham Museum’s collection suggest that the site was once less manicured than it is today. A reminiscence session with local residents also highlighted how people’s relationship with nature has shifted, including in relation to everyday knowledge of local wildflowers and species identification.
Nature is under threat in Amersham, as it is across the nation. Intensive agriculture and farming, ploughing, the use of chemicals, climate change, habitat loss, and pollution have all created challenges for wildlife. But churchyards are less impacted than other spaces, making them ideal sites for nature restoration.
Early surveys highlighted just how much potential the churchyard has. The group, guided by experts, has so far identified more than 100 native plant species and 15 fungi species. The volunteers will continue to survey different species and track our progress as we install insect hotels, bat boxes, bird boxes, a hedgerow, and many other features that can help nature thrive and make the area more attractive to the community.
Bring It Back is a brilliant opportunity to inform our community about an immense problem while emphasising practical solutions. Small changes can reverberate, as we are already seeing in our un-mowed wildflower circles. Amersham Museum and our partners want to showcase that living alongside nature is both achievable and improves our community.
For more information about the group and how to get involved, visit our homepage or contact Briony Hudson: [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you! We have many exciting upcoming events and look forward to uncovering stories about history while protecting nature.
