Wells Cathedral's story
Wells Cathedral is committed to becoming carbon neutral and environmentally friendly. Over the past year, they have been looking at all areas of Cathedral life including our energy usage, the products we use and how the outside areas could be used to promote biodiversity.
In August 2020, Wells Cathedral received the Silver Eco Church Award from the Charity A Rocha. The Cathedral has also developed a 60 step guide towards being green to encourage others to look at their own carbon footprint.
The Cathedral is increasing the use of LED lighting, which in some cases requires change to the infrastructure and investigating alternative forms of energy. It is looking actively attempting to reduce wastage and paper usage and to increase the use of recyclable goods. The biodiversity of the precincts has been increased by creating wild areas in the Camery Garden and by increasing the size of the Meadow area under the Cedar trees in the Liberty.
The Cathedral is engaging with local environmental groups such as the Somerset Wildlife Trust and encouraging the congregation and visitors to the Cathedral to become aware how they can make a difference.
All packing in the the Cathedral café is now plastic free and biodegradable, and the surrounding land in Vicars Close is being used to encourage wildlife with Swift Boxes and bug hotels, and surveys of bats and other species have been undertaken.
Useful learnings from Wells Cathedral
A huge number of measures have been carried out over the last few years including retrofitting the building with new loft insulation and double glazing on all the windows where possible.
A switch to renewable energy and looking at further ways to reduce the energy demand of the building.
Wells Cathedral's metrics
Eco Cathedral retrofit reducing carbon emissions
