For Parish Councils
Churchyards and Parish Grounds
Old limes, chestnuts and yews, and the people who walk beneath them on their way to a grave every week.
Our parish work began in 2011 with three old churchyard limes in the Dreisamtal.
Among the Graves
Nothing Is Dropped
Before anyone climbs, every stone under the crown is covered with ply boards and sheeting. Nothing falls. Every branch, however small, comes down on a rope and is carried out along the paths rather than across the graves. Where a lime has to be reduced over a row of family plots, we lower it in pieces small enough for one person to carry.
The cuts themselves are the same as in any garden: back to a side branch big enough to take over, and just outside the branch collar, so that a tree which has stood over the parish for two hundred years can close its wounds and stand for a good while longer.
Plate 3, Repeated
Timing
Around Services and Funerals
- SunNo work on Sundays or public holidays.
- SvcNone during funerals or services. If one is arranged at short notice, the saws stop and we step back until it is over.
- SatSaturday mornings, 08:00-13:00, by arrangement, for parish work only.
- DayEvery working day is agreed with the parish office in advance, and the neighbours of the churchyard are told the week before.
Weekdays on site 07:00-16:30. Heavy work from October to February.
The Survey
A Written Note on Every Tree
Henrike walks the whole churchyard and writes a note on every tree: what it is, how it stands, what it needs and when. The council gets a document it can plan and budget from, and if the parish wants it we repeat the walk every two years, so the record builds up and changes in a tree are caught early.
What it costs
Repeated every two years, if the parish wants it.
Planning
Spreading the Work Across Winters
A churchyard with twenty old trees rarely needs all of them done in one season, and a parish budget rarely allows it. We plan the work over two or three winters: first the trees that are a danger to paths and the church, then the reductions, then the routine deadwood. Each winter is quoted on its own, so the council can approve one season at a time.
Write by early autumn to have the first winter's work booked. November to February fills first.
Terms
Terms for Parishes
- Deposit
- None
- Invoice
- Sent after the work is done
- Payment
- Within 30 days
A churchwarden's email with the parish name and the number of trees is a good start.
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