Rewild the Church: Tate Modern to St Paul's Cathedral

In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses for why the Church reform, in protest of what he saw in the Church at the time.

We now have 95 Wild Theses for why the Church Commissioners, the wealthy investment arm of the Church of England, and one of England's biggest landowners, should rewild their land.

Will you join us in asking them to give 30% of their land to nature?

The Church Commissioners own 105,000 acres, an astonishingly large area of land measuring one and half times the size of Dartmoor National Park. We need the church to publicly commit to restore nature on their land.

So, on Sunday 6th October you are invited to gather together with churchgoers, families, scientists and artists to deliver the 95 Wild Theses and say to Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church Commissioners:

✨ REWILD THE CHURCH ✨

Whilst 13% of the UK is woodland, only 4% of this Church land is covered by trees! Meanwhile, other measurements of nature’s health (SSSIs) suggest the land has even less space for nature than other big landowners have. As one of the biggest institutional landowners in one of the world’s most nature depleted countries this is a BIG problem.

Clearly the British people recognise this, and this is why our petition, in partnership with 38 Degrees, has already reached over 75,000 signatures!

With your help, we can encourage the Archbishop to show true leadership and commit to restoring nature on the Church’s land.

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LET'S CELEBRATE NATURE WITH A DAY OF…

🌷 Music & dance

🌷 Storytelling & performances

🌷 Face painting & family fun

🌷 Talks from churchgoers, scientists & activists

🌷 And much more!

We want the day to be inclusive, rewarding and enjoyable for everyone. We’ll add more information here or on Eventbrite for where and when to meet, what to bring and crucially… what costume to plan!

For now our action pack is full of important information and exciting plans!

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WHAT DO WE WANT?

We're calling on the Church Commissioners to publicly commit to:

Read the theses, put forward by church leaders, renowned scientists, public figures and naturalists, then discuss and reflect as a group

The Church is not subject to Freedom of Information requests - we ask that the Church publish full maps of its land, with information on whether it is industrial, residential, woodland, or what grade agricultural land

Pass an amendment in the Synod to commit Church Commissioners Land to 30% rewilded by 2030, in line with the UN agreement

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EXPLAINER: WHY DO WE NEED TO RESTORE NATURE ON CHURCH COMMISSIONERS LAND?

🌳 Rewilding 30% of this land to meet the crucial UN target of 30x30 would create a new area of land for nature measuring half the size of Dartmoor.

🌳 It would send an inspiring message of hope to Christian communities around the world and could inspire a wave of action for nature just when it’s needed most.

🌳 After a summer in which many children around the country were denied the chance to meet a single butterfly, bold action like this is urgently needed.

🌳 Analysis of Church Commissioner land shows that this target could easily be reached without touching any of their high grade farmland at all, allowing the Commissioners to still do their bit for national food security.