MK Eco Church Network – January 2026 Update
Dear MK Eco Church Network friends,
I hope your New Year has started well.
This first Update for 2026 is full of items that I hope you’ll find useful. I’d especially like to draw your attention to the items about two future meetings. The first will be our next MK Eco Church Network meeting that will be held on Saturday 11 April between 10.00am -12.30pm at Christ Church, Stantonbury and the second will be a talk to be given by Andy Atkins who is Chief Executive of A Rocha, on Sunday 7 June between 2.30 – 4.30pm at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone. More details of these meetings will be sent in future Updates but please put these dates in your diary.
Please share this Update with other people who may be interested.
Thanks and best wishes,
Stuart Kean, MK Eco Church Network Convenor
email: mkecnetwork@ctmk.church
Events
- Big Garden Birdwatch: 23 – 25 January 2026 : The RSPB is organising the annual Big Garden Birdwatch between 23 – 25 January 2026. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring. For information about how to take part, checkout the RSPB website: https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch. Please contact me if you’d like a document I’ve prepared for reflection and prayers about birdlife, which could be used in services on Sunday 25 January.
- Launch of Kickback Kitchen on 21 January: Sustainable MK has announced the launch of Kickback Kitchen, a new project opening this month at the Old Bath House in Wolverton. The initiative will cook ready-to-reheat meals using surplus, local and leftover ingredients, offering food on a simple “chip in what you can” basis. The project aims to reduce food waste and carbon impact while tackling food poverty, improving wellbeing and making use of underused community kitchen spaces. Find out more and sign up here. Give it a try!
- Milton Keynes Parks Trust Community Volunteering events:
- Community Litter Pick on Monday 26 January at 11.00am at Canal Broadwalk.
- Tree Planting at Stanton Low Park on Saturday 31 January between 10.00 – 14.00. For details see: https://www.theparkstrust.com/events/community-litter-pick-canal-broadwalk/
- East West Railway public consultations: Two community events discussing the latest railway designs are being held across the planned line of route which will connect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. The events will take place in Bletchley: the first, in South Central Institute of Technology, will be held from 2pm – 7pm on Wednesday 28 January. The second, in Queensway Methodist Church, will be from 12pm – 5pm on Saturday 31 January.
- Creation, Mission and Outreach Workshop from St Augustine’s College of Theology on Tuesday 3 February midday – 4pm St Andrew’s, Waterloo (£40, with reductions if needed). A workshop from the College’s project ‘Discipleship for a Planet in Crisis’. Learn how church witness concerning creation can draw people into Christian faith, and develop ideas for integrating mission and the environment in your own church setting. Email Becky Young r.young@staugustinescollege.ac.uk to book, or if you have content questions, ask Prof Charlotte Sleigh c.sleigh@staugustinescollege.ac.uk.
- Love Your Yew Week: Running from 9 – 15 February, is dedicated to caring for our ancient and veteran yews. Caring for God’s Acre, in collaboration with the Ancient Yew Group, are asking custodians of yews to focus on the root plate, clearing beneath the canopy to ensure the roots are not being smothered. Caring for God’s Acre have developed a list of FAQ’s, as well as two short films on ancient yews more generally. You can find all of this on the Love Your Yew week page.
- Date for your Diary! The next MK Eco Church Network meeting will be held on Saturday 11 April between 10.00am – 12.30pm at Christ Church, Stantonbury.
- Sunday 7 June talk by Andy Atkins, A Rocha Chief Executive. Date for your Diary! 2026 is the 10th anniversary of A Rocha’s Eco Church programme and I’m delighted to say that Andy Atkins, who is A Rocha’s Chief Executive, has agreed to come and give a talk about Eco Church on Sunday 7 June from 2.30 – 4.30pm at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone.
Advocacy
- The National Emergency Briefing (NEB) held on 27 November 2025, included ten of the UK’s leading experts who briefed an invited audience of over 1,200 politicians and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media with the latest implications for health, food, national security and the economy. It culminated with an invitation for everyone to sign an open letter asking Kier Starmer and the heads of public service TV to televise the risks and hazards as described at the NEB. You can hear the letter read by orator Olivia Williams on YouTube and watch recordings of all the NEB talks on the NEB website.
Funding Opportunities
- Seed Grants – up to £750, ad hoc
- Sapling Grants – up to £5,000, monthly applications
- Oak Grants – up to £15,000, available quarterly
- Strategic Partnership Grants – over £15,000, no deadlines and multi-year options
- Grassroots Grants programme: Small charities and community groups in England can apply now for grants of £500–£2,000 to support community-led projects tackling local issues. It supports organisations with annual income under £25,000, prioritising those serving marginalised communities and areas in the top 15% of deprivation.
- National Churches Trust grants. Explore assistance provided lately from the Trust here and consider applying for your own project.
Resources
13. A Rocha Easy Eco Tips 2026 Calendar: https://arocha.org.uk/easy-eco-tips-2026-calendar/
14. Five Ways to be Better for the Environment in 2026: https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/our-stories/net-zero-5-ways-to-be-better-for-the-environment-this-year/
15. Environment Days 2026 Calendar
The Church of England Environment Programme has produced this very helpful interactive 2025 Environment Days Calendar to help spot opportunities to link in church environmental events and action.
16. Caring for God’s Acre have shared five ways to welcome wildlife into a churchyard this year. Their Action Pack contains many more tips.
17. Budget cycling
Dave Walker, cartoonist and keen cyclist, has a Budget Cycling website of information to help people save money by using a bike as a means of everyday transport, and to start cycling without it costing a lot of money.
Information
18. ‘Faith and the climate crisis: ten years since Laudato Si’: BBC Radio 4’s Beyond Belief programme last December discussed this topic. The panel featured: Shanon Shah, Director, Faith for the Climate, Carmody Grey, Theologian and Professor of Integral Ecology at Radboud University in the Netherlands, and Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, co-founder of Eco-Judaism. They discussed how Laudato Si inspired global political co-operation and provided ‘moral ballast’ in the call for climate action. You can listen here.
19. 2026 is the 800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi, the Saint most remembered for his care for God’s creation and his deep connection to nature. In particular, his prayer ‘Canticle for the Sun’ is one of the most well-known prayers for creation, calling all creatures to praise the Creator and see God’s presence in all things.
“Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendour!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.”
- Internet Search AI Summaries
Did you know, these have a higher carbon footprint than non-AI searches and don’t always provide accurate results? Read more from Ethical Consumer
21. Some good news as an antidote to the bad news — for the first time, renewables have toppled coal as the world’s leading source of electricity. Yet progress is uneven. The shift away from fossil fuels has slowed in the United States and the European Union but accelerated sharply in developing nations. What can we learn to accelerate this positive tipping point here in the UK? Read this article in The Conversation to find out.
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