Oxford, Saturday 20 June, 12pm: The Oxford Climate Choir will perform inside the University Church and outside Christ Church Cathedral, calling on members of the Church of England’s General Synod to support a landmark motion to protect and restore nature on Church-owned land.
The performances come ahead of the Church of England’s General Synod meeting in York this July, where members will debate and vote on a Private Members’ Motion submitted by the Revd Canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, Valerie Plumb. The motion calls on the Church to support the restoration of nature on 30% of Church land by 2030, in line with the international “30×30” target and “the scale and urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises”.
The motion has already secured the support of more than 100 clergy and Synod members, meaning it must now be formally debated and voted on at Synod.
The Oxford action is part of a wider national effort organised by the Climate Choir Movement and rewilding campaign group Wild Card to encourage Synod members to support what campaigners describe as a hopeful, practical, and unifying call to action.
The Church of England is one of the UK’s largest landowners, with an estate of more than 100,000 acres managed by the Church Commissioners. Environmental campaigners argue that the Church therefore has a unique opportunity to demonstrate meaningful leadership on climate and biodiversity through the stewardship of its land.
Wild Card – a grassroots rewilding movement supported by broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham – has been campaigning for the Church Commissioners to dedicate 30% of Church land to nature restoration and rewilding. Last year, members of the Climate Choir Movement occupied St Paul’s Cathedral in support of the campaign.
Campaigners point out that the Church Commissioners previously agreed to the Church of England’s divestment from fossil fuels and say the Church now has another opportunity to demonstrate moral and environmental leadership.
In the Getting Back to the Garden report commissioned by Wild Card, campaigners argue that protecting 30% of Church land for nature restoration could be cost-neutral and potentially profitable, demonstrating that ambitious environmental action need not come at the expense of financial sustainability.
“Revd Canon Valerie Plumb has shown courageous and hopeful leadership in bringing this motion forward,” said Joanna Gill, Musical Director of the Oxford Climate Choir. “At a time when people are searching for signs of moral leadership on the climate and nature crises, this proposal offers the Church a chance to act with vision, compassion and responsibility. We hope Synod members will come together behind this historic opportunity to restore nature and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.”
Wild Card co-founder, Hazel Draper, added: “The Church of England is one of the country’s major landowners and has the potential to become a national leader in nature recovery. This motion is an opportunity to show real ambition at a critical moment and demonstrate that the Church is serious about responding to the climate and biodiversity crises.”
The action continues a growing series of creative public interventions organised by the Climate Choir Movement and Wild Card to raise awareness about climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and the responsibility of major institutions to act.
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