Eco Church
Whether you drop in during Open Door, or stop for a cuppa after a morning service, you can be sure that the tea or coffee that you drink is always Fairtrade. We are an officially accredited Fairtrade church, as recognised by the Fairtrade Foundation.
At SIMC, we recognise the importance of caring for creation. 
We have learned a great deal since joining the Churches National Eco Award scheme in 2018. Using the five sections (Worship, Buildings, Land, Community & Global and Personal Lifestyle) we began to make many environmentally-friendly changes and improvements. We received the National Scheme Bronze Award in July 2019 and we are now aiming for the Silver Award.
We are continually looking for ways to make our site more environmentally-friendly and are proud of what we have achieved so far.
For example, we encourage people to travel to Church in an environmentally friendly way, such as cycling, walking, or even arriving by boat! Accessibility for wheelchairs is also available at every entrance or exit of the Church buildings.
The Church building has recently been refurbished and we took the opportunity to improve insulation in the Church, the Hall and the Upper Committee Room, installed new LED energy-saving lighting both inside and outside the building, and installed a water meter, cycle stands and water butts. A new A + rated boiler makes a significant improvement in energy efficiency and we monitor energy bills, as well as calculating our carbon footprint.
Saplings and seeds are collected locally are stored in a fridge to be planted in the Spring. Earlier ones nurtured by Church members have been given to local sites. We have built a low maintenance garden wall at the rear of the car park and installed four bird boxes made by a local RSPB volunteer.
In October 2019, the Church held an Eco Fair. Participants included St Ives in Bloom, Charpak (a local company making products from recycled plastic) and the Church craft group. The craft group uses as many recycled materials as possible. Saplings and seeds for trees were again distributed. A Leaf Trail for children and families was organised with Holt Island Nature Reserve. Thank you to Greggs for the Vegan sausage rolls to help things along!
The Church is totally committed to working with many local groups and we are delighted to support the newly-formed St Ives Eco Action Group and its Eco faith sub-group. Much remains to be done. We are using the Silver Award framework of the National Churches Award Scheme to guide our future work, as well as working closely with the St Ives Eco Action Group.
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