Heene Cemetery in West Worthing is also a West Sussex Local Wildlife Site. Its 1992 designation as a Site of Nature Conservation Importance was conferred on this one acre site of neutral grassland and scrub in recognition of it containing “fragments of a much threatened habitat – an ‘old meadow’ community”; 152 years after its creation as a cemetery where there are now 1,960 souls buried, it is Worthing’s smallest Local Wildlife Site.
When the gates are open—as will be the case for an Open Day on Saturday 14th June—visitors will see grasses and flowers growing to full height, testament to a collective effort to maintain the site both as a graveyard and as a biodiversity hotspot. Species surveying has revealed, for example, 26 (*) species of bees - and counting.
This dual-purpose site is the result of compromise. An increase in tidiness would result in a less-rich habitat (as indeed would wholesale neglect). This does not mean that supporting wildlife in a cemetery is disrespectful to the dead. Graves and nature have long been partners in our culture. Cut flowers adorn coffins and headstones, and headstones themselves often weave flowers and plants into their design. Those that survive often speak with a vocabulary of the natural world. Many of our churches are replete with glazing and carving that perpetuates this bond. Some of this country’s most revered naturalists, such as Gilbert White, were clergy.
What better way, then, of continuing this reverence of the past with a passionate care for the future, by giving biodiversity a helping hand in graveyards in Worthing and up and down the land?
This debate does not happen in a vacuum. The climate and biodiversity crises that are upon us need communities to play their part. National organisations such as Caring for God’s Acre (now in its 25th year) provide much welcome advice on how to have a win-win situation with all stakeholders. Graveyards don’t need to have a formal Local Wildlife Site designation to motivate volunteers.
The General Synod of the Church of England came to this conclusion in February **, backing measures promoting biodiversity in churchyards as wildlife havens. Few of those buried in Heene knew anything of the environmental crises that have befallen us. How would they have responded?
* (Since this article was first published, the number of bee species that have been recorded in the Cemetery has risen to 28.)
** (This article should have stated that the Synod's backing of pro-diversity measures was made in February 2024, not February 2025.)
[This article first appear in the June edition of Inside West Worthing Magazine (page 16).]
Written by Rob Tomlinson