Worship & Learning

York Minster is a living church with a thriving community made up of people of all ages. The cathedral welcomes 150,000 worshippers during the course of a year and there are 279 people on its Worshipping Community Roll.

Over the last few years, the Minster has celebrated Creationtide in a number of ways including webinars, study sessions, preaching series and talks.

Minster Mash up, our new service for young people and families, celebrated Harvest in 2024, giving thanks for all of God’s creation.

Nature trails are available for children and families both inside and outside the Minster.

In 2024, the Minster’s Learning Team launched a new schools programme, which included a workshop on Creative Creation. 26 schools have booked the workshop which explains the Christian beliefs on creation and caring for God’s world.

Eco Church resources for worship and learning

Buildings & Energy

In 2024, York Minster engaged consultants to produce a carbon base line survey from which year on year reductions in carbon emissions will be calculated. The work included a survey of the ways in which staff commute to work.

Consultants were also brought it to lead a workshop in December 2024 on the development of a sustainability estates strategy.

The Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estates Management includes the following sustainability initiatives:
- Air source heat pumps
- Solar tiles
- Rainwater capture

In 2025 a retrofit of 1 Deangate, will take place. This will be the first domestic scale retrofit in the precinct and will become an exemplar of best practice, in line with Historic England’s guidance on energy efficiency and retrofit in historic buildings.

Eco Church resources for buildings and energy

Land & Nature

York Minster sits within a 7-hectare estate. Its city centre location means that its green spaces are an important sanctuary for both wildlife and people.

We encourage people to explore and enjoy our green spaces, which are managed by the Minster’s gardening team and volunteers:
- Dean’s Park, and sensory garden
- Minster Gardens
- College Green

Key improvements include:
- Newly planned perennial borders and summer annual plants, grown from seed, to increase diversity of flowering plants to benefit pollinators and birds
- Bird boxes and feeders (bird boxes put up in Autumn 2023, and when surveyed during YEW, all but one had been used)
- Dead hedges and stick piles to act as ‘bug hotels’
- Creation of an urban green corridor and hedgehog rehabilitation programme, aligns with Eco Church Target 25 protecting vulnerable species
- Wildflower meadow re-sown with native, locally sourced seed

Eco Church resources for land and nature

Community & Global Engagement

The Minster hosts 550,000 visitors during the course of a year. We regularly engage with our community and draw attention to environmental issues through events such as:

Colour and Light: Working with York BID, the Minster is hosting a free event to celebrate York’s wildlife. The event is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, highlighting the importance of investing in cultural initiatives to support local economies and enhance community well-being.

York Environment Weeks (YEW):
In September 2024, the Minster took part in the YEW, organising a net zero tour of the precinct, a series of talks on Art in Creation, and sessions with the gardening team. Plans for the Minster’s involvement in YEW 2025 will be announced once the dates have been confirmed.

Other initiatives include:
- Half-term fun for families, promoting the Minster’s green spaces
- The addition of recycling bins across the precinct
- Inaugural Desmond Tutu annual memorial lecture
- Support for HOPE Africa
- York Minster walking group

Eco Church resources for community and global engagement

Lifestyle

The cathedral's Environmental Sustainability Group, chaired by the Canon Missioner, Revd Maggie McLean, promotes sustainability initiatives across the Minster’s community.

Initiatives include:
- Showers provided in the newly built Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estates Management to encourage and support staff to walk/cycle to work
- Share box set up for staff to drop off small items they don’t want and think that someone else might find a use for eg. free samples, unwanted gifts
- PV charging point for staff/volunteer use
- Promotion of the WWF environmental impact calculator following the successful installation of the latest solar technology in the precinct
- Promotion of the principles of ethical investment, and LOAF via our community noticeboard

Eco Church resources for lifestyle

Upcoming work

In 2025 the retrofit of 1 Deangate will take place.
This extensive retrofit project will provide new welfare facilities for our Visitor Experience Team.
We are also working on a Green Travel Plan.