FOUR North Yorkshire churchyards which provide a haven for plants and wildlife have won recognition through a new awards scheme.

The Living Churchyards Awards 2002, organised by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and sponsored by npower, were presented by the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, in a ceremony held at Bishopthorpe Palace.

The four winners were:

St Helen's Church, Wheldrake, where a conservation programme by volunteers has included the pruning of trees, clearing of dominant nettles and cow parsley and the introduction of wild flowers

St James's Church, Boroughbridge, where the GroundForce team manages the churchyard to encourage wildlife, wild flowers and grasses, with the site boasting wild roses, daisies, buttercups and elderberry

All Saints' Church, Cawood, where volunteers have listed more than 60 species of plants and animals after 11 years of conservation work

New St Stephen Church, Robin Hood's Bay, where bat and bird boxes have been introduced to encourage nesting, and hibernation shelters provided for hedgehogs.

Elizabeth Hardcastle, Yorkshire's Living Churchyards officer, said there had been a bumper crop of entries, many of a very high standard which made judging difficult.

"We saw great knowledge of plants and animals, and tremendous enthusiasm for protecting wildlife on these important sites. This competition has shown how hard people work on their churchyards right across the county, and how much they achieve."

Updated: 09:15 Wednesday, December 04, 2002