Celebrating Biodiversity in Cambridge Churchyards
Join our efforts to decipher and promote biodiversity in Cambridge through community engagement
St Clement's Church is one of the oldest churches in Cambridge, and is located on Bridge Street in central Cambridge.
We only have a small churchyard, but local botanists have identified over 130 plant species within it, and we are carefully identifying and preserving them, following the principles of Carl Linnaeus and more recent DNA-based taxonomic approaches.
We have established the Bridge Street Botany & Biodiversity (BSBB) group to explore this biodiversity within our churchyard - and relate it to that of neighbouring churchyards and college gardens.
We thank the Cambridge City Council, the
Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, and the
John Templeton Foundation (under their ECLAS programme) for funding these initiatives.
Bridge Street Botany & Biodiversity
ECLAS
Articles
Every week we write a new article describing an element of our biodiversity programme.
There are over 100 articles for you to explore:
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From botanical descriptions of individual plants in our churchyard, to highlights of our recent visits to UK and European botanical gardens...
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​From descriptions of neighbouring churchyards, to those of nearby College gardens....
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From visits to UK botany science labs, to expert talks in our own Linnean Lecture Series....
Famous Botanists
Neighbouring Gardens
Botanic Gardens
The Seasons
Garden Visits
Flowers of St Clements
Plant Science
Upcoming Events
2026-01-17 Saturday BSBB Drop-in Club
Starts at 10.00 and ends at 13.00 in St Clement's Church
2026-01-19 Monday Visit to Anglesey Abbey
Meet at 10.00 outside St Clement's Church or 10.30 at Anglesey Abbey
Past Events
2026-01-11 Sunday Kick-off Meeting for Bridge Street Botany
Overview of plans for the current ECLAS, CCF and EIP projects
including ideas for the new Linnean Lecture Series and Saturday BSBB Drop-in Club
Become a Community Member
01
Get Involved
Participate in our biodiversity initiatives and activities.
02
Support Our Mission
Contribute to preserving our unique churchyard ecology
03
Expand Your Knowledge
Learn about our biodiversity and conservation efforts
04
Join Our Community
Join our open lectures and tours of neighbouring gardens
Our mission is to create awareness of the biodiversity existing within our local ecosystem
Focussing on community engagement and education