There’s a chance to make a bird feeder and bug hotel during a special environmental event at a St Albans church.

St Paul’s Church in Fleetville, will also be offering the opportunity to learn about eco-friendly flower arranging and stock up the garden with bargains from the church’s plant sale on Saturday May 21.

The church, at the corner of Hatfield and Blandford Roads, is offering a series of activities under the title of God’s Green House with the invitation to come and see what the church is doing to protect the environment.

Both events will run from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Entry is free, with refreshments available.

Visitors can also check out the minibeasts and birds in the church gardens and tour the sustainable features around the church and gardens.

Rev Peter Crumpler, associate minister, said: “Our plant sale has always been popular with gardeners. This year, as part of St Albans Sustainability Festival, we also wanted to give local people a chance to see the steps we have taken to care for the environment and encourage others to think about what they might do.”

St Paul’s was recently awarded a Silver ‘Eco Church’ Award in recognition of its work towards making the church as ecologically friendly as possible. The award, from Christian charity A Rocha, recognised all that church members have done, and are continuing to do, in the church buildings, land and activities.

It highlighted the church’s Creation-focused services, choice of hymns and worship songs, its prayer, teaching and other communications. It also took into account the environmental features of the church building, including solar panels, roof fittings to admit natural light and a heating control system that regulates the temperature in each room.

The church’s gardens are managed to encourage native wildlife, plants are grown that benefit birds, bees and butterflies and garden waste is composted.

In addition, St Paul’s runs local litter picks, supports the St Albans Sustainability Festival, is a Fairtrade church, and encourages church members to live as sustainably as possible.