AN eco-friendly congregation in Melrose have earned national recognition for helping save the planet.

Over the past three years members of Holy Trinity Church have gone green.

They have turned their old organ into bird boxes and raised vegetable beds, they’ve worked with local schoolchildren create an apple orchard, they’ve planted beds of bee-friendly flowers in the grounds and they’ve distributed polythene double-glazing kits around the surrounding community.

They have also adopted a greener approach when praying and preaching.

And plans are taking shape on installing a biomass boiler for heating the historic 166-year-old church building.

The Rev Philip Blackledge is delighted that the work has been recognised with an Eco-Congregation Scotland award. He told the Border Telegraph: “This award recognises the congregation’s commitment to protecting the environment and forming links with the wider community. It has been especially rewarding to engage with the school children and community on joint projects.

“As well as all the practical changes we have made, like planting the flowers and apple trees, we have also thought about the environment more in the way we preach and pray.” Holy Trinity Church in Melrose is the third church in the Scottish Borders to win an award from Eco-Congregation Scotland.

The High Cross Avenue church was able to show how it was linking environmental issues with the Christian faith, taking measures to reduce its environmental impact as well as taking practical action with the local community.

Rev Blackledge added: “We will continue down the path of looking at other ways of helping the environment. We are actively looking at installing a biomass boiler.” Eco-Congregation Scotland is part of a world-wide ecumenical movement with currently around 350 member churches, all dedicated to giving full recognition of environmental issues, from the Borders to Shetland.

A total of 120 have now received Eco-Congregation awards.