Local schools engaged in plans at Penzance Cemetery

Urban Green Shoots is working to enhance biodiversity and community engagement at 12 open spaces across Cornwall by March 2025.

Penzance cemetery is one of the sites benefiting from the Shared Prosperity funding enabling the project, with plans for the site including new tranquil seating areas, improved management of existing planting for habitat value, swathes of colourful bulb planting, and improvements to surfacing to provide more equal access where possible.

On 13th, 17th and 18th of September groups of pupils from Penpol Primary and Nancealverne School benefited from the project, attending the site to learn about its special place in the local community as well as find out more about how it supports wildlife within the urban environment.

Hosted by Urban Green Shoots, specialists from Budding Nature led sessions encouraging the children to explore how plants, insects and larger animals interact through the food chain as well as what the site means to them and their communities.

Located between residential areas, local facilities and the town centre, the cemetery is used as a cut through by all age groups, as well as those visiting the many hundreds of graves and memorials there. Seeing the school groups taking time to find out more about the site, one local resident remarked ‘lovely to see and hear children here, happy and exploring, bringing life to the place. Great that they are learning about nature and being respectful of their environment’.

Urban Green Shoots is running until March 2025 and keen to invite volunteers from the community to get involved as part of the long-term legacy to improve sense of place and increase links between Cormac, the Council and local residents in care for our open spaces. If you would like to find out more, please contact volunteers@cormacltd.co.uk

To see the plans for the site, please navigate to the documents bar of this page and open PZ Cemetery General Arrangement