The team who maintain the churchyard at East Budleigh's All Saints Church have won the latest in a string of awards from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
They've earned an Exemplary Award for Consistently High Achievement in the Devon CPRE Best Churchyard 2023 competition.
The competition has been running for six years and the East Budleigh church has entered it every time. It was joint runner up in 2019, won first prize in 2019, was Highly Commended in 2020 and received a Certificate of Excellence in 2021.
This year the Devon CPRE decided that East Budleigh deserved recognition for doing so well over the years, and awarded the special certificate.
The Best Churchyard competition is not a search for the most pristine or manicured entries. The judges are looking for well maintained churchyards that provide a peaceful haven for people and wildlife.
This year's winners were announced at the Devon CPRE's AGM earlier this month, and the leader of the East Budleigh churchyard's working party, Paul Kurowski, told the team about their award when they took a tea break during their session on Friday, October 20.
The Exemplary Award certificate will be displayed in the church with its other prize plaques and certificates.
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