Wing Some, Lose Some!
Contributed by Rev Brendon McRae
Two Presbyterian churches on the outskirts of Dunedin have allowed their participation in Eco Church to develop into a friendly rivalry – and a source of mutual encouragement.
Flagstaff Community Church joined the Eco Church network in early 2023, a year after Ōpoho Presbyterian Church. For both churches, joining was another step on their journey, rather than the beginning of their commitment to caring for God’s creation.
Flagstaff members have put many hours into caring for the creek and native plantings beside their church. Ōpoho has a more suburban setting, but maintains a pleasant garden that is open for the public to enjoy, complete with seating and a seed-swap cupboard. The two churches have shared tips and information to support their recycling initiatives, and their ministers occasionally swap pulpits.
Since 2023, the tamariki at Ōpoho have taken part in the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey, an annual event that helps build a picture of how native and introduced birds are faring in our gardens.
The minister’s office at Ōpoho has a great view over the church’s main garden. From there, the tamariki conduct the survey on behalf of the rest of the church, sitting in the warmth with their binoculars and a container of birdseed crackers to sustain them – an important consideration when the survey takes place at the end of June!
In 2025, they discovered that although Flagstaff was an Eco Church too, its tamariki had never taken part in the bird count. As part of a pulpit swap, the Ōpoho tamariki sent their Flagstaff counterparts a cheeky letter challenging them to get involved.
Flagstaff accepted the challenge. While the Ōpoho team sat cosily inside, looking through the minister’s study windows, the hardy Flagstaff tamariki piled into their minister’s truck, parked beside the creek in the church car park. It did, at least, have a sunroof.
What’s more, Flagstaff won, counting several more birds than Ōpoho.
This year, the ministers decided to raise the stakes. Andrew Sims, an elder at Flagstaff and an engineer, was commissioned to create a suitable trophy from recycled metal. He did such a great job that the ministers decided it would be selfish for either church to keep it for a whole year. Instead, they agreed to share it for six months each, with the winning church receiving it first.
And 2026 has been Ōpoho’s year. Its tamariki counted 36 individual birds across 12 species. Flagstaff recorded 33 birds across an impressive 15 species, including a noisy rosella. It appears the sparrows carried the day for Ōpoho – which is sort of biblical. 😊
The recycled-metal kiwi trophy was gladly presented to the Ōpoho tamariki by Brendon, Flagstaff’s minister, during the latest pulpit swap.
But 2027 will bring another bird count – and, no doubt, more cooperation, encouragement and light-hearted competition.
