Growing a wildflower meadow at Lenton Hurst

Lenton Hurst is a historic house on University Park. It has a large lawn that is mown every 10 days during the growing season. The grounds team are turning this lawn into a wild area, planted with wildflower seeds and plants with the end goal of it becoming a permanent, stunning wildflower meadow. The new …

Beyond No Mow May, Biodiversity at the University of Nottingham: Part 2

In a recent blog we explored how biodiversity on our campuses was being enhanced during #NoMowMay. As we passed through #LetItBloomJune and #KneeHighJuly the newly flowered areas have brightened up our campuses and provided food to pollinating insects. The grounds team tell us more. Jubilee Charnock Field wildflower trial In May, a trial began at …

Gardens in the Sky

Did you know that we have more than 10 green roofs across a number of our building on both University Park and Jubilee Campus. Green roofs aren’t anything new and we have been covering roofs with vegetation for centuries, whilst those early installation provided protection from the elements and good insulation they were neither waterproof …

£100k awarded to sustainability projects

If you have a great idea for a sustainability-related project but need funding to make it happen, the Environment Initiative Fund may be the solution! Each year, the University’s Sustainability and Environment Committee awards around £100,000 to student or staff-led sustainability projects. Applications are now open for 2017/18. In the 2016/17 academic year 14 bids …

Being Outdoors

Dr. Kathryn Morris-Roberts, based at the University’s Counselling Service, talks more about her initiative to make use of outdoor campus spaces for counselling workshops. What inspired you to start running the Being Outdoors workshops? Typically counselling sessions and workshops with students take place indoors. However, research has shown how our natural environment can support our …

Duck density and #beastsofuon

Serena Brown, our new Environmental Officer, introduces herself. As an alumna of UoN and a graduate from the School of Geography, my time at university was incredibly important for shaping my view on my environment and key sustainability issues of the time. The academic side helped to stretch my thinking and approach problems with a …

Forest School at the University of Nottingham

The University’s Childcare Services is introducing a Forest School programme into their curriculum for children in their care. “We have decided to do this as we wish to promote healthy lifestyles in a healthy environment, installing a love of nature in the children in our care” Catherine Lucas, Early Years Practitioner. The Forest School concept …

Sitting on Environment Committee: Dr Mandy Roshier

Dr Mandy Roshier answers our questions in the first of a series of posts profiling members of the University’s Environment Committee in the UK. 1.  What does being on Environment Committee entail? Being part of a team that brings together members from across the University to harness their expertise and experiences to embrace all things environmental …

Down but not out

When an ancient beech tree atop The Downs finally succumbed to disease and decay, the Estate Office was determined that the centuries-old landmark should not be forgotten. The tree is a link to the landscape’s past long before it became a University campus. Indeed Lenton Close, the last private house to be built on University …

Towards a Sustainable Ningbo

I made my first visit to Ningbo, and to China, in early June with a view to understanding the challenges and opportunities to achieve a sustainable campus. Of course, there are different challenges in China – but exciting ones. For a start, the climate in Ningbo is one of extremes. It’s not unusual for temperatures …