Enhancing Biodiversity

Amphibians are key indicators of water quality and are important food for many wetland predators. The creation of new ponds and the recreation of long-lost ponds is a key priority for these species.

Our Estate is home to a high diversity of insects including nationally and locally rare species.  Significant work has been done on surveying the University’s moths which indicate important and healthy habitats across the Estate.

Home to some important plant species, including some which are locally rare, new work has begun across the Estate to create wildflower meadows to replace mown and amenity grassland.

We are home to around 24 mammal species including up to eight species of bat, and healthy populations of Roe Deer, Red Fox and Badgers, with Otters breeding along the river.

We are currently developing a new Woodland Management Plan to ensure the long-term sustainability of our woodlands and their associated biodiversity.

Our Estate is home to large numbers of bird species and we’ve recorded over 100 species, including many that have declined rapidly in recent decades.

We participate in schemes such as the Hedgehog Friendly Campus scheme to improve the management of field boundaries, and are trialling the creation of new species-rich grasslands.

Ongoing monitoring is critical to ensure conservation actions deliver the intended benefits. We will encourage some of this monitoring to be undertaken by the wider staff and student population, to widen engagement with biodiversity across the university.