University of York case study that has been included in the latest ISCN circular

International Sustainable Campus Network

The International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) provides a global forum to support leading colleges, universities, and corporate campuses in the exchange of information, ideas, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability in research and teaching.

The University of York’s campaign to improve campus habitats for bees and other pollinators

The University of York is characterised by two lakeside campuses that are home to an abundance of wildlife. The original campus is located on over 200 acres of parkland centred around an extensive lake and boasts a wide variety of environments, ideal for supporting the University’s aim to diversify their habitat and broaden their species range. Not only does York boast areas of woodland and wildflower beds, it has established an on-site bird sanctuary, and developed safe nesting sites including sand martin banks.

The York campus is well known for its abundance of wildfowl, celebrated in this Duck of the day website, but more recently the University has also focused on improving its habitats for bees. Providing food and shelter for bees and other pollinators is an integral element of the Estates team’s ecological management plan.

Blooms and bulbs for the bees

Since 2008 the University has been developing its newest campus, Campus East, which features a species-rich area of meadow land to provide foraging for bees and other pollinating insects. More than 10 per cent of the entire University estate is currently given over to wildflowers and the sowing of further wildflowers is carried out annually in selected areas to encourage a broader range of species across the site. A specially-chosen biodiversity mix of bulbs, including crocus, tulips and narcissus, have been planted across 1500 square meters of the University’s grounds in past three years. Bulbs are often the first flowers to appear in spring, making them particularly important to encouraging bees and pollinators at York.

Six bee hotels have been introduced on campus, with another two being added shortly, to provide nesting areas for solitary bees and the Estates team have decreased the frequency of grass cutting in key areas to encourage further wildflower growth to provide more bee-friendly environments.

Benefits

It’s a testament to the success of the initiatives so far that several beekeepers have hives on campus to take advantage of the foraging that the wildflower areas now provide for their bees.

The wildflower and meadow land areas also provide a great habitat for other invertebrates which, in turn, attract birds that both feed on the insects and can use the habitats for nesting and breeding. For example, up to 17 breeding pairs of skylark, listed as a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species, have been spotted on campus.

The enhanced habitats also provide an extra teaching and learning resource not only for the University’s own students but also for visiting school groups, underlining the University’s commitment to the local community and to widening participation.

Things to do around the garden in November

University of York old lake

The clocks have gone back and I suppose it’s not the most inspiring time of year in the garden but there are still jobs to be done.  The days are short and we often get the first real frosts of the year but on a clear sunny day it’s still nice to get out in the garden.

It’s important to rake up the fallen leaves to stop the grass from going yellow or getting any fungal diseases, as a bonus the leaves make great compost.

You may need to tidy up the grass a little too, a light trim with your mower set slightly higher than normal and when there is no overnight frost forecast will do it no harm at all.

Most plants in the garden are dormant this time of year and need very little attention but trees, shrubs and wall plants my need their supports checking and tying in if necessary.  November is also a good time to plant bare root and container grown trees, shrubs and fruit bushes when the conditions are favorable however! never plant into frozen or waterlogged ground.

Don’t forget to move any frost tender plants indoors or wrap with a fleece.

Plenty to see on Campus this Easter weekend.

The trees are bursting with colour

Spring flowers are everywhere

and the ducklings and goslings are starting to appear.

Getting out and aboutThe Yoractive trail combines both Campus East and West in a 5k run/walk/jog  it's a great way to explore the grounds of the University with the additional bonus of activity stations around the route. For a more leisurely paced walk and to explore some of the many interesting species of trees we have around campus there is the Campus Tree Trail.  Both starting and finishing at Derwent College it's a gentle stroll around Campus West. Tree trail map Click on the links for more details and maps.

Wildlife and biodiversity

A key characteristic of the University of York is our lakeside campuses, that are home to an abundance of wildlife. The evolving landscape is designed not only to provide a beautiful and tranquil environment for work and study, but a habitat capable of supporting an increasingly diverse range of animals and plants.

Wildlife on campus

The development of Heslington East has created a number of new habitats, including areas of wetland, species-rich grassland and native woodland, with the boundary of the site including important retained hedgerows. A survey of flora and wildlife including birds, bats and water vole,s is periodically undertaken to monitor developments.

Our Heslington West campus is located on over 200 acres of parkland centered around Europe's largest plastic-bottomed lake. The University is famous for its abundance of wildfowl, but also hosts a diverse range of other wildlife. A bird sanctuary has been established at the southern end of the lake.

Principles of bio-diversity and wildlife management

In practical terms the management and development of the bio-diversity of our campuses follow these principles:

• We time the type of work we do carefully to reduce the impact we have on species that may be breeding, feeding or hibernating. For example hedge cutting is carried out in the winter months to avoid disturbing nesting birds
• Where possible we substitute chemical pesticides with a cultural control; where we do use pesticides we choose those with the lowest hazard rating
• We practise low intervention horticulture where appropriate, eg leaving perennials to stand over winter to provide food sources
• We reduce chemical usage, eg we use our own composted green waste as fertilizer where possible
• Shrub beds and planting schemes use a variety of species with a range of flowering times and winter berries to provide food for all seasons
• We provide additional shelter for wildlife for example with bird boxes, wood stacks and habitat piles
• A diversity of trees and plants provide different heights and foliage for different types of wildlife
• We manage trees and woodlands to encourage biodiversity for example by controlling invasive non-native species and retaining old trees and dead wood.

Spring Time

The clocks go forward, the evenings are brighter and campus is starting to light up with colour.

The first signs of Spring on campus are some of the additional 120,000 mixed bulbs that have been planted in the last two years. 

The grass is starting to grow and the grounds team are preparing the playing fields for the summer fixtures alongside getting ready for the Roses weekend of sport coming up.


This time of year you don't have to venture far on campus to stumble across nesting birds, geese, ducks, moorhens and coots. The Moorhens will sometimes take to the branches of a Willow tree to get out of the way and Geese can often be found on top of the covered walkways that link the old colleges.

 It may be nesting season but well behaved dogs are of course still welcome on campus but it's important that any dog walkers at this time of year keep their dogs on leads, and if an area is fenced off as a reserve then it really must be respected.

We will have more about Roses weekend and the University bird life in the coming weeks.

Welcome

So we have a new blog.  

Over the coming weeks we will hopefully start to fill some pages with useful and interesting  information about the University of York campus grounds for students, employees and residents of the local area.

The seasonal things to look out for as you walk around campus as well as information about the seasonal work that is taking place on the grounds and gardens and any new projects or improvements that we are undertaking.