Campus Greenery Trail comes to life

The first Campus Reimagined mini project is complete, with staff and students invited to be the first to explore the Greenery Trail.

You may have spotted some exciting signs installed across campus over the last few weeks.

These maps, information boards and waymarkers are all part of the Campus Greenery Trail – one of our community’s favourite Campus Reimagined mini projects, voted for by almost 2,000 staff and students.

Join us at 12-1.15pm on 13 May for a Wildlife Wander to celebrate the official launch of the trail, find out how your ideas have been brought to life, and enjoy free hot drinks and cake as we learn why spending time in green space boosts wellbeing.

Due to exceptional demand, tickets are now available for an additional Wildlife Wander to celebrate the launch of the Campus Greenery Trail, 4-5.15pm on 13 May.

Connecting with nature

The Campus Greenery Trail enables our community to enjoy green spaces on campus in new and inclusive ways – whether that’s getting involved with biodiversity monitoring, spotting different species of trees and wildlife, or simply taking a moment to rest and reflect in nature.

Illustrated maps in Chancellor’s Court and near Esther Simpson provide an overview of the trail, including an accessible route and a key to help you find what you’re most interested in.

Staff, students and visitors will be able to scan the QR code on any of the waymarkers across campus to find the Greenery Trail webpage, use the interactive map and see what’s nearby.

There are even indoor installations to help bring the outside in. You’ll spot these on the windows in Red Route, overlooking Chancellor’s Court; in Mechanical Engineering, looking onto St George’s Field; and in EC Stoner, framing the dawn redwoods – a species of tree that, less than 100 years ago, was thought to be extinct.

Rather than prescribing a single route, the Campus Greenery Trail highlights different opportunities to engage with nature – whether you have five minutes between meetings to notice the wildlife nearby, or a longer break to explore a green space you didn’t know existed.

Supporting biodiversity

The trail installations have been innovatively designed to support wildlife on campus.

The waymarkers double up as pollinator poles, to help our campus bee community, and the signs also act as bird nesting boxes.

The Biodiversity Spotlight board, located at the back of the Students’ Union, showcases some of the species you might spot around campus and includes detailed illustrations to aid identification.

Explore the trail

Join us at a special edition of the Sustainability Service’s monthly Wildlife Wander, taking place at 12-1.15pm and 4-5.15pm on 13 May, to unveil the completed trail and be the first to explore!

We’ll take a gentle 40-minute wander with project lead and tree expert, Hazel Mooney from the School of Earth and Environment and discover how the trail enables us to enjoy our campus green spaces in new ways.

Along the way, the University’s Sustainability Programme Officer for biodiversity, Mike Howroyd, will explain how to identify key wildlife species and record your findings to support our thriving habitats on campus.

We’ll pause at the Sensory Garden to learn why spending time in nature can enhance our wellbeing, with hot drinks and cake to finish.

You can also find out about other ways get involved with Sustainability at the University, including our first ever City Campus Bioblitz on 24 April.

Hazel said:

“We’re really fortunate to have great biodiversity and amazing green spaces on our campus. The Greenery Trail, voted for by staff and students, is all about raising awareness of these spaces and enabling everyone to make the most of the nature around us.

“I’m excited to see our community checking out the maps and following the waymarkers, and I hope the trail helps people to engage with campus greenery in the way that brings them the most joy!”