Caring for nature

We're always looking to improve the impact of our estate on the environment, and this includes maintaining and, where possible, enhancing biodiversity on our campuses and ensuring they are a place for both people and wildlife to enjoy. All our new buildings have integrated biodiversity net gain features, such as green roofs and bird boxes.

BU’s Biodiversity Group, with staff and student members, is tasked with implementing our Biodiversity Policy (you can find this policy on our People and Policies page) and our Biodiversity Action Plan. Our grounds maintenance contractor carries out the important work. The Policy and Action Plan are designed to improve the quality of habitats for wildlife on campus. In 2022, we carried out ecological surveys to understand our biodiversity baseline. We are using these to ensure that we can manage our biodiversity carefully. Key actions include:

• Supporting staff and student projects, including growing spaces on and around our campuses, including SUBU’s Community Garden on Talbot Campus and a polytunnel used for growing by students
• Managing the natural areas of our campus differently to be beneficial to nature, for example, managing grassland areas with less frequent cutting (including no-mow areas)
• Adding native hedgerows in some locations
• Planting more native trees using a combination of fruit trees and native broad-leaved trees 
• Reducing our use of chemical pesticides
• Sowing wildflower areas
• Investigating opportunities to integrate biodiversity into future developments e.g. sedum roofs
• Removal and management of dominant or invasive species
• Improving bird, bat and hedgehog boxes within the woodland border on Talbot Campus and at Chapel Gates sports site
• Encouraging staff and students to engage with citizen science to support biodiversity monitoring on campus
• Developing local community and stakeholder links
• Seeking out and supporting projects that will enhance the biodiversity of BU
• Conducting regular reviews with grounds maintenance contractors to identify further improvements
• Adding bird boxes to support swifts.

Download our 2022 baseline ecological survey for Talbot Campus (pdf 6.6mb)

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are defined by IUCN as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits”. The concept is grounded in the knowledge that healthy, natural and managed ecosystems produce a diverse range of services on which human wellbeing depends.

We seek to invest more in NbS to help mitigate and adapt to the climate and ecological crisis where we can. This means implementing opportunities to create biodiversity net-gain on each of our sites and using nature as a solution to climate change. 

On our campuses, we already have some examples of NbS, such as the green roofs on our new buildings, which soak up rainwater to prevent flooding and the planting of trees to take CO2 out of the air. We also, through engagement with other bodies and our research activity, advocate for and demonstrate the benefit of NbS so that others do the same. 

Our academic Professor Rick Stafford is one of the authors of a report by the British Ecological Society on 'Nature Based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK'. This includes an important section on using nature-based solutions in the built environment, recommending green rooves, raingardens, permeable paving and urban trees to reduce the urban heat island effect, prevent flooding and support biodiversity. 

Nature is one of the four frameworks of our Climate and Ecological Crisis Action Plan, so-called because we are aware it is not just the climate that is being threatened, but our entire ecological system. Helping staff and students to connect with nature, to learn to understand it, to respect it, and to love it, on campus and beyond, supports mental and physical wellbeing. In addition, those with a higher appreciation of nature and those who spend more recreational time in natural settings are more likely to report engaging in a range of pro-environmental behaviours, which we need to achieve our net zero ambition.   

Through the plan, we aim to recognise and reinforce the link between people, nature, and the climate in order to strengthen our response to the crisis. We see cultivating in our community an appreciation and connection with nature as the door to taking stronger action to protect it. See below for some ways you can connect further with nature.

Our students get involved in a number of conservation projects organised mostly by the Students’ Union (SUBU) and the Faculty of Science & Technology:

• Take part in the BU BioBlitz: The BU BioBlitz is a fun, collaborative event to record as many species as possible across our campuses over a set period using iNaturalist. This event is supported by our student experts and academic staff from the Faculty of Science and Technology, who lead a variety of wildlife surveys and activities on the day. The BU BioBlitz takes place annually in May.  All species recorded during the BioBlitz are captured on our Bournemouth University iNaturalist Project page
• Become a Nature Positive Student Ambassador: This programme involves monthly online workshops on different topics related to biodiversity, with the aim of empowering you with the green skills to take action on campus and beyond. You will have the opportunity to network with other students from around the world to share ideas. Find out more about the Nature Positive Student Ambassador Programme.
• Volunteer at the SUBU Community Garden: Located on our Talbot Campus, the Community Garden is used to teach our students and staff growing skills and for growing chemical-free food, which is used to supply the SUBU Community Kitchen. There are a wide range of tasks for all abilities, and we learn from each other, so no experience of skill is needed. Depending on the time of year, you could be sowing and planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, composting, or fixing and building. 
• Biodiversity projects on campus: The Faculty of Science and Technology has a range of conservation projects that students and staff can contribute to. Students have got involved with planting wildflowers and trees around campus, as well as mapping trees and monitoring bird boxes. We also have growing space in front of Christchurch House, which is used and monitored by both staff and students, and the plants grown there are used for Living Lab projects. The Sanctuary - Heritage, Craft and Wellbeing Hub at BU currently makes use of our polytunnel to grow and store resources used in outdoor skills and crafts sessions, including flax harvesting, ancient drying and stone carving. 
• Join a SUBU society: There are a number of green-fingered clubs and societies, including the Wildlife & Conservation society
• Community work: SUBU and ResLife hold regular beach cleans. Join in to enjoy the sea air and de-stress during exam season while cleaning up your environment, or run your own with a group of friends. Visit the SUBU What's On page to find the next one. We also actively support conservation work at Slades Farm; become a GreenFingers volunteer to enjoy the outdoors and get involved in practical conservation, from planting to maintenance 
• Take a tour: Our campuses are designed for you to enjoy. If you want to find out more and use them to their full extent, contact the Sustainability Team for a guided tour of our estate to find out what technologies and sustainability measures we’ve included to create our sustainable campuses
• Explore with Dorset Unlocked: A community-created interactive map of special places in Dorset, made by everyone for everyone in Dorset. It aims to share why we think Dorset is special and to encourage us all to explore, enjoy and value the benefits of connecting with nature and heritage. The project is led by BU volunteers and collaborates with the National Trust, BCP at Hengistbury Head and everyone in Dorset who wishes to contribute to the interactive map. Find a new place to fall in love with, or share with others one you've already found.   

Get in touch

If you're a staff or student interested in any of the above opportunities, contact the Sustainability Team: [email protected] or find out more information on the SUBU Volunteering pages. We'd love to have you join in.

We would like to promote spending time in nature as a strategy to support staff and student wellbeing and mental health.

Research shows that spending at least 120 minutes in nature a week is associated with good health and well-being. You can find special places to go in Dorset by visiting the interactive map on Dorset Unlocked. This map was created by volunteers at BU in collaboration with the National Trust, BCP at Hengistbury Head and the Dorset community and is a great way to find new outdoor spaces to explore. The Parks Foundation offer a range of events across parks in the BCP area. 

We encourage you to try to get some time outdoors every day to help you relax and unwind in any green space you can find. It could be sitting on the new benches in front of Poole Gateway Building within the wildflowers, or crossing the Wallisdown Road to take a walk through the woods to Slades Park Pavilion.

You can also connect with nature from your desk by watching the live feed from our bird feeding station at Chapel Gate, which is free to access by watching this YouTube link. We are waiting for spring to see if any birds choose to nest in our bird box with a camera inside which you can see from this live link. 

If you are out and about on the Talbot Campus, look out for Swifts flying overhead, and hopefully, they will be making a home in our new Swift boxes this summer! 

Visit our Bournemouth University iNaturalist Project page to learn about the different species you can find on our campuses. iNaturalist is a species-monitoring tool that allows users to take photos, identify species, and document the time and location of the discovery. The best part is you don't have to be a biodiversity expert. Anyone can join in by downloading the iNaturalist app to start recording species and help us build a living map of our campuses.

We’re also a member of the Campus Biodiversity Network, which allows us to connect with other universities monitoring biodiversity.