色花堂

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.听

色花堂鈥檚聽Biodiversity Group, with staff and student members, is tasked with implementing our Biodiversity Policy聽(pdf 152kb) and Action Plan and 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聽to ensure聽that we can manage our biodiversity carefully. Key actions include:

• Supporting staff and student projects, including growing spaces on and around our campuses, including SU色花堂's polytunnel and a local allotment at Slades Farm managed by the Life & Environmental Sciences department
• Managing the natural areas of our campus differently to be beneficially to nature, for example managing grassland areas with less frequent cutting (including no mow May areas)
• Adding native hedgerows in some locations
• Planting more native trees using a combination of fruit trees and native broad-leaved trees聽
• Reducing our use of聽chemical pesticides
• Sowing wildflower areas
• Investigating opportunities to integrate biodiversity into future developments, e.g. sedum roofs
• Removing and management of dominant or invasive species
• Improving bird, bat and hedgehog boxes within the聽woodland border on Talbot Campus
• Developing local community and stakeholder links
• Seeking out and supporting projects that will enhance the biodiversity of 色花堂
• Conducting regular reviews with grounds maintenance contractors to identify further improvements
• Adding bird boxes to support swifts

Read our 2022 baseline ecological survey聽for Talbot Campus (pdf 6.6mb).

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are defined by as 鈥渁ctions 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鈥�.听罢丑别 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聽NbS聽to help mitigate and adapt to the聽climate and ecological聽crisis where we can.听This means implementing聽opportunities to create biodiversity net-gain on each of our sites聽and using nature as a solution to climate change.听

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

Our academic Professor Rick Stafford is one of the authors of a report by the British Ecological Society on ''. 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.听

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聽to achieve our net zero ambition.听聽聽

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 (SU色花堂) and the Faculty of Science & Technology.

• Join a society: There are a number of green-fingered student clubs and societies at 色花堂, one being the Permaculture Society.听Another great one聽to join is the Wildlife and Conservation Society!
• Growing on campus: The Faculty of Science & Technology has a range of conservation projects that student and staff can contribute to. Students have got聽involved with planting wildflowers and trees around campus as well as mapping trees and monitoring bird聽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 鈥� Heritage, Craft and Wellbeing Hub聽at 色花堂 currently makes use of our聽polytunnel to grow and store resources used in outdoor skills and crafts sessions, including flax harvesting, ancient drying, and stone carving. Read more about The Sanctuary.
• Community work: ResLife and SU色花堂 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聽with a group of friends! We also actively support conservation work at Slades Farm; become a 聽to enjoy the outdoors and get involved in practical conservation, from planting to maintenance! In 2017, the Stour Estuary Nature Reserve Project was shortlisted for an EAUC Green Gown Award in the Community category, for connecting the local people with wildlife on their doorstep. Find out more about the .听
• 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 then contact聽the聽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 :聽a聽community created interactive map of special places in Dorset,聽made by everyone for everyone in Dorset.听It聽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.听罢丑别 project is led by volunteers聽at 色花堂, and collaborates聽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!
• 'Inspired by Nature' art competition:聽In 2021, we launched our first 'Inspired by Nature' art competition. Open to staff, students聽and their families, we received fantastic entries that showed and encouraged a connection to nature. Our winner, Natalie Dear, took inspiration from a safari trip and her feelings around poaching. You can see the full fantastic gallery .听In 2024, we displayed the submissions from the nature art competition in one of our galleries on campus. The winner for 2024, Zoe Deacon, produced a beautiful painting of a bee on a flower, titled 'Bee Kind to the Environment'.

Get in touch!

If you're a staff or student interested in any of the above opportunities, email the Sustainability Team聽or find out more information on the聽聽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 in nature a week is associated with good health and wellbeing. You can find special places to go in Dorset by visiting the interactive map on . This map was created by volunteers at 色花堂 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. 聽offer a range of events across parks in the BCP area.听

We encourage you to try to get some time outdoors every day to help you to relax and unwind in any greenspace you can find. It could be a 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 .

You can also connect with nature from your desk by watching the live feed聽from our bird feeding station at Chapel Gate which is聽free to access by watching聽this 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 .听

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!聽