Wild Campus, the first photo book to capture the remarkable range of wildlife seen around University Park Campus and adjoining Highfields Park, is to be launched at an event on Tuesday 18 December, from 6pm−7.30pm, at The Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham Lakeside Arts.
The 102-page coffee-table book, showcasing the remarkable diversity of wildlife, is the work of Jusep Moreno, a University graduate of Biological Photography and Imaging MSc. Wild Campus started out as a piece of coursework and evolved into a larger piece of work for his dissertation, which captures the unique character and wildlife of University Park.
Jusep explains that the book is a brief sample of the rich wildlife that can be found around the grounds of University Park Campus. Far from being a checklist of as many species as possible, it is a collection of images and brief stories about wildlife.
“My goal with this book is to encourage everyone to engage with their local wildlife in meaningful ways, for example, by observing animals in the wild, trying to understand their complex social lives, and acknowledging their sentience and consciousness.”
The visually stunning book focusses on different aspects of the #BeastsofUoN, including water wildlife, night wildlife, grey squirrels, Canada geese, orchids and badgers.
Urbanisation and the impact on wildlife is also a theme running throughout the book. Today, more than 90 per cent of people in Great Britain live in urban areas, so urban green spaces have the potential to give wildlife a home and maintain our connection with it.
Jusep explains: “Wildlife doesn’t have a place to go. It is a hazard to human well-being and people’s connection to nature. Urbanisation reduces the amount of green cover and sets us slowly further and further away from the countryside and, eventually nature.”
Urban green spaces, like University Park Campus, play a crucial role in providing a variety of essential ecosystem services, supporting biodiversity. The campus incorporates a variety of semi-natural habitats, grassland, woodland and wetland, which provide food and home for an astonishing variety of wildlife − all stunningly represented within the book.
Jusep’s course leader Dr Thomas Hartman of the University’s School of Life Sciences, said:
“Jusep has put together a fantastic photographic odyssey of the local wildlife, collecting his images with patience, skill and dedication and creating this visually stunning record of a year in the life found on University Park Campus.”
The photography skills which Jusep displays throughout the book are evidential on every page. David McMahon, Director of Photography and Imaging Biological Photography in the School of Life Sciences, added:
“I have always said to the students on our course that you should always look to see that which is around you first and admire its place within our local ecosystem.
“Without local ecosystems that flourish we fail to have the larger ecosystems within our world. This book that Jusep created for his summer project shows how photographing locally helps see the larger picture.”
Author Jusep will talk more about his work on the evening and how he achieved the astonishing shots seen within Wild Campus.
For those interested in attending the book launch on Tuesday 18 December, and to hear more from Jusep on his motivations to focus on University Park Campus and how he achieved the astonishing shots seen in the book, can register here for the Wild Campus event. Tickets are free but registration is required.
There will be mulled wine and a prize draw during the evening where all guests will have the chance to win their own copy of the book, and copies will be available for sale.
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Notes to editors:
The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer, proud of our Athena SWAN silver award, and a key industry partner- locally and globally.