Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Staff and students from the University of Nottingham recently joined partners from Bluecoat Aspley Academy and Nottingham College for an event to celebrate the Wilding Campuses Project – a collaborative initiative transforming pockets of green space across all three campuses into thriving habitats for wildlife.
This event marked the final milestone in the two-year National Lottery Heritage Fund–supported pilot delivered by environmental charity Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK). The project was designed as a pioneering regional partnership model, enabling multiple education institutions to collaborate to restore local natural heritage rather than working in isolation
University of Nottingham contributions and results
Over the past year, the University of Nottingham has delivered significant biodiversity gains as part of the project, including:
- Two campus BioBlitz events generating 830 observations and 329 species identified.
- Creation and enhancement of diverse grassland areas, including a wildflower meadow outside a student hall of residence.
- Improving existing green spaces to make them more wildlife-friendly, such as the wellbeing allotment, including new bucket ponds and a wildflower bank.
The Wilding Campus Project has given university students and staff the chance to come together to take part in various nature-based activities right on our campuses. People from diverse backgrounds, many without much previous access to nature, have been able to take part in activities such as bulb planting, wildflower seeding and foraging walks. This has provided a fun way for our community to explore and engage with our beautiful campuses, the nature that lives there, and each other. This, in turn, will benefit our local wildlife for many years to come.
A unique school setting for urban rewilding
While much of the programme has focused on higher and further education, Bluecoat Aspley Academy has played a key role as the school partner in this tri-institution collaboration.
The event reflected the Wilding Campuses’ mission to empower students and young people to contribute meaningfully to ecological solutions. This was showcased through practical activities on the day, such as building gabions to create new habitats, hedge laying to strengthen natural boundaries, planting bulbs and constructing a willow arch.
The project has given our students the chance to become environmental leaders. By working in partnership across the city, they have helped create new habitats and shown how young people can drive positive change in their communities.
Wilding Campuses is a regional partnership project, hosted by SOS-UK and made possible with the Heritage Fund and thanks to National Lottery players.
Story credits
More information is available from Alison Clayton at: alison.clayton@nottingham.ac.uk or Amanda Cooke, Media Relations Officer in the Press Office at The University of Nottingham, on +44 (0) 115 7485848 or by email at amanda.cooke@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 17th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. 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.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home. More news…