Over two years (May 2024 – May 2026), the collaborative Wilding Campuses project aims to address this by increasing the abundance and diversity of threatened species on and around our campuses. Crucially, it will also empower students, staff and young people across Nottingham to reconnect with nature and tackle the ecological crisis through practical skills sessions, and engagement and wellbeing activities.
Read the news: SOS-UK receives grant for exciting Wilding Campuses pilot
Take part in activities
Everyone is welcome to attend any event and all equipment is provided. See below for all the events that are currently planned. New opportunities are frequently added.
Sign up to the Wilding Campuses mailing list to get opportunities and updates straight to your inbox
No Mow May surveying on Jubilee - Wednesday 30 April
Help the Grounds Team to survey No Mow May areas at Jubilee Campus, prior to them being left unmown for a month. The campaign No Mow May challenges everyone to leave their grass unmown to let the grass and flowers grow, providing valuable habitats for pollinators, bugs, birds and small mammals. Join the event on 4 June to see the results!
Other activities on the day include, planting mixed hedging and wildflower seed spreading at the south entrance of the Campus.
1.30-3pm. Meet at Advanced Manufacturing Building at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.
Wellbeing walk and litter pick for Hedgehog Awareness Week - Wednesday 7 May
Take a break, get outside and join this wellbeing walk through some of University Parks best spots for wildlife. We'll also take some litter pickers with us incase we see any rubbish. This event is being run during Hedgehog Awareness Week as our spiny friends are particularly vulnerable to getting caught in litter.
Meet 11am outside Halward Library for a 30 minute stroll.
Hedgehog Friendly Campus Group
Sherwood Hall quad rewilding - Wednesday 7 May
Join us as we aim to improve the condition and biodiversity of a grassland habitat at Sherwood Hall Quad. By overseeding the lawn with a wildflower mix and increasing the range of plants, it will support a greater number and diversity of wildlife. Learn how to prepare an area in your own garden for wildflower seed sowing.
1.30-3pm. Meet at Sherwood Hall, UP at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.
Nature wellbeing festival - Wednesday 14 May
During the university's Sustainability Action Week, there will be a nature and wellbeing festival on University Park. This is in collaboration with a trio of Climate Action Fellows representing healthcare professionals across Nottinghamshire, and the UoN Wellbeing Team.
Through a series of workshops, and collaborative activities, we aim to foster a connection with the natural world, inspire sustainable living practices, and promote holistic wellbeing. Have a go at activities like yoga and mindfulness meditation/breathwork. Plus learn about foraging, how to get involved with the Cripps allotment and how to survey the nature around us. And much more!
11.30-2pm, The Downs
More details can be found here: Sustainability Action Week.
Tree guard removal at Diamond Wood, SB - Wednesday 14 May
Join the University Grounds Team and the Student Conservation Society in removing tree guards at Diamond Wood in Sutton Bonington. Tree guards were placed around the newly planted trees several years ago to protect them from being eaten and damaged by deer and other wildlife. They can now be removed now the trees are old enough.
Meet at the Sutton Bonington main College Road entrance at 1pm followed by a walk over to Diamond Wood for a 1.30pm – 3pm session.
If you wish to make your own way there, the address is: Pasture Ln, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5PL - https://what3words.com/flow.triathlon.refusals
This event is part of Sustainability Action Week.
Edible corridor creation - Wednesday 21 May
Come along and help plant an edible hedge on University Park. By creating an 'edible corridor' on the border of the Memorial Woodland and Downs, we are aiming to connect valuable habitats and food sources for our wildlife whilst providing edible planting and foraging opportunities for people too.
1.30-3pm. Meet at Millenium Garden Pond at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.
No Mow May surveying at Jubilee - Wednesday 4 June
Join the Jubilee Grounds Team as they survey the lawns and grassy spaces that were left unmown for No Mow May. Identify newly grown flowering and beneficial species and calculate the resulting nectar score. This will help us to understand if this campaign is beneficial for our wildlife.
There may also be the opportunity to take part in some tree watering – weather permitting.
1.30-3pm. Meet at Exchange Building at Jubilee Campus at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.
Hedgehog tunnel workshop - Wednesday 11 June
Meet up to share the results of the hedgehog tunnel survey and identify areas of the campus where there are signs of hedgehogs. Together we can then plan where hedgehog houses could be installed and other hedgehog-friendly improvements made.
1.30-3pm. Meet at Hallward Library at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.
Hedgehog tunnel workshop results - Wednesday 18 June
Learn how to build hedgehog tunnels for surveying hedgehog activity. The tunnels will then be placed around University Park campus to see where hedgehogs are. Adopt your own tunnel to monitor for a week.
1.30-3pm. Meet at Hallward Library at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.
Install wildlife houses around University Park - Wednesday 25 June
Join the Grounds Team as they install wildlife houses around the University Park campus. There are hedgehog houses, frog houses and insect hotels to put out.
1.30-3pm. Meet at Hallward Library at 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.
Important information
- Grounds can provide PPE essential to the task as needed, including gloves, eye protection and hi-vis vests.
- Volunteers should provide their own footwear and will not be permitted to work with inadequate footwear on tasks where risk of foot injury is possible.
- First Aid kit will be provided on site.
If you plan on attending any events, please read this Risk Assessment.
Help us spread the word
Whilst these events are open to all, we are keen to engage with staff and students may not already have much connection with nature. This includes those from working class backgrounds, people of colour, students studying non-environmental courses, those with caring responsibilities and those with disabilities. Get in touch if you can help reach these groups.
Contact the Sustainability Team
Biodiversity at UoN
The university has some of the greenest campuses in the UK. They support a diverse range of habitats and species and are enjoyed by our staff, students, and the local community. The Wilding Campus project will tie in with work already underway to enhance and protect our beautiful green spaces for the benefit of all. A new biodiversity steering group, made up of staff and students, from across schools and operations, is driving this agenda.
Recent surveys have helped establish campus biodiversity baselines so we can set effective improvement targets. For example, as part of the Wild Campuses project, the university has committed to rewilding 15% of our land.
Wilding Campuses is a regional partnership project to restore local natural heritage, led by SOS-UK and made possible with the Heritage Fund and thanks to National Lottery players.