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Overview

We are proud of the work we have been doing to promote and improve biodiversity and have developed a biodiversity improvement plan to be implemented across all three of our campuses.Wwe also collaborate with a number of local partners, such as Doddington Hall Estate and ÖÆ·þÎÞÂëshire Wildlife Trust to protect and support life above land.

Our work extends beyond the borders of ÖÆ·þÎÞÂëshire, and for the last ten years our students have had the opportunity to visit the  as part of their degree programme. Students are taught about the biodiversity of the forest and its history and importance by members of our host community. We also work with scientists in the reserve to monitor the fauna and environment by supplying camera traps and environmental data loggers that can both be used for scientific research and teaching.

Biodiversity Research Projects

Our academics are engaged in an array of research projects which are linked to biodiversity. Their research has wide reaching aims, including understanding the role of soils and forests in storing carbon; investigating the biomechanics of invertebrates used in jumping, sound-making, and hearing; developing more sustainable pest control methods; and understanding ecology and evolution of sperm.

Our Life Sciences and Computer Science staff and students have been collaborating with colleagues from the ÖÆ·þÎÞÂëshire Wildlife Trust, Plantlife, and the Greater ÖÆ·þÎÞÂëshire Nature Partnership to develop novel ways of identifying and monitoring biodiversity using machine learning. This has resulted in a jointly on the classification of the vegetation of roadside verges. The initial output of this work is now the subject of a significant funded project.

Rewilding Doddington Hall

We have established a partnership with Doddington Hall, a local estate that has begun a , to restore biodiversity over its 770 hectares. Our students and scientists have contributed baseline data for the biodiversity and ecosystem services of the estate and continue to contribute data as the estate re-wilds. Students can benefit from the ongoing opportunities the estate provides to learn about biodiversity and ecosystem restoration.

Alumni Making a Difference

A number of our students are now working in exciting roles in biodiversity management and recovery for government agencies and NGOs. Leah Vollans, who studied the invertebrates of Doddington, started a career at Natural England shortly after graduation, and is now working on catchment sensitive farming. Hannah Curtis completed a dissertation on soils at Doddington and then took up a role as a conservation officer with ÖÆ·þÎÞÂëshire Wildlife Trust. Ashley Reaney is now working as a conservation officer with ÖÆ·þÎÞÂëshire Wildlife Trust. Chloe Francis, who is researching dung beetles at Doddington, is contributing a blog article to the Dung Beetle Trust, a group initiated by livestock farmers, vets, and dung beetle conservation practitioners. 

Sustainability in the Curriculum