Bees, bats, birds and more biodiversity at Oxford Brookes!

These warm summer days many of us will be enjoying the beautiful grounds of our University but whichever campus you are based at, there is more to explore!

Did you know…

• There are many memorial trees & benches across our sites which are registered in a database
• First year BA in Primary Teacher Education students at Harcourt Hill grow their own vegetables; they learn by doing which enables them to transfer these skills to their future jobs.
• 2 meters strips are left un-mowed around the hedges at Harcourt Hill and Wheatley until the end of July to encourage birds to nest and insects to thrive
• Woodchips from the trees are put on the shrub beds to suppress weeds
• Wildflowers are planted across sites
• Bird boxes and bat boxes have been installed at Harcourt Hill
• Bird boxes and owl boxes have been installed at Wheatley
• Bee houses are being put up across all sites to accommodate solitary bees
• Marston Road is a ‘Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation’; a species count has recently been completed. There is also a small vegetable garden. 

Contact the Environmental Team on sustainability@brookes.ac.uk to:

• Apply for funding for more costly projects through the sustainability fund (applications are welcomed for any sustainability related projects at Brookes)
• Integrate biodiversity into an academic programme
• Feed into the Biodiversity Action Plan.

On a final note, a massive thank you to our dedicated Grounds Team who ensured we kept our Green Flag Award for the fourth year in a row across all three sites: Headington Campus, Wheatley Campus and Harcourt Hill Campus.