Within the context of a university or college, biodiversity can make the world of difference to the environment in which we teach, learn and work. Physical and mental health outcomes of green space and initiatives play a role in our sense of self and institutional culture and ambitions- it may also influence retention and recruitment of students and staff.
Biological diversity encompasses the variation of life on earth and in its simplest form, it is measured by the number and variety of species in an area. Globally, the rate of loss is recognisably a serious concern that requires concerted international action to prevent an irreversible pattern of ecological damage. Whilst the science may feel abstract and distant to some roles within the sector, it truly effects us all.
If you would like to learn more about managing biodiversity at your institution then why not view our Biodiversity Guide. This practical guide is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES).
To connect with like-minded EAUC Members, join the EAUC's Biodiversity Community of Practice. This group is for EAUC members only.
Dr Duncan Westbury, Institute of Science & the Environment The University of Worcester is committed to enhancing biodiversity on the land it manages through its Strategic...
At the University of Stirling, students are encouraged to undertake projects focused on campus issues. This provides a wide range of project opportunities, stimulates action on...
Growhampton is a sustainability initiative with a big focus on food growing. It was established in September 2013 (initially funded by the NUS Student Green Fund) and is...
The quad at the centre of the Michael Smith Building has been established as a biodiversity garden, including a large pond, raised flower beds, wild flower mixtures and areas of...
The cityscape that provides the backdrop for the University of Leicester is characterised by many various types of buildings both old and new with the main campus home to...
The University of Hertfordshire is unique amongst its competitors as the proud owner of a field centre located in rural Hertfordshire, called Bayfordbury Campus. Bayfordbury...
To meet the needs of an expanding leading university, the University of Cambridge has commenced the development of a site covering around 150 hectares in North West Cambridge....
In the past 2 years SRUC have planted over 800m of new hedges and drawn up a maintenance plan for our hedges that will allow a variety of growth types, increasing their habitat...
Scouts from the local Scout group have came on site and carried out a bug survey in a range of habitats on the course. The information from the survey was uploaded onto the Opal...
The golf course features 3 ponds and all of which contain healthy populations of Palmate newts, frogs and toads along with many more water invertebrates. The ponds have all been...
The golf course has an environmental working group called the GEO steering group. The responsibility of this group is to work together in strengthening the course’s Golf...
The golf course has introduced wildflowers to a number of sites on the course and we plan to continue this practice each year. At the moment we have just under 1Ha of meadows....
The golf course is often left with pallets from deliveries and these began to build up in quantity. Greenkeeping students practical classes used the pallets and other waste...
The golf course has been lucky enough to be awarded two tree packs from the Woodland Trust comprising over 800 native trees. The trees have been planted on the golf course by...
In 2014 SRUC replaced 150m2 of grassed verges on our entrance road with a native annual wildflower meadow. The meadow was received well by visitors to the course and removed the...
Aston University has seen a lot of redevelopment of its city centre campus over the last few years. Listed below are some of the features which we’ve incorporated into...
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...
The 2015 Green Gown Awards Winners’ Brochure which explores the journeys all these institutions have taken.
The Winners' Brochure for the International Green Gown Awards 2015 which brings together the finalists and winners of these Awards which are growing globally.
C15Hack was Australia’s biggest green innovation hackathon. 41 students worked in small teams to tackle 7 different challenges from across the campus and Melbourne city-wide
Vertical greening systems are an important component of Green Infrastructure – possibly the only cost-effective approach to coping with some of the immense challenges...
This case study shares more about an initiative where staff and students at Aston University are being given the opportunity to grow their own food thanks to a new initiative...
The matter of landscape links university operations, research, teaching and learning with community and industry engagement delivering stage two of the roof garden pilot project.
Growing at Griffith focuses on three innovative biodiversity projects that builds on Griffith’s commitment to maintaining environmental integrity on its campuses.
View the photographs taken at "Challenging Connections" Annual Conference 2015.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how the University of Brighton has adopted sustainability as one of its core goals, as reflected in the institution’s Strategic Plan.
This presentation is the final Keynote from day one of the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by Leeds City Council, ASDA and...
This Exchange presentation from the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by University of Roehampton falls under the Partnership and...
This presentation is from the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by University of Leeds and falls under the Leadership and Governance...
This presentation is from the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, presented by The University of Leeds and falls under the Partnerships and...
The EAUC Annual Conference 2015 programme in full!
This presentation is from the “Challenging Connections” EAUC Annual Conference 2015, Further Education Summit and presented by City College Plymouth.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how University of Dundee has been rated number one in Scotland and in the UK Top 10 for the past 5 years.
This example is an infographic from University of Leicester and is the Environment Team's Sustainability Scorecard for 2013/14
Dirt! The Movie is an excursion into the realms of soil, the number one lifegiver on Earth...It's fundamentally important ecological functions, our poor understanding of...
This is the fourth in a series from Bill Mollison's "Global Garden", centered around urban life.
This is the third in a series from Bill Mollison's "Global Garden", centered around cool climates.
This is the second in a series from Bill Mollison's "Global Garden", centered around dry lands.
This is the first in a series from Bill Mollison's "Global Garden", centered around the Tropics.
This is a film based on the best selling photography book, "The Earth from the Air".
The 2014 Green Gown Awards Winners’ Brochure which explores the journeys all these institutions have taken.
Over December 2014 the EAUC created a series of resources to inspire and keep sustainability at the forefront of everyone’s minds during the festive season.
Students have improved the green space on the campus enabling the public to see ‘outside’ what students learn ‘inside’ by creating a Sculpture Trail and...
From saving electricity to increasing biodiversity and pioneering the use of organic calico, Rachel engages community members, students and staff from diverse disciplines
Keele’s growth in sustainability activity has been astronomical, fuelled by dedicated high-level support, incredible local-level passion and engagement, and collegial...
E-Collegey was launched at Uxbridge College in 2012 to boost participation in green activities and encourage awareness of sustainability issues.
The Winners' Brochure for the International Green Gown Awards 2014 which brings together the finalists and winners of these Awards which are growing globally.
A presentation by Chris Cowburn from the 13th Annual EAUC Conference 2009.
Legal update for EAUC Members (September 2012) about the replacement of Business Link and Direct.gov
A quarterly briefing paper which is submitted to AUDE members which ensures the voice of the EAUC and its Members are heard at this strategic level. September 2014 issue.
A quarterly briefing paper which is submitted to AUDE members which ensures the voice of the EAUC and its Members are heard at this strategic level. May 2014 issue.
A link to the Staffordshire University Green Wall Centre website where you can find out more about green façades,
A new, open-access journal “Visions for Sustainability” published by the Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Sustainability has been launched. The journal covers...
An EAUC 2014 presentation which creatively explores ways of engaging staff and students with sustainability using examples from Canterbury Christ Church University's...
A presentation from the 2014 Conference where the University of Cambridge is used a case study to provide guidance and best practice on how to set up and implement a Living Lab.
The Biodiversity Index is an interactive web-based tool that enables people with little knowledge of ecology to do a rapid but scientific assessment of the level of plant...
Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) estate comprises over 240 hectares of land across its three campuses, ranging from city centre to farmland.
The vision of Eat Your Campus is to plant fruit and nut trees along cycle paths and footpaths planted by people who live, work and pass through these places.
This is the plan for the University of Sheffield's wildflowers on campus for 2014.
EAUC Member responses collating information on creating wildflower meadows. Includes a case study from University of Sheffield on their proposed areas for wildflowers.
A quarterly briefing paper which is submitted to AUDE members which ensures the voice of the EAUC and its Members are heard at this strategic level. November 2013 issue.
The Sustainable Garden at the University of Leeds has now officially opened. Founded through a partnership between the Sustainability Team, the Grounds and Garden team and Leeds...
A book for purchase about resilience and how it may be created within the web of ecological, socio-economic and cultural systems that make up the world.
The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) highlights the fact that education is central to UNEP’s mandate of “inspiring,...
Eat your campus - a project to develop Loughborough University as an edible landscape as a presentation from Day 2 of the 17th EAUC Annual Conference 2013.
Biodiversity is the one area that has often been left out of the spotlight in sustainability plans. The SEED project has changed this with the creation of a new, interactive...
Details of the NUS HQ, a demonstrator of an eco-office with a range of pioneering sustainability initiatives, including a pay as you go light scheme.
Three links to useful website that can help anyone looking to start composting.
Handbook for faculty workshops on how to introduce cultural commons and ecojustice issues into their courses
The Centre for Bioscience was awarded project funding by the HEA ESD group to produce a series of short information sheets to support bioscience teaching staff with...
The winners' brochure from the 2010 Green Gown Awards.
Green Gown Awards 2011 - winners' brochure from the annual Awards, recognising excellence in sustainability within the further and higher education sector
EAUC Member responses about sharing experience of installing a green wall on campus.
A leaflet from the Green Task Force at the University of Essex, this document highlights some of the University's activities and achievements in sustainability
This resource gives you an insight into the internal Environmental Group's, terms of reference at the University of Bristol.
Plymouth College of Art has developed an information sharing resource; The Sustainability Information Teaching Exchange.
This resource takes you to the intranet pages of the University of Birmingham in which they explain the environment and sustainability strategies and policies in place.
Two presentations from the EAUC Annual Conference 2011, on enhancing biodiversity and what you can do about it.
A presentation from the EAUC Annual Conference 2011 on enhancing biodiversity and how you can do it.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how Nottingham Trent University is an organisation making positive efforts to reduce the effect its activities have on the environment.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how Newcastle University are making the commitment to environmental sustainability through a variety of initiatives.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how Sheffield College is one of the city's greenest major developments to date.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see why Roehampton University is voted ‘number one in London for its environment on and around campus’.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College is implementing sustainability into their buildings through student engagement.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how University of Bristol has had success in reducing its environmental impact over the last ten years.
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how University of Bradford's Ecoversity current and past achievements as well as future goals.
How to engage staff & students in stimulating projects and monitoring schemes that have real meaning and can be used to change building and estates policies to include...
A presentation from the EAUC Annual Conference 2012 which shares the University of Sheffield and Royal Northern College of Music’s bids to champion greener living
A video from the 2012 Conference of the day 3 keynote address: Satish Kumar, Editor-in-Chief, Resurgence
In this EAUC Member Spotlight, see how Coleg Gwent has made a pledge to embed sustainable development as a core principle of the college.
This is a letter by the Department of Communities and Local Government on the implementation of Display Energy Certificates.
An EAUC guide on the primary areas of impact and influence in relation to the contributing factors and intervention measures regarding climate change.
Here are a collection of the Defra publications on biodiversity.
A presentation and links to reports from CIMA identifying their work on role of accountants in embedding sustainability.
City College Plymouth took a bold new step in erecting two wind turbines on the roof of their innovation centre.
A short study about selected Korean Universities who are using solar energy experimentally for only a few buildings.
An office guide to calculate carbon emissions for colleges/ universities. An easier to read interpretation of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol!
Example policy from Queen's University Belfast on how the bulk delivery of oil should be completed.
Carbon offsetting is recommended at Loughborough University where a donation is given and the money goes to planting trees to offset travel related carbon emissions.
Two videos from Ellen MacArthur Foundation about the biologist and ecologist at the design table. Products and processes which use nature as mentor, model and measure.