Submitted by Grainne Kennedy on Tue, 2019-04-23 14:44
The good weather this month has allowed many staff to engage with the wildlife near where they work. It has been a busy month of walks, talks and explorations. It is clear that University staff love nature and we will try and have more wildlife-centred events in future.
Wonderful nature walks
Setting the intention at the beginning of each of our walks to pay attention to nature paid dividends. What could’ve been a standard lunchtime stroll became an adventure as we looked at various beautiful lichens under a microscope, standing still as a heron stalked nearby (figure 1), appreciating the wonderful willow under its canopy and we flitted through our nature books trying to find which species of bees was hopping between the flowers in front of us.
Figure 1: A heron in the rushes. Adam's Road Sanctuary
Small areas of green spaces such as Laundress Green and Adam’s Road Sanctuary turned out to be abundant in different types of wildlife, while we had to cover larger areas in locations such as Ascension Cemetery to find what we were looking for.
The walks were also an opportunity to speak to each other about the wildlife we had all seen in the area. We heard of badger setts and bats in Ascension Cemetery, and staff who came on the walks were keen to share knowledge of how they protect wildlife in their local area.
Our Biodivercity workshop in the Museum of Zoology was a great opportunity to share those wildlife stories. Workshop participants drew how they interact with nature each day, everyone was asked to consider how they could increase that interaction and finally we had a drawing session out in the display area of the museum in front of many species. The combination of art and wildlife proved to be a great success.
Sharing knowledge at Newnham College
Much can be done to encourage wildlife in garden spaces and the gardening team in Newnham College have worked hard for a number of years to make a home for nature within their seventeen acres. The Environment and Energy team and gardeners from both Colleges and the University were happy to visit this garden and learn from Newnham staff.
Gardener Bea Piper provided information on how the gardens are managed in harmony with nature and was able to show the group their wildflower meadow, beehives (figure 4) and even a badger sett.
The walk provided lots of ideas for the gardeners who visited, and we plan to hold another event in a few weeks where gardeners can share best practice in protecting habitats.
We are grateful to Bea for showing us around. You too can experience the wonderful wildlife of Newnham College, the College gardens are open most days. Should you wish to visit the garden please check that it is open first, by contacting the Porters’ Lodge on Tel: 01223 335 700
Figure 4: Beehives at Newnham College
Embracing mindfulness in beautiful spaces
Just 20 minutes in a green space is enough to lower stress hormones and help us centre ourselves. Bearing this is mind we asked Simon McKibbon of the Counselling Service to run a mindfulness session in Laundress Green.
When it comes to accessing the mental health benefits of nature, even the simplest interaction can have a positive impact. Feedback from our nature walks showed us that many staff members felt more relaxed just from spending their lunchtime in nature.
Still so much to do
If you have missed the Spotlight on Biodiversity events that we have held already, do not panic. There are many more things that you can participate in. You can join our guided cycle to Trumpington Meadows this Friday 26 April, or why not bring the whole family to participate in the Cambridge Botanic Gardens Bioblitz this weekend. If you feel that you could do with even more engagement with nature after these events you can join us for our Sidgwick Site or Addenbrookes Nature Walks next week.