Biodiversity progress

Overview

Biodiversity changes occur over the long term, making some elements of short-term progress challenging to report in measurable terms. To address this, we're currently taking a combined approach, including some highlights from our 2025 ecological survey results alongside narrative to capture our progress and efforts, emphasising actions taken, outcomes, and long-term trends.

Summary

We have made progress towards delivering our Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) during 2024-25. Our quantitative targets (which are outlined in the 'Ecological surveys' section below), and wildlife sites only cover a part of the estate. We have also been working to support biodiversity elsewhere on our grounds and through our operations in 2024-25.

  • To support the management of our sites with nature in mind, we have increased the capability of our staff to consider biodiversity through providing specialist advice, training and support. This includes delivery of water-focused grounds maintenance training coordinated with The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire. 
     
  • We have bought chipper/shredder equipment to help reduce the volume of waste skips required to deal with the compostable waste produced across the estate, and are utilising the mulch produced on our sites.
     
  • We have prioritised the management of lines of trees at Cambridge University Park Farm. During 2023-24, we secured consent to coppice 800m of overmature (overgrown) crack willows growing alongside a ditch. This work was completed in 2024-25.
     
  • We are continually improving the quality of grassland at Madingley Park (part of the University Park Farm and Rural Estate) in line with our Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier Agreement. We are delivering improvements recommended by the local Wildlife Trust to achieve increased diversity among plant species within grassland.
     
  • We have increased the quality and extent of aquatic habitats. A case study on our work at the Madingley Brickpits site demonstrates extremely promising findings as a result of survey work completed by The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire. There has been notable improvement in habitat quality as well as a diverse mix of shaded, unshaded, and seasonally dry ponds, which are ideal invertebrate microhabitats.
     
  • We are continuing to integrate our mapping, monitoring and recording in a way that works for nature on a landscape scale, whilst considering wider landholders (including the Cambridge Colleges).
     
  • We are making sure we comply with mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements in a way that benefits nature as much as possible. Habitat maintenance guidance documents have been created in collaboration with the University's Ecological Advisory Panel. These focus on trees, hedges and grassland, and will be developed further during 2025-26 then rolled out to all grounds maintenance teams to deliver.
     
  • Two volunteer events were held at the 800 Wood to remove plastic tree tubes from the saplings planted in 2009. This will be an ongoing effort over the coming years, through a combination of staff, student volunteers and local community volunteers.

Ecological surveys

Background
  • To assess our progress against the targets laid out on page 26 of our Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), habitat surveys have, and will continue to be, carried out at sites on our urban and rural estate. The surveys assess habitat condition against standard metrics (UKHab) depending on habitat type and include surveys of grasslands, scrubland, hedgerows, and lines of trees.
  • We are also partnering with the local Wildlife Trust to assess two County Wildlife Sites under our management. This will allow us to see how our management practices have been working and will determine if we need to change anything.
  • Surveys conducted during 2025 were the first round of biodiversity monitoring since our initial baseline surveying in 2017-18. 
  • Woodlands will be resurveyed at a later date. 
2025 survey results

In our 2020 Biodiversity Action Plan, we set quantitative targets for biodiversity protection and enhancement on the University estate. In 2025, we commissioned a series of surveys to check our progress against those targets. The ecologists assessed the condition of different habitat areas against the Defra statutory biodiversity metric standards and made management suggestions for achieving our 2030 targets.

In addition, we commissioned surveys to review the effectiveness of management regimes at two County Wildlife Sites on land owned by the University, at Madingley Brickpits and Lord’s Bridge. The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire found both to be in good condition and suggested expanding the listing of those sites to include additional land and additional criteria.

In summary
  • We are maintaining our target grassland areas in good condition.
  • We are continuing to steward our County Wildlife Sites responsibly.
  • We are not on track for all our targets, but management changes will address shortfalls.
  • Much more active management is needed to promote structural diversity in our scrub and improve condition, and we have plans in place to complete this.
  • Planting will help fill gaps in hedgerows and lines of trees and improve condition and we have plans in place to complete this.
  • Lines of trees are significantly adversely impacted by disease, necessitating felling and restocking across the rural estate.

Priorities for the year ahead

  • Embedding biodiversity improvements into the Principal Programmes set out in the Strategic Estate Framework.
  • Supporting delivery of the University’s Biodiversity Action Plan by:
     - Executing a high-profile demonstration project at the Faculty of Education.
     - Planning a high-profile demonstration project at the University’s Madingley Rise site.
     - Implementing agricultural grassland management.
     - Enhancing wildlife corridors on our farmland, including verge and ditch seeding.
     - Thinning dying and dead standing trees from woodland areas and restocking.
     - Enhanced management of our disused railway hedgerow.
     - Continuing to enhance and maintain ponds at Madingley Hall and Park.
     - Completing parkland and pasture tree planting on the rural estate.
  • Carrying out additional ecological surveys during spring/summer of 2026, including farmland surveys on all grassland and ditches.

Additional and historic data

For our commitments and approach, please visit the Biodiversity page. Additional and historic data can be found on the Our progress page.