Biodiversity Day 21

May 6, 2021

Saturday 21 May is #BiodiversityDay. Our Grounds Team works hard to encourage biodiversity on our beautiful campuses. We have bee hotels, plant bee friendly plants, leave areas unmown and seed with wildflowers, leave some dead trees in situ so creatures can make them their homes and more. Recent new planting has included herb and daisy beds outside The Exchange and herb and flower beds near The Stannary.

Wildflowers encourage more insects which, in turn, support more birds and bats. We have seven species of bat on campus, including pipistrelle, long eared and horseshoe and they regularly feed on insects in the wildflower areas around Glasney Village (the student and holiday accommodation).

FX Plus Head Gardener Toby Nenning said: “Wildflowers are really important. We cut down some areas to provide more usable spaces for students, and employees and sometimes it’s for safety – for instance, making sure visibility is clear for vehicles. But we are keen to balance this with wilder areas. Sometimes these spots look overgrown but are actually full of campions, ox-eye daisy, early purple orchid, marsh orchid, field forget-me-not, viper’s bugloss, corn marigold, ragged robin, poppies, teasel and much more.”

It’s a good time of year for wildflowers so why not take time to walk round Penryn Campus, get some fresh air, relax and enjoy…