Category: News

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Biodiversity signs

October 28, 2021

Four new biodiversity signs have been installed at Penryn Campus to highlight the variety of natural habitats, unique ecologies and the conservation plans in place. 

The signs have been placed at Lime Avenue, the Walled Garden, the Ox Eye Daisy Bank (near the Chapel Lecture Theatre) and in woodland near The Lodge.

They complement the existing wildflower signs which highlight even more ways in which biodiversity is encouraged on our campuses.

Our Grounds and Sustainability teams work hard to encourage biodiversity on our beautiful campuses. This includes creating bee hotels; planting bee friendly plants; leaving areas unmown and seeded with wildflowers; leaving dead trees in situ so creatures can make them their homes and joining the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative. Recent planting has included herb and daisy beds outside The Exchange and herb and flower beds near The Stannary extension.

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).

This combination of efforts also contributes to Penryn Campus holding the international Green Flag award for five years in a row. Green Flag recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for their management across the United Kingdom and around the world.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Welcome Paula Sanderson

July 19, 2021

Paula joins us today (Monday 19 July) from Queen Mary University of London. Prior to that, her roles included Registrar and Secretary at SOAS University of London, Director SOAS University of London Asia, Chief Operating Officer and part of the leadership team that established the University of Reading’s Malaysia campus, as well as senior operations roles at the University of Sydney and University of Exeter.

Paula joins us at a challenging but exciting time in our sector and we look forward to working with her to support our university partners and all campus users.

SET (David, Lee, Oliver, Sarah and Stuart).

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Work experience success

July 8, 2021

FX Plus is encouraging training and employment in Cornwall by supporting 18-year-old Sean Burrows with his T level construction industry placement.

This is a first for the FX Plus Estates team and is also part of the pilot scheme for T levels.

Sarah Roby, FX Plus Estates Director, said: “As one of the main construction clients in Cornwall we are trying to develop much-needed skills and keep talent here. We, as FX Plus, already offer apprenticeships and a variety of in-house training and, when Sean contacted us, thought this would be an excellent route to encourage talent.”

Truro and Penwith College was the only provider in Cornwall chosen to trial the T levels – the equivalent of three A levels – from September last year (2020). Sean is one of the first cohort and, to gain real work experience, has to complete 20% of the course in a placement with an employer.

He said: “I feel very privileged to be with FX Plus and I am planning to extend my work experience because I enjoy it so much.”

During his time with FX Plus, Sean has been shadowing, Anna Foster, Head of Asset Management (Estates). She set out to give Sean as varied an experience as possible and has introduced him to colleagues and external partners, including building and structural surveyors, construction experts and landscape consultants, as well as ensuring he completes courses such as fire safety training.

“I am exposing Sean to a lot of different professions that are associated with the construction industry,” she explained. “I want to show him the variety of careers available.”

As a result of this, Sean has taken a particular interest in mechanical and electrical design and has helped out in a project for outside lighting at the Heart space on Penryn Campus.

“Design really put a light in my eyes,” he said. “I would recommend this T level and work experience to any other students. I am even hoping to come here on my days off from the course in my second year.”

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Cornwall Plus Finalist in Tourism Awards

May 18, 2021

Cornwall Plus is a Finalist in the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2021 for the International Experience category, a fantastic achievement especially in these challenging times. The team is honoured to be chosen and is looking forward to the Awards Ceremony on Thursday 25 February when the final results will be announced.

The team has fostered effective international relations by actively participating in international and global travel trade fairs to network and better understand international markets and the cultural needs of visitors, to bring summer language schools and special interest groups to Cornwall.

Last year, Cornwall Plus gained the ‘We’re Good to Go’ Industry Standard by VisitEngland and achieved a Silver award in the Green Tourism Accreditation Scheme which acknowledges their commitment to being responsible, ethical and sustainable. This assessment recognises the positive action taken to reduce the impact of Cornwall Plus on the environment and the accessible and inclusive measures taken to support visitors and staff.

There have been recent enhancements to the Cornwall Plus team, with a strengthening of the service following amalgamation with the Universities’ Events team and the appointment of Lorna Sullivan to the new position of Head of Operations (Events, Conferences & Summer Accommodation). We wish Lorna, the very best of luck in her new role.

The team is delighted to welcome guests back this summer and room bookings will be open very soon.

Don’t forget to follow us on social media for updates – Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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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…

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Little Wonders Wild Challenge

March 12, 2021

The Little Wonders Nursery team at Penryn Campus has joined the RSPB Wild Challenge.

So far the staff have helped the children to make a frog-friendly habitat for some resident frogs; dig a hole for a small pond and plant some Starwort to oxygenate the water; recycle some old wooden cot sides to make a fence to protect the habitat and plant some wildflower seeds to create a butterfly garden.

Rosie Hillier, Day Nursery Nurse Little Wonders, said: “The challenge has given us lots of ides to educate our children in ways to make our garden more wildlife friendly.

“We found a particularly large frog hiding under a pallet so we asked the children to come up with some names for the frogs. Our favourite is ‘Susan’, so we are thinking of naming the frog area ‘Susan’s spot’.

“The children have also prepared a ‘wildlife tracker’ to put out in the garden. It consists of a tray of sand with a bowl of food in the centre and we are hoping to see the prints of any animals that come to eat it. The children have discussed what animals we might get… Frogs, Hedgehogs, Cats, Owls or wolves…!”

To read more about the RSPB Wild Challenge, click this link.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Hedgehog Bronze Award for our Campuses

February 23, 2021

We’re celebrating Penryn and Falmouth campuses achieving the bronze award with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) Hedgehog Friendly Campus program.

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus project is a UK-wide initiative which aims to turn university campuses into places where hedgehogs can thrive.

Oliver Milliner is Head of Sustainability for FX Plus, the organisation that looks after services shared between Falmouth University and the University of Exeter at Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

He said: “We’re really pleased to win this bronze award, particularly since we have been working to achieve this through a year of Covid-19 restrictions. We hope to move up to silver or even gold next year.”

“Staff and students have an opportunity to play an active role in what we do so if any of you are interested, please contact me at sustainability@fxplus.ac.uk – everyone’s welcome!”

To earn the bronze award, the FX Plus Sustainability and Grounds teams worked together on a series of initiatives that help to protect and support hedgehog life on campus. Some of these include:  

  • Running training sessions for the grounds team and staff on how to feed and support hedgehogs as well as what to do if we ever find an injured hedgehog on campus.
  • Putting up signage and stickers on potentially harmful grounds equipment and information around campus to ensure we check for hedgehogs before trimming bushes etc.
  • Leaving areas across campus for wildflower and growth – hedgehogs love these as they can hide there!
  • Running awareness and information events and seminars for staff and students.
  • Running surveys on campus to assess where hedgehogs are mainly located. This involves setting up small shelters with ink by the entrance to detect hedgehog footprints.

Click this link for more information about the BHPS

To achieve silver, teams need to complete at least seven activities from the BHPS toolkit. Silver focuses much more on putting knowledge of hedgehogs and how to help them into practice on campus. To achieve Gold, teams need to focus on actions that leave a legacy for hedgehogs on campus – real, long-lasting impacts.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.

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Cornwall Plus crowned Gold at Cornwall Tourism Awards 2020-21

February 23, 2021

Cornwall Plus has been honoured with a Gold award, for the International category at the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2020-21.

The Cornwall Tourism Awards a hallmark of quality in the Cornish tourism and hospitality industry, held the annual ceremony online on 25 February, supported by headline sponsor Quality in Tourism. Entrants were judged on their entry submission, digital presence, reviews and external evidence.

Director of Commercial Operations, FX Plus, Lee Hallam said: “Thank you to the Cornwall Tourism Awards Event organisers for this recognition, and to all FX Plus teams for their involvement, hard work and commitment in delivering summer accommodation for groups and holiday-makers. This accolade will help our summer business grow and we are very proud to achieve this award.”

Awards organiser Robin Barker of Services for Tourism said: “It would have been very easy to cancel the Awards this year – we did think long and hard about it, but the level of early entries we received in spite of everything, and the creativity and determination shown by entrants inspired us to find a way to make this happen – and your responses and feedback ever since have completely blown us away. The reactions from today’s winners including words such as ‘overwhelmed’, ‘heartwarming’ and ‘moments of sparkle’ have made it all worthwhile.”

The Cornwall Plus team has gone from strength to strength. Last year Cornwall Plus gained the ‘We’re Good to Go’ Industry Standard by VisitEngland and achieved a Silver award in the Green Tourism Accreditation Scheme, which acknowledges their commitment to being responsible, ethical and sustainable. The team also won Gold with Academic Venue Solutions for ‘Best Accommodation 2019/20’ and a Silver for ‘Best Accommodation’ with the British Youth Travel Association 2019/20.

For further information about summer group bookings for our university rooms, please contact our Business Development Manager, Debbie Lilly – booking@fxplus.ac.uk Online room bookings for couples and individual travellers will be open on the Cornwall Plus website shortly.

About FX Plus

Falmouth Exeter Plus (FX Plus) delivers shared services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter in Cornwall to ensure a top quality experience for students, staff and all users of Falmouth and Penryn campuses.

Our vision is to provide ‘Exceptional environments that enable talented and creative minds to thrive’.