Biodiversity

The Grounds and Gardening Team within Queen's have made key efforts to enhance biodiversity found within campus. This has been achieved via the 'Nurture and Grow: Connecting People through Nature' Programme and by changing key operational procedures.

Queen's University Belfast are delighted that the ‘Nurture and Grow Programme: Connecting People Through Nature’ was selected as the winner of the Green Gown Awards Student Engagement Category.
Green Gown Award WinnerNurture and Grow Programme
Queen’s University staff, students and residents from the local community have joined forces in an effort to enhance the range of habitats within Queen’s community, ensuring South Belfast is providing a home for wildlife and enabling our local community to pull together and take action for climate change. As part of our application to The Green Gown Awards, a video was created to showcase the range of projects involved: Elms Allotment, Lennoxvale Tree Nursery, Medicinal Garden, Alleyway Transformation Project, DKB Orchard and Bio: Diverse City.

The Sustainability and Gardening Team within Queen's have been busy working with students in West Winds Primary School and St. Malachy's Primary School around enhancing biodiversity within their grounds.

Belfast One Million Trees was inspired by an original idea from the Belfast Metropolitan Residents Group and it is a collaboration between public, private and voluntary sector partners.
One Million Trees
Queen's University Belfast has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag Award since 2019 – becoming the first university in Northern Ireland to be recognised by the scheme. The Green Flag Awards are judged annually by a panel of experts who volunteer their time to assess the management plans and the applicant sites through a rigorous judging process.
Green Flag 2022The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the UK. It was first launched in 1996 to recognise and reward the best green spaces in the country and is an internationally recognised certification for environmental quality management for parks and open spaces. Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, an environmental charity, runs the scheme in Northern Ireland.
The University achieved Green Flag status for its Lanyon site by having a site management plan in place and ensuring compliance with a range of strict criteria including horticultural standards, cleanliness, environmental management, biodiversity, community involvement, and safety standards.
Queen's also received its first Green Heritage Award for the Lanyon site in recognition of the site's celebration and promotion of unique elements of its heritage. Paul Wallace, Head Gardener in the University's Grounds and Gardens team, also achieved special recognition at the 2019 awards ceremony, where he was awarded 'Employee of the Year'.
Since 2019, Queen's University have continued to be awarded Green Flag. In 2022, the University received a commendation in the inaugural NI Pollinator Awards for various activities undertaken across the University to encourage pollinators.

With the help of staff and students across campus, Queen's are continually aiming to increase the number and range of wildlife surveys they undertake, which includes a number of citizen science surveys.