Biodiversity and Landscape Management
The Environmental Sustainability and Grounds Management Team work closely together with joint aims. We believe the university campus should provide for all users, whether student, bird. staff, or insect, we want you to enjoy and relax on our campus. Read on to find out what's growing, who's using our campus, how to get involved, and how we protect wildlife at the University of Salford.
Our biodiverse campus
Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is the variety of life! This includes variety in overall habitat types as well as species diversity of plants and animals. A diverse ecosystem is important because every single species is connected to others within the environment, for example the food chain which can become unbalanced if a species disappears.
Despite being just a mile from Manchester city centre, the University of Salford is a leafy campus bordering Peel Park and the River Irwell. There are a large variety of trees on campus including sycamore, birch, willow, whitebeam, cherry, Norway maple, oak, hawthorn and London plane, which provide homes to grey wagtails, goldcrests, greenfinches, blackbirds, robins and more.
There are plenty of flowers all around, and these are attractive to insects such as the large white butterfly, elephant hawk moth, honeybee, many bumblebee species, rosemary beetle and hummingbird hawk-moth!
Three Salford students created the video below to help us show off our living campus and tell you more about biodiversity.
Biodiversity records
From March-September we conduct bee and butterfly walks to monitor populations and so far we have identified 13 bee species, 13 butterfly species and 5 moth species.
If you see any wildlife on campus, please let us know! We have an iNaturalist Project page where you can upload pictures taken around campus, and other people can help you identify plants and insects. This is really valuable information for us.
You can also use these websites to help you correctly identify what you see:
Start exploring
As you can see, we have a very lively campus full of insects, animals and plants. Now is the time to get outside! We've got loads of events, walks and information to help you learn and explore.
Go Green Salford
Our bi-annual sustainability engagement programme, Go Green Salford, has over the years included lots events relating to biodiversity, including a winter tree identification walk, hedge-laying and tree planting sessions with City of Trees (in total we planted over 700 tree whips!)
Green Campus Group
Green Campus Group was established to share information and engage with the University community about the current and potential use of outside spaces on campus, including how they will and could be developed and enhanced. The group is open to all staff, students and the local community. You can join the Green Campus Group Teams site.
In previous Green Campus Group meetings, we have asked for suggestions for improvements and asked participants to pick their top three suggestions, so that we can initially focus on taking these ideas forward.
- River Irwell clean-up – We have done multiple river clean-up events over the years and we are planning to organise more of these in the future.
- Habitat/species surveys – We have organised several hedgehog surveys as part of the Hedgehog Friendly Campus programme and also run an annual two-day BioBlitz event in collaboration with the Salford Ranger Team.
- Community Growing Space – The space has been launched and is accessible for all students, staff and local community members to use and join our weekly gardening sessions. As well as wildflowers and herbs growing in the raised bed planters and in the ground, the space also includes bird feeders and a bird house to invite wildlife.
Tree Trail
The Salford Tree Trail was first developed for the university campus in 2011 by one of our postgraduate students. The original trail has been updated and developed into what is now known as the Salford Tree Trail. It incorporates 25 trees and takes users around the main campus, Peel Park, David Lewis Playing Fields and Crescent Meadows.
The Tree Trail webpage includes a map, suggested routes and details of the tree species. Each tree along the trail has its own plaque with a QR code, which can be scanned to directly access information about each species.
The current version of the Salford Tree Trail is a result of collaboration between various teams from within and around our university, including the Environmental Sustainability Team, Salford Ranger Team, Maker Space, and students from the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology.
Nature trail
If trees aren't your thing, try this walk which takes you round Peel and Frederick Road campuses as well as our playing fields. It will guide you through all our best green spaces and highlight things you've never noticed before! Take a wander and see how many species you can spot.
Landscape Management
The Environmental Sustainability and Grounds Management Team developed a 5-year Landscape Management Plan (2025 to 2030) and Biodiversity Policy Statement.
Our plan is reviewed and updated regularly, and the Sustainability Team meet monthly with the Grounds Team and others to action creative ideas. The Plan serves as a framework for improving our management of outside spaces and enhancing nature and biodiversity. It is also submitted as part of our Green Flag Award application, a national recognition scheme, which we have won and maintained since we first entered in 2019.
Find out about our progress so far, and the ongoing initiatives, in the videos and information below.
Green Flag Award
On 16 July 2019, University of Salford was first recognised by the Green Flag Award Scheme as one of the very best green spaces in the world.
The Green Flag judges described the university’s Peel Park and Frederick Road campuses as an impressive, diverse collection of sites with excellent facilities and features that complement each other well, including David Lewis Playing Fields and a selection of high-quality public art.
We raised our first Green Flag outside The Old Fire Station at our 2019 Sustainability Awards. We have maintained the award every year since.
Hedgehog Friendly Campus
The Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative, funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, works to transform university campuses into safe habitats for hedgehogs. With UK hedgehog populations declining by up to 50% since 2000 and listed as Vulnerable to Extinction, the initiative raises awareness and encourages staff and students to address threats like habitat loss, pollution, and road dangers. The University of Salford has achieved platinum accreditation in 2023-24 for our efforts in hazard management, habitat creation, and community engagement.
We conduct a number of hedgehog surveys too, including utilising footprint tunnels and camera traps. We also run an annual two-day BioBlitz event in collaboration with the Salford Ranger Team and often our very own academics do specialist sessions.