One of a number of hedgehog homes put around the campus, hopefully a new resident will move in to the vacant possession soon. Keep a look out for our hedgehog on Site.
Hedgehog home
Hedgehog Friendly Campus
Plenty of work being carried out to make our campus hedgehog friendly, from habitat management to hedgehog awareness stickers on grounds equipment. Do look out for our hedgehogs across campus, normally out late evening throughout the night foraging for food covering a large area, this one in the photo was over by the Isambard complex.
Wildflowers
Its really good to see a great diverse mix of wildflowers growing in what people may think as a poor patch of grass. This was taken next to Mary Secole building, it provides plenty of colour plus essential food for our pollinating insects we have on campus.
Naturewatch
Plenty of badger activity on campus again with numerous sightings of our resident badger family. You can often seen where they have been from the snuffle holes they leave when hunting for worms. It is great to see a healthy family. Here is one of our badgers airing the bedding out and replacing ,this practice helps to control and remove fleas and other unwanted pests.
Naturewatch
One of natures artists, spiders web standing out on a foggy, frosty morning
Garrya eliptica
Look out for the green catkin like racemes of Garrya elliptica providing new year interest on campus, sometimes known as the silk tassle bush.
Christmas at Brunel
Well its that time of year again when we take delivery of the Christmas tree and install it at the main entrance, have to use a hiab to lift it up and drop into place then a mewp to dress with the lights.
Campus news
Burst water main on Friday confused one of our young swans with a new pond suddenly appearing !
Bat boxes
Over the next few weeks new bat boxes are to be installed on selected trees across the campus, hopefully our resident bat population, which are protected under law, will use them as summer roost sites as they forage round for food. We have recorded six species of bats across campus including noctule, common, soprano and nathusius pipistrelle, serotine and brown long eared. With the mixed habitat around campus there are probably more yet to be recorded, so these boxes will help us to monitor what we have on site and help to protect these fascinating mammals.
Meadows cutting
To maintain and enhance the biodiversity across Site one meadows it is essential to control the dominant plant and aggressive grass species. This is done by carrying out a suitable cutting and collecting regime twice a year which helps to reduce the nutrient level in the soil profile ,promotes a wider variety of wild flowers which in turn attracts a much wider variety of pollinating insects which are essential for the health of the planet.
