City Nature Challenge

The City Nature Challenge is running from 25 to 28 April 2025. It aims to raise awareness of the biodiversity in and around cities across the world. Get involved in a global mission to record as much wildlife as possible.  

How to take part

Take photos of any wild plant, animal, or evidence of life found in the West of England (Bristol, Bath and Northeast Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset) from 25 to 28 April. You can do this anywhere – walking to work or a lecture, in your garden at home, or whilst exploring on a weekend. 

Then, upload your photo(s) to the free iNaturalist app or website anytime between 25 April and 4 May 2025. 

You don't need to be an expert to take part. iNaturalist will suggest an identification. A global community of online wildlife enthusiasts and experts will be able to confirm your identification. You'll maybe learn some new plant and animal names as you go along. 

On Monday 5 May results will be announced and we will find out how many records will have been made. 

Don't worry if you're not in Bristol on these days - hundreds of other cities across the world are also signed up.

Keep track of other people's observations on the West of England page. 

Campus biodiversity project

All year round, you can join our campus biodiversity project to identify and track wildlife and nature across the University’s estate. Your contributions will help monitor wildlife and guide efforts to enhance and increase biodiversity in our gardens and green spaces. This is open to students, staff and members of the public. 

How to take part

Create an account with iNaturalist either on their website or via their app and upload your photo(s). iNaturalist will then ask you to confirm the location of where you took the photo(s). If taken on University grounds, it will automatically add it to our project. 

Futher wildlife activities

Hedgehog friendly campus

Originating in 2018, Sheffield University formulated the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative, which became a nationwide campaign with support from The British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

In 2019, we joined the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative, committing to a four-year journey that culminated in achieving a Gold Award Accreditation in 2022. The scheme includes activities such as hedgehog surveys, building hedgehog homes and litter picking.

Staff and students from across the University took part. Our Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Professor Judith Squires commented on our Gold Award Accreditation: "I am really proud of the dedication and hard work displayed by our Gardens and Grounds Team, working in partnership with student and staff volunteers to achieve this fantastic recognition."

We are no longer active members of the scheme, but continue to practice many of the Hedgehog Friendly principles through our management of the environment.

Further nature activities

Nature positive universities

We always look for ways to improve our contribution towards management that benefits wildlife and nature. We are currently working with colleagues across the University to commit a pledge towards being a Nature Positive University.

No Mow May

Since the 1970s, Britain has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows. In a bid to reverse this concerning decline in flower rich meadows since 2010, our university actively joins the Plant Life annual #NoMowMay campaign. The aim is to revive biodiversity and provide a haven for pollinators like bees and butterflies by creating dedicated wildflower areas and implementing an annual no-mow policy across our sites on the University estate.

Our dedication to No Mow May underscores the profound impact small, localised initiatives can have on a broader environmental scale. By allowing the wild to flourish, we preserve the beauty of our landscapes but also invest in a sustainable, biodiverse future. Join us in May and be part of the movement that lets nature thrive – one untrimmed lawn at a time.

We continue to mow some spaces where it isn’t appropriate for meadows. This then provides areas of amenity grass that can be used for events, socialising, access, etc.

Trees on campus

Our trees are an integral part of our landscape. Many are long-lived, representing long-term investments that provide environmental, social and economic benefits that are realized over several human generations. They have immense recreational, amenity, and aesthetic value. They are also an integral part of ecosystems, supporting biodiversity. They absorb pollutants, protect water quality and sequester carbon which helps mitigate climate change.

There are currently close to 5,000 tagged, mapped, and documented trees on the University GIS-based tree management system, comprising of nearly 670 different species and cultivars from 130 different genera, 70 of which are different species of Oak.

We have a web-based map of our trees. The map documents the location and names of the trees within the gardens and can either be directly accessed from QR codes displayed on name labels attached to selected specimen trees within the gardens or via our interactive tree mapper.