Skip to main content

Biodiversity action planning in residences

Category
Blog Posts
Student Opportunities
Student Sustainability Architects
Date
Person walking up mountain

Caitlin Harris, BSc Ecology and Conservation Biology student and Student Sustainability Architect, talks to us about the Biodiversity Action Planning project she’s working on this year.

Hi everyone, I’m Caitlin Harris, a third-year Ecology and Conservation Biology Student and one of this year’s Student Sustainability Architects. The project that I am working on is Biodiversity Action Planning, which aims to look at how biodiversity and access to green spaces can be increased and improved across residential sites at the university. I have previously worked on Living Lab projects with the University and I am really excited to now be able to work in my Student Sustainability Architect role and further contribute to biodiversity and sustainability at the University!

What is my role as a Student Sustainability Architect?

The main focus of my work is to create biodiversity action plans for residential sites by conducting habitat surveys so that I can create habitat maps describing the current state of each site. I will then lay out a set of recommendations as to where improvements could be made. To create the habitat maps I would usually be going on to the sites to conduct habitat surveys, however, in current lockdown circumstances, this part of the project has had to go on hold. The project will also hopefully increase awareness for site staff and residences and encourage engagement with the local areas. However, working as an architect can go far beyond your own project as there is a lot of scope to contribute to other work and collaborate on projects which is a very exciting aspect.

So how do I create habitat maps in lockdown?

My approach to this project has definitely taken some extra thinking recently due to current restrictions. However, there’s always a way around this! So far, I have been using photographs sent to me of some of the sites that have been taken over the last year or so, in combination with Google satellite imagery and street view to create some basic habitat maps for each site using a geographic information system (GIS). I am then hoping to be able to get on-site to complete the habitat surveys in the springtime. Once the surveys have been completed, I can then edit and add to the basis of the maps I have already created, which will help highlight areas for improvements.

I am very much looking forward to the year ahead working as a Student Sustainability Architect not only on my own project but also collaborating with others and having an impact on wider sustainability at the university.

Keep up to date on the latest news

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Caitlin's work on biodiversity action planning is linked to the following SDGs:

  • Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
  • Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • Goal 13: Climate Action
  • Goal 15: Life on Land
  • Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.