UN World Wildlife Day at Lucy Cavendish College

At Lucy Cavendish College, we’ve been working hard to encourage more wildlife onto our grounds. With a multipronged approach, we have set up policies (such as no hedge cutting during nesting season) and installed new physical structures (such as additional bird boxes and bee hotels).

Building on this, we wanted to launch a community engagement initiative that promoted outdoor spaces and helped to raise awareness of local species and biodiversity. And so, on February 1st, 2022, we launched our month-long Cambridge Wildlife Photography Initiative, where we encouraged people in the local area to take photographs of wildlife. The initiative was open to all: staff, students, and members of the public.

The plan was to encourage community-wide engagement for the month of February, and then, on UN World Wildlife Day (today!) share a collection to showcase the local area. We’ve also included some fun facts about local species. Enjoy!

World Wildlife Day - Lucy Cavendish College by Lucy Cavendish

Fun Facts
Foxes are more like cats than dogs, they are nocturnal, and they can climb trees. Squirrels can run up to 20 mph and they are one of the most important animals for helping the spread of oak trees. Swans can live to be over 20 years old and while they may walk or swim rather slowly, they can fly at speeds of 60mph!

What’s next?
Our Cambridge Wildlife Photography Initiative was just one of many projects that we have to promote biodiversity. Later this year, when our new Passivhaus eco-build is complete, we are relandscaping to further increase biodiversity on the College’s estate. So stay tuned for updates.