Biodiversity at the UG

Biodiversity is vital to all life on earth, but is in danger almost everywhere. You often don't appreciate what you don't see. What is biodiversity? And how does the UG deal with this?

Want to watch the videos directly? Click through the links.
Flower field at Aletta Jacobs | Flowers for our moms | Biodiversity at Zernike campus | Thistles

What is Biodiversity?

Life on Earth has many variations. Whether it concerns the smallest bacteria, fungi and plants or the largest animals, the tropical rainforests or the Dutch meadows, every life form, every ecosystem and every genetic variation is unique and irreplaceable. We call this great diversity 'biodiversity'. Unfortunately, biodiversity and associated ecological values ​​are under pressure because of human interference.

Biodiversity at the UG

The University of Groningen has the ambition to focus more on ecology and biodiversity. The ambition is to increase the biodiversity of UG sites by adopting a different management method, based on a target species policy. In practice you can think of waterways with (partly) natural banks and more flowery grassland with herbs for butterflies, bees, dragonflies and other insects. So-called fringes and mantles can be developed along forest edges as a foraging area for insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals and bats. There are not only oppportunities for biodiversity on the Zernike campus, but there also around the buildings in the city center!

Biodiversity at Zernike

You might be surprised that many opportunities relating to ecology and biodiversity can be found on Zernike grounds. Would you like to know more about this? Watch the videos listed below or read more about our biodiversity policy.

Flower fiels at Aletta Jacobs

Flowers for our moms

Biodiversity at Zernike

Thistle

Video credit: Douwe-Jan Schrale

Who's talking in the videos?

My name is Cathy Hermans. I am working for Terrain Management at the University of Groningen. In this department we are, among other things, working on the transition from traditional to sustainable and ecological terrain management within the University of Groningen. We do this by increasingly using machines on batteries instead of fossil fuels; by using sheep for maintenance of extensive grass management, pigs for combating invasive exotic plant species and by managing in a more phased manner (not mowing or sawing everything at once, but a part each time).

I come from forest and nature management, have been retrained as a landscape gardener and have been a green, gray (pavement, etc.) and blue (water) developer for years.