LNRS Collaboration with Keele University: Leading the Way in Sustainability
Keele University, a leader in sustainability within the UK university system, provides an inspiring model for integrating nature recovery within low-carbon energy systems. This approach delivers multiple benefits for both nature recovery and addressing the climate crisis.
Their 617-acre campus boasts 12,200 solar panels and two wind turbines. Since their installation, research has shown rapid nature recovery, with newly established grassland habitats supporting a wide species diversity, including foxes, badgers, small mammals, birds of prey, and a wide variety of insects. This diversity is likely to be due to a switch in use from arable farmland to permanent grassland.
Keele University students and teachers frequently visit the solar field for teaching and research. Recently, second-year Geography, Environment, Ecology, and Conservation students visited the solar field as part of their Environmental Impact Assessment module.
To enhance the ecological value of solar fields, the university considers it crucial to incorporate habitat connectivity and maintain wilder field margins. This can be achieved by:
- Providing space to establish hedgerows and small woodlands: These natural features connect habitats across the landscape, supporting wildlife movement and biodiversity, and helping to maintain healthy ecosystems
- Preserving Wilder Field Margins: Ensuring that areas within and around the solar farm are left as tussocky or wildflower-rich grassland provides essential habitats for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, while also improving soil health and water retention.
- Considering beneficial management at the design stage: Biodiverse grasslands can be managed in several different ways, but good infrastructure design and maintenance regimes are vital to increase species diversity.
By combining these practices, solar developments can become more sustainable and beneficial for the environment.
The LNRS Core team is currently discussing multiple avenues for collaboration in supporting the development and delivery of the LNRS.
Keele’s sustainability leadership, vast green estate, and strong experience in engagement make them an ideal “Champion” for Staffordshire’s LNRS.
Their support will be key to raising awareness and involving the younger generation in nature recovery efforts.
