Trinity celebrates Biodiversity Day 2023

Posted on: 22 May 2023

When you walk into through the Front Gate of Trinity College this week, you can’t help but notice the flowering meadows that have replaced the grass lawns. Pink and white campions, yellow buttercups, purple knapweeds, white yarrow and the white and yellow daisies are all in bloom, attracting pollinating insects, and causing heads to turn.

The meadows were created during 2020, after a public opinion poll overwhelmingly voted in favour of transforming the iconic entrance to Trinity on College Green. The ornamental meadows were established both to create space for nature in the heart of the city, and to start the conversation about biodiversity, to show that there are alternatives to traditional mown grass lawns in the city centre. 

Professor Jane Stout, VP for Biodiversity and Climate Action said:

“Whereas before we had the short, tightly cropped lawn looking very pristine, we now have this more biodiverse frontage to our university. It's important to make this a talking point because the biodiversity crisis and the loss of biodiversity is something people really aren’t very aware of, but that affects us all. Biodiversity is our life support system, it enables us to produce food, cleans the air and water, protects us against natural hazards, and is fundamental for our health and well-being. It is being lost globally, and we need to protect and restore it.” She added, “What we’re doing at Trinity is demonstrating that there isn't just one way to manage your urban green spaces. There are lots of ways you can do it, and biodiversity can thrive in the centre of the city."

Today, 22^nd May is international Biodiversity Day, and this year’s official theme is “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity”. This reflects the agreements made at COP15 in December 2022 and the new Global Framework for Biodiversity, which aims to protect and restore biodiversity worldwide. Trinity has joined the Nature Positive Universities Alliance and its biodiverse meadows are one of the steps the university is taking to tackle biodiversity loss.

Professor Stout has been at the heart of The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan since its inception. The incredibly successful project has already moved into its second phase, providing a new five-year roadmap to help bees, other pollinating insects, and our wider biodiversity – and promises to engage more stakeholders and address more specific actions.

Professor Stout was on RTE News today discussing Trinity's wildflower meadow, which was created to promote biodiversity, watch the clip below: 

https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/2023/0522/1384571-trinity-wildflower-biodiversity/

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• Sustainability