How would you increase campus biodiversity? Take our survey to make a difference!

The main university building on a sunny summer's day, with flowers in front of it, from which a bee is sucking nectar.
Bulletin 12.3.2024

What are the most important campus locations for you? Where could biodiversity be enhanced? Mark your favourite spots and development targets on the map in the University’s Biodiverse Campus survey to promote the nature values of campus green spaces.

In 2024 the University will map ecosystem services and natural capital on its four campuses in Helsinki: Meilahti, Kumpula, Viikki and the City Centre. An essential element of this work is a survey on places important to the University community and key biodiversity activities on campuses. The Biodiverse Campus map survey is now open.

Take the Biodiverse Campus survey. By completing the survey, you can win Finnkino film tickets. 

“The results of this community survey will be merged with existing data on biodiversity, carbon sinks and species observations. A report based on the work will indicate which places on the campuses are most valuable for biodiversity, carbon sinks and the social significance of the campus environment. The survey will also identify the most pressing needs to safeguard and increase biodiversity. All this will help us plan measures promoting biodiversity,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Jussi Lampinen of Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), who is responsible for the survey. 

The survey is part of the measures, recorded in the University of Helsinki Sustainability and Responsibility Plan 2022–2024, which aim to enhance the University’s ecological sustainability and actively prevent nature loss. In addition, campus species surveys are planned, and the goal is to issue recommendations for promoting and safeguarding campus biodiversity. The survey is set to be completed by the end of 2024.

Your views matter

The views of University students, researchers and other staff on campus biodiversity help target measures to benefit both the natural environment and community wellbeing. 

“Consulting the community is a critical component of sustainability and responsibility work. By combining community views with research knowledge, we’ll be able to craft campus development solutions that are as comprehensively sustainable as possible,” notes Riina Koivuranta, Senior Specialist in Sustainable Development and Responsibility.

Campuses are places where people come to learn, research, interact and spend time together. Ideally, different user goals and needs will support both each other and biodiversity. 

Work underway to promote campus biodiversity

The University was making efforts to enhance campus biodiversity even before the current survey. For example, opportunities for on-campus gardening have been offered since 2013, with planter boxes now available to the whole community on all campuses. The University is also a founding member of the international Nature Positive Universities network, which works to promote biodiversity on campuses and in the wider communities.

Another example of the measures taken are the meadows on Viikki Campus. They were created in summer 2022 when six lawn patches were experimentally excluded from mowing. Last summer, the experiment was expanded to include new areas, and this summer new meadows will again be added for the pleasure of local communities. These meadows not only promote biodiversity, but also create a stronger sense of community and provide material for research and teaching. You can read more about the Viikki meadows in previous news articles: 

Glossary

Biodiversity is the variety and variability of individual organisms and species within different habitats.

Biodiversity loss means a decline in the variety of life, and ultimately species extinction, as a result of human activity.

Natural capital refers in this study to the stock of living, green and growing assets on the campuses. It is from this capital that humans derive ecosystem services.

Ecosystem services are the tangible and intangible benefits that humans obtain from nature, such as carbon sinks, plant pollination and recreation. 

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Photo: University of Helsinki