UN SDG 15: Life on land
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Our research
New research from our MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit has highlighted that increasing the amount of natural space and private gardens has the potential to narrow the lifespan gap between those living in the most and least deprived areas. Areas with the highest income deprivation had the lowest average percentage cover of natural space and gardens and people living in these areas had the highest levels of ill health.
The study found that every 10% increase in natural space cover was associated with a 7% fall in the incidence of premature death. Increased availability of natural space within local areas was also associated with a reduction in the disparity in years of life lost between the most and least deprived areas. Even moderate levels of natural space appeared to be able to reduce the inequality in standardised incident rates for both men and women.
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The teaching garden at our Dumfries Campus is a resource for our research on horticulture, botany and ecology.
Learning & teaching
Our School of Social & Environmental Sustainability, based at our beautiful Dumfries campus, has the perfect environment in which to inspire and educate students. Set in 85 acres of historic parkland, the campus boasts its own teaching garden, intended to produce educational, amenity and aesthetic benefit. The garden is an interactive resource and is incorporated into undergraduate and postgraduate programmes with a focus on phenology, plant and insect identification, plant growth experiments and making space for wildlife. The garden is open to all and is maintained by a dedicated group of staff and students.
The University is also unique in having an Exploration Society, ExSoc, which has been helping teams of undergraduate students explore the world on zoological and geographical expeditions for many years. The earliest record of a student expedition is 1920, and over the past 90 years hundreds of students have had the chance to learn in the field.
University operations
The University recently celebrated the planting of a Wee Forest at our Garscube campus, together with Earthwatch, an environmental charity. The planting of the Wee Forest was funded by The Queen’s Green Canopy, a UK-wide project to plant over one million trees in honour of Her Late Majesty The Queen. The green spaces on the Garscube campus are already popular with walkers and dog owners, and it is hoped that the Wee Forest will increase the popularity of these green spaces by maintaining paths and open spaces for the local community to enjoy.
With its prominent position and unrestricted panoramic views, our historic Gilbert Scott Tower has welcomed home our peregrine falcons once again this year. The falcons have been synonymous with the University for over 20 years now. These incredible birds of prey are a growing attraction on campus with some visitors attending specially to see the apex predator that is now thriving in the leafy west end of Glasgow.
We were thrilled that three peregrine fledglings hatched in our tower this year, and recently we have witnessed the parents educating their young in aerobatics. These classes included the characteristic 200mph+ dive amongst high-speed turns and barrel rolls and was an honour to observe.
One eager fledgling fell from the nest in 2022 and another this year; however, our established relationships with the SSPCA and RSPB assisted our experienced Estates team to safely return the fledglings on both occasions.
We are currently considering our options to sympathetically upgrade our existing bird box and CCTV facilities to future-proof the peregrines and monitor their growth.
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Civic engagement
As part of Art Fund UK’s Wild Escape programme, The Hunterian Zoology Museum gave young visitors the chance to cross the worlds of science and art, and to reimagine animals in their more natural habitats. Children also had the opportunity to make artworks based on the animals they saw and upload it to the Wild World web pages to add to artworks submitted by visitors to other Wild Escape museums and collections, creating a huge collective artwork that launched on Earth Day 2023.
The University’s Centre for Sustainable Solutions has launched the UrbanByNature Scottish hub in collaboration with Glasgow City Council. UrbanByNature is a facilitated capacity-building programme created by ICLEI Europe, promoting exchange among cities, researchers, SMEs and NGOs to build bridges with the nature-based solutions communities across Europe, Asia, Latin America and other interested regions. Regional hubs are a central tool for networking on nature-based solutions. The UrbanByNature Scottish Hub is based at Growchapel Community Garden in Drumchapel, Glasgow. In 2022 it launched a series of online lunch and learn sessions open to the public.
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Find out about our progress towards the 17 SDGs:
