Converted from lawn in 2023, the meadow was sown with wildflower seeds to promote biodiversity on Te Whāre Wananga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury's Ilam campus and to reduce carbon emissions. The meadow is mown just once, in autumn, compared to other lawns that are mowed regularly throughout the year. Additionally, the meadow requires less watering, particularly after the germination period.
Surveying of insects is ongoing to assess the meadow's success as a biodiversity habitat. Invertebrate surveys have been conducted, supervised by UC entomologist Dr Rob Cruickshank, who invited students and community members to participate in a citizen science project and get a taste of measuring the natural world. A summer scholarship will enable a UC biology student to further identify and assess changes in diversity of the meadow so far. This data will help create a campus invertebrate reference collection.
A bonus effect of the meadow, which was anticipated, has been the wellbeing benefit for the UC community. The sustainability team has received positive feedback from staff and students who enjoy spending time there in a relaxing and colourful environment. Some have asked whether more wildflower meadows can be created on campus, which could reportedly be achieved with minimal outlay.
More native plants will be incorporated into the meadow to attract invertebrates and bring life to the meadow's winter downtime period when the flowers die off.
The initiative is part of the University's Biodiversity Plan 2022-2025, which includes a trapping programme run by student volunteers to reduce predation and increase native bird numbers, improving stream life, improving cryptic biodiversity (microbes, fungi and invertebrates), and improving conditions for taonga species, such as the kārearea (native falcon) that visited campus last year. The plan also has a wider benefit for the local community.
"The bird life and streams don't stop at the border of our campus. We are part of the northwestern corridor of the city, and we work with local organisations to improve biodiversity, which will benefit the whole local area and community," Executive Director of People, Culture and Campus Life Paul O'Flaherty says.
