Green Lancaster has been awarded a prestigious Britain in Bloom award by the Royal Horticultural Society for its Organic Orchard and Community Garden sites.
The awarded status – termed ‘Level 4: Thriving’ – recognises the hard work and dedication the University’s team of volunteers has put into creating and maintaining the botanical havens across the campus. Projects undertaken by Green Lancaster benefit not only the students and staff of the University, but also members of the public and those visiting friends or relatives here.
The projects are run in partnership with Lancaster University Facilities Department Landscape Manager, Ian Sturzaker, and Grounds Manager, Gary Atkinson.
This award follows a previous accolade received by Lancaster University, which was awarded a Green Flag award in recognition of its efforts to create a more eco-friendly campus environment. The commitment of both the Students’ Union and the University to biodiversity and carbon-neutrality can be seen in the success of recent events such as the Campus Blackout, which saw the Bailrigg site plunged into darkness in a bid to highlight the need to conserve energy, and the installation of the campus’s very own wind turbine behind the County College.
The Green Lancaster projects are funded by Lancaster University and LUSU, along with a number of smaller grants from Lancashire County Council and the NUS. The Students’ Union supports Green Lancaster as one of the RHS’s ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ community gardening groups.
To become involved, take a look online at involve.lusu.co.uk/greenlancaster.