Trinity has announced that the lawn outside Front Gate is to be transformed into a wildflower garden, following a public vote.
The vote, which opened in February, asked staff, students and the public whether they would like for the grass lawn on College Green to be planted with wildflowers and then left untouched over winter months.
With over 13,800 votes cast in the online poll, the result was announced today to be 90% in favour of converting the area to a wildflower garden. The space will now be added to the 1000 square meters of campus land which Trinity has already converted into meadows.
Plans to move forward with planting the wildflowers are currently on hold, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic which has caused the closure of College
By not mowing or treating the lawn, College hopes to increase food and habitat space for important pollinators (like bees and dragonflies), while increasing biodiversity in the city centre. According to the College’s biodiversity objectives, Trinity aims to increase biodiversity rich campus spaces by 5%, while increasing total green areas and trees by 10%. This increase attempts to address the estimated one million plant and animal species which are at risk of extinction due to human driven habitat loss (such as deforestation, poaching, climate change, etc).
John Parnell, Chair of Trinity’s Grounds and Gardens Committee, said that the results of the vote have “sent a message, that people want to see more biodiversity and in particular want institutions to set an example” adding that Trinity “look forward to all this project will bring in the future”.
In an email to all staff and students in February Parnell he acknowledged that the area “may, on occasion, look less tidy” but stated that proponents of the initiative hope it is the most visually appealing manner in which to transition to a more biodiverse campus.
