Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst Campus is a 200-hectare rural estate and home to a high diversity of species – including the nationally and internationally protected great crested newt (GCN). Since 2018, NTU has partnered with Natural England to ensure GCN thrive at Brackenhurst, with the aim of making the campus the best example of farmland GCN habitat in the region and simultaneously meeting our increasing demand for land-based studies. In 2018, we secured a phased licence to deliver estate-wide habitat mitigation for this, including the enhancement of four existing ponds, the creation of four new ponds, and the formation and enrichment of terrestrial habitats.
Our staff and students at Brackenhurst have been heavily involved, as the works have been embedded into teaching and learning. This, alongside the enhancement of terrestrial habitat, enables newt populations to expand across the entire campus and towards other known populations in the Southwell area. Amphibian ladders have also been implemented in gully drains across campus, to ensure any amphibians that fall in can escape to safety.
As well as monitoring water quality and macroinvertebrate levels, there is ongoing management of reeds and invasive species in ponds: students continue to work on the areas by deploying barley bags on an annual basis to control algal blooming in specific ponds. They have also constructed and deployed bat boxes around all ponds to expand habitat support to a wider range of species. Where vegetation has not yet been established by NTU students, aquatic vegetation has been planted or egg laying substrate has been provided in ponds
Since 2019, 83 FE Wildlife and Countryside Students have supported the works across Brackenhurst, providing vocational experience in environmental management practices. This has been embedded into module teaching. Additionally, MSc Biodiversity Conservation students have shadowed experts to learn about Protected Species Recovery within a module, and students have been employed as paid survey assistants every year since 2021 via Unitemps.
Executive Dean at Brackenhurst, Professor Dawn Scott, concluded “It’s a great outcome for both the newt populations and for the student experience”.
1. The project has created positive impacts within and across our student, staff, and local communities. The project has been highly unusual in integrating students and teaching staff with NTU’s core operations. The activities have played an instrumental role in the teaching of relevant FE and HE courses within the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, and facilitated the provision of immersive, hands-on learning, as well as paid surveying experience for some students.
2. Beyond the University, best practice has been shared with Nottinghamshire Amphibian and Reptile Group (NARG) regarding amphibian ladders, allowing for this work to be disseminated across the wider area to further aid newt populations. External contractors have also benefitted from training in GCN legal requirements to ensure best and legal practice is sustained across the estate. A Protected Species Protocol was also created and embedded within NTU’s ISO14001 accredited Environmental Management System (EMS), to assure best practice within NTU Estates operations both on this project and going forward in the future. Terrestrial management practices which benefit GCN and other biodiversity have now been embedded in NTU’s Habitat and Species Conservation Management Plan.
3. Our joined-up and strategic approach to protected species conservation has been highly effective. A 2024 survey report confirmed that the works carried out under the phased licence have achieved a favourable conservation status for GCN. A large population is spread across most of the Brackenhurst estate, and as the GCN population continues
1. Given the size of the newt population at Brackenhurst – one of the largest in Nottinghamshire – and their potential to be present anywhere near the buildings, any development risks having an adverse impact on newts. As GCN are a protected species, this poses major complications in terms of new developments on campus – not only legally, but against NTU’s own environmentally-friendly credentials and values. Navigating a path between process efficiency in our estates planning and construction team and creating an extraordinary work experience and learning opportunities for our student in the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Science was a real challenge. Recent developments required meticulous strategising, and a phased license was obtained to carry out habitat mitigation, enabling new building construction to go ahead without harming GCN and other wildlife.
2. The timing of the practical work was severely challenged by both the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Pond works were also restricted by GCN lifecycles, further complicating the process as we could only undertake excavation works during winter, when GCN are in terrestrial habitats. This posed a significant problem as wet weather substantially damaged fields and surrounding areas in 2021, delaying the completion of works in 2022 and 2023. However, the commendable efforts students put into managing the terrestrial habitats during this time ensured a good ecological value was maintained throughout.
Integrating our estate development programme with our teaching to meet our legal conservation requirements has created a win-win. The phased licence has provided a sustainable and cost-effective solution to the potential constraints to development that the presence of European protected species can cause. Obtaining a phased umbrella licence like we did for this development programme meant that licensing and mitigation did not have to be delivered on a development-by-development basis; instead, there has been a joined-up delivery of habitat creation and management – saving significant time and costs.
All pond enhancement and mitigation works are due for completion by 2024, and as the licence is in SDG Accord Case Study
place until 2028, any developments from 2024-28 will have already met the habitat mitigation requirements. Aside from NTU departments and the GCN themselves, students have benefitted the most from this project. The works have been integrated into taught modules for FE Wildlife Conservation and MSc Biodiversity Conversion students (in their Protected Species Recovery module), providing opportunities for hands-on experiential learning. The paid surveying opportunity broadened the project’s reach to the wider Brackenhurst student community, and those employed could get a reference from this work to help them gain a protected species license in future, enhancing their ecological career prospects.
Wildlife and Greenspaces at NTU
NTU has a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental conservation and actively aims to protect and enhance the natural habitats found within the university campuses. Find out more.