Trinity College’s ‘wildflower meadow’: What it was trying to achieve

The world is undergoing a biodiversity crisis. The past few decades have seen unprecedented loss of species and habitats, with more than a million species now threatened with extinction worldwide.

Human activity has modified three-quarters of the land surface on Earth, depleted populations of wild animals and plants, caused changes in climate and weather patterns, polluted land and sea, and transported plants and animals out of their natural habitats.

Since nature is our life-support system, and underpins our economies, health and wellbeing, this crisis of nature is a crisis for humanity. And if we think beyond ourselves, isn’t there something fundamentally wrong about driving plants and animals to extinction?

The good news is that we can all do something to help reverse biodiversity loss. By managing our gardens, farms and other green spaces differently, we can make space for nature. We can provide habitat that has been lost and provide food and shelter for the creatures that desperately need it. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan has inspired such action the length and breadth of Ireland, and its "Managed for Wildlife" signs are visible on numerous roadsides, campuses, parks and properties.

Tank of diesel may cost €1.50 extra after carbon tax increase in budget

---

Integrating beef and dairy systems could radically reduce emissions, Teagasc says

---

How a polluted Scottish city is driving UK switch to electric vehicles

---

Biden's plan may be our last chance to avoid climate catastrophe

---

Indeed, this inspired Trinity College Dublin, my own institution, to replace the formal lawns at the front gates with a different kind of garden, one incorporating a greater diversity of native plant species. They are not strictly "wildflower meadows", because "wild" means not planted, and these certainly were.

Nor were we trying to recreate natural meadows either – there are larger spaces in which this can be done, outside the city. Instead, Trinity’s goal was to show that a green carpet of shortly cropped grass is not the only option in a formal setting. The overwhelming support for this initiative from staff, students and the public, both before and after the new turf was laid, showed that the time was right for change.

Additional nectar
We need to be clear about what we are doing and why. What Trinity has done is a different type of gardening – one that doesn't require such regular maintenance as a pristine lawn, or a formal/manicured horticultural bed, and one that probably provides additional nectar, pollen and other resources for insects and other animals (this is something we are looking into with our research students).

But it isn’t a panacea or a magic bullet to biodiversity loss, and it certainly isn’t something that should be emulated outside the urban environment. Taking up natural vegetation alongside country roads, canal/river banks, or in agricultural fields and replacing it with generic “wildflower” seed mixtures may do more harm for biodiversity than good.

These seed mixes can contain species that don’t usually live in Ireland, and so may not suit the creatures here. This means, at best, that they may not provide the right kind of food for native animals, and at worst, may cause ecological problems by displacing our native plants.

Even if these mixes contain species native to Ireland, the original source of the seeds is important. If those seeds have come from outside Ireland, it means they may not cope with our environmental conditions. Even if they can grow here, they can threaten our native flora at the genetic level, eroding our native biodiversity more.

But what Trinity has done is to bring the conversation about biodiversity loss right into the middle of the city. It has given us the chance to challenge the conventional view of what a formal planting should look like. And made us think about what else we can do.

Trinity has swift callers on the Museum Building (devices that play recordings of the sounds of these birds calling to one another) to attract these iconic and intriguing threatened urban birds to nest there. Trinity has also reduced use of fertiliser and pesticides across all our sites. And we have a small wildlife pond tucked away out of sight on the main campus.

Never enough
We know that this isn't enough. We can't just stop here and say "job done" – there is more we can do. Over the past few months, a team of natural sciences staff and students, along with the staff who manage Trinity's campus, have been working together to assess the state of Trinity's biodiversity and will be making recommendations for improvement to our new provost shortly.

This is not just an issue for the grounds and gardening staff. As a research-led educational institution, we know that we need both the evidence base for actions – that is, we need to scientifically assess that our actions meet our objectives – and we need to raise everyone’s game in terms of understanding the issues. This includes tackling the complex stuff and asking what biodiversity is appropriate and where, going beyond the iconic species, incorporating biodiversity and ecosystem restoration into every course we teach, and aligning our biodiversity goals with our other environmental targets.

By experimenting with actions, learning as we go, and communicating what we are doing, we can play our own small parts in tackling the biodiversity crisis in tandem with the climate crisis.

Jane Stout is professor in botany in TCD School of Natural Sciences, co-director of Trinity’s Nature+ research centre, co-founder of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and Trinity Biodiversity Audit lead