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A groundskeeper at
The University of Nottingham is showcasing his wildlife photography skills and has produced a charity 2016 calendar of wild birds which were all taken on the University’s UK campuses.
Ian Chetwynd, a groundskeeper in the Estates department at the University, has been taking photos of wildlife around the Jubilee, University Park, Sutton Bonington and Kings Meadow campuses for the last 18 months.
After impressing one of his managers with his photography skills, the decision was taken to produce a calendar of the images to raise money for the University’s Impact Campaign.
Rare birds
The calendar, which contains 12 images, some of which are of extremely rare birds – will be available to buy in the shops on each of the University’s campuses at a cost of £5 from the 2 November 2015.
Images in the calendar include a Barn Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Kestrel, a Nuthatch, a Reed Bunting, a Tree Creeper, a Peregrine Falcon, a Green Woodpecker, a Yellow Wagtail, a Sparrow Hawk, a Little Owl and a Kingfisher.
Ian said: “It’s wonderful to see my photos in print. I am really grateful to the University for allowing me the opportunity to make this idea a reality. I really hope we can raise a lot of money for the charity. I believe the University is unique in the diverse habitats and species of wildlife it has to offer. The images in this calendar only represent one quarter of one per cent that is out there.”
#beastsofUoN
If the calendar is successful, then the team in the Estates Department hopes to make the item a regular product, potentially opening up the chance to provide pictures to staff from across the University.
Andy Nolan, Director of Sustainability at the University and the man behind the idea for the calendar, said: “When Ian showed me the images he’d taken from across our campuses I was really impressed. I wasn’t even aware myself that we were home to such a diverse range of birds.
“Not only is this a great opportunity to make some money for a really important cause, but it is also a fantastic way to show off the beautiful creatures we have on our campuses. The hashtag ‘beastsofUoN’ is already trending on twitter, and we’d like to further promote that to the public, and we want to encourage other people to see the beauty on our doorstep. Ian has done a fantastic job of these images.”
The calendars can be bought at the Portland Student’s Union Shop (University Park Campus), the Student Union Shop on the Jubilee Campus, in the Atrium at Jubilee, in the catering office at the Portland Building (University Park Campus) and at the Sodexho Shop at Sutton Bonington Campus.
The Impact Campaign was launched in 2011, it is the University’s biggest ever fundraising campaign and supports a vibrant range of projects which are already changing people’s lives, shaping the future and having a global impact.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Research Project of the Year’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2014. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for three years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…