Green spaces
The University of Nottingham is proud of its extensive award-winning grounds. Our grounds are accessible, free to visit, open to all, and provide a broad range of habitats and spaces for people to enjoy and connect with.
University Park
The university is proud of its extensive landscaped grounds. University Park has always been recognised as one of the best and most attractive university campuses in the UK.
The overall style of University Park might be described as ‘English Landscape’. Although no area is authentically eighteenth century, it has the main parkland components of:
- rolling grassland
- individual and clumped trees
- shrub groups
- water features
- long grass 'wild' areas, which encourage biodiversity
- different plant species from around the world, reflecting the international nature of the university
The university has won many awards for its landscaping and grounds management, including a Green Flag Award for University Park every year from 2003 – we remain the only university to have achieved this status. A Green Flag Award indicates that the park or garden is a well-maintained, well-managed and environmentally sustainable green space with excellent facilities.
Walks & garden guides for University Park
Friends of University Park group
Landscape Management Plan for University Park [PDF]
Sutton Bonington
The home of the School of Biosciences and the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, this campus is set in the countryside on the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire border and enjoys a mature landscape setting, including an arboretum with an unusual collection of native and exotic trees. A lime avenue, originally planted to commemorate those lost in the First World War, is said to have a 'King's Shilling' buried under every tree.
Over the last few years, the landscape at Sutton Bonington Campus has been thoroughly overhauled and the plantings in most areas are established and in good condition.
In 2012, the university created Diamond Wood by turning arable land into native woodland habitats, planting over 40,000 trees.
King's Meadow
The former Central TV studios site, King's Meadow Campus is situated adjacent to the flora and fauna rich King’s Meadow Nature Reserve and hosts some of the university's bee hives. Extensively refurbished gardens provide staff with an oasis to withdraw to and relax in during break periods. The meadow grass areas are home to native Bee and Common Spotted orchids.