Discover wildlife on campus with BioBlitz
Did you get a taste for recording local wildlife with Expeditie Stadsnatuur? Join the higher education BioBlitz and help us discover what is growing, crawling and fluttering on our campuses.
A BioBlitz is a challenge to record as many plants and animals as possible within a designated place and time – in this case, 15 Dutch universities from 22 May to 22 June. The challenge is a good follow-up to Expeditie Stadsnatuur Leiden, which ended on 31 May. The idea is the same: use the Obsidentify app to record all the plants and creatures you find. Your name, location and observation will be automatically recorded for the BioBlitz.
Challenge: find rare species
Aranka Viragh, a sustainability coordinator at the Real Estate department, is involved in the BioBlitz. She hopes students and staff will discover more than 600 species this year, including 40 ‘rare’ and two ‘very rare’ species. Last year, we found 571 species, including 36 rare and one very rare species. The finds included a mullein moth at the Hortus, a sand leek at the PJ Veth building and a cowslip and red cabbage bug at the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP).
Who will find a lesser ramshorn snail?
‘The LSBP is particularly good for finding unusual species in the wild ’, says Aranka. ‘There’s the rare lesser ramshorn snail, a small freshwater snail. Or you could look for wild orchids, the kingfisher, the black redstart, the common sparrow or the goldfinch. Six hundred species should be feasible, particularly with insects and plants that have sprung up among the cultivated species and paving stones. Look for special mosses on tree trunks and photograph every spider, bug, beetle, butterfly or insect you find.’
More results from previous expeditions
Dutch universities, including Leiden, are working to improve biodiversity on their grounds. Watch this video from 2023 to find out more about biodiversity at universities. In May, Citizen Science Lab went on an Expeditie Stadsnatuur at buildings including Oude UB as part of Expeditie Stadsnatuur Leiden. Fifteen staff members explored the flora and fauna around Rapenburg 70 and discovered 18 insect species, a hedgehog and an impressive range of wild plants growing among the pebbles along the walls.
More information on BioBlitz
This BioBlitz is the idea of Studenten van Morgen, who aim to integrate sustainability into higher education. These green-minded students hope to record at least 2,500 species this year. To join in, create an account on Waarneming.nl and sign up for the BioBlitz. The results will help universities improve biodiversity on their grounds. At Leiden University, this mainly relates to the development of the Leiden Bio Science Park.
Green with a goal
The University Services Department actively promotes biodiversity in our grounds management: for instance, by mowing less frequently and leaving around 20% of the grass each time we mow. This allows flowers to disperse their seeds, including the wild orchids at the Leiden Bio Science Park, which would otherwise disappear.
This is also crucial for bees: they get nectar from specific flowers and often do not fly further than 500 metres. Careful management of our grounds helps ensure they have enough food. We even leave dead stems undisturbed because insects overwinter in them.
This ecological management is not always popular. If the grass is too long or a branch is obscuring an open day logo, the University Services Department receives complaints. But this ‘messy greenery’ is a deliberate, sustainable choice.