From the griffon vulture to Physcia biziana: record number of rare species in campus BioBlitz
What a result! The Higher Education BioBlitz recorded 3,155 species, smashing our target of 2,500. Thanks to your efforts, Leiden University made an impressive eight ‘very rare’ finds. A result that gives hope for our biodiversity.
A BioBlitz is an attempt to find and record as many plants and animals in a certain place and period of time. In this case, this was a month on the campuses of 18 higher educational institutions throughout the country. Leiden University beat its own goal of 500 species, and of the 18 institutions, scored highest in the ‘very rare’ category.
Cladonia cariosa
The 12 griffon vultures spotted above the Bio Science Park were spectacular, but so was the common midwife toad, the bird’s-nest orchid and species such as Hylaeus punctatus (a bee), Epiblema costipunctana (a moth), Hypopterygium tamarisci (a moss), Cladonia cariosa and Physcia biziana (both lichens) show how rich our campus biodiversity is.
‘It’s incredibly valuable and really makes me proud of Leiden’, says Aranka Virágh, who as sustainability coordinator for Real Estate was one of the organisers. ‘The Netherlands leads the way in Europe when it comes to the number of endangered and extinct species. As a university, we are doing our bit to reverse this, especially in areas under development such as the Bio Science Park. Activities like these offer hope. Who knows what will have sprung up next year when we repeat the BioBlitz?’
'Biodiversity often occurs among pavement plants and in unmown patches of grass'
Treasure trove for biodiversity
At least as valuable as the number of species found is the effect on how we view campus greenery. ‘Activities like this BioBlitz make us aware that it's okay or even essential for things to be a bit rough around the edges’, says Virágh. ‘Biodiversity often occurs among pavement plants and in unmown patches of grass. People increasingly know that something that looks messy can actually be a treasure trove for biodiversity.’
A good example is the courtyard garden at the new cycle parking facility at the Leiden Bio Science Park. Although this has not yet been officially planted and may therefore look a bit unkempt to some, 115 indigenous plants have spontaneously appeared here, representing 5 per cent of all species in the Netherlands.
More information
For the full results, see https://waarneming.nl/bioblitz/17805/hoger-onderwijs-bloeit-2025/