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Lockdown in Nature A newsletter from the University of Lincoln Sustainability team.

Welcome to the second edition of our weekly newsletter during lockdown. The days are short, but that doesn't mean that we can't find time to enjoy nature and get involved in sustainability.

Each week, we'll round up online activities and webinars not only provided by our team and the university, but also from around the world.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter for our daily #photoinnature & feel free to join in by tagging us in your own.

The Secret Life of Hedgehogs

Monday 30th November 13:00 - 14:00

Did you know that the number of British hedgehogs has declined by at least 30% since the year 2000? Join us in finding out all about the secret life of the nation's favourite prickly mammal. Jo Wilkinson, who leads the national Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign, will provide a virtual presentation and there will be an opportunity for questions at the end.

The University of Lincoln is a bronze level Hedgehog Friendly Campus and is pleased to present this first in a series of webinars dedicated to the lives of wildlife and other sustainability topics. Email environment@lincoln.ac.uk for an invite.

This event is free and will be hosted on Microsoft teams.

Top tips to cycling throughout the year

Cycling in autumn/winter can be a little daunting, but with the right gear and a little caution you could be good to go. And with some great routes leading out of Lincoln you could be in for a great treat - the pic to the right was taken by Alex during one of the Staff Social Cycles to Doddington Hall.

Tracey's top tips for cycling:

• Take your bike in for a service to check the brakes and tyre pressures/tread.

• Invest in some windproof gloves and jacket, stop the nippy winter air cooling you down!

• Check out visitlincoln.com for cycling maps around the city.

• Follow the love2ride confidence tips:

• Track your journey on app to see how you're improving and where you're going. Fun fact Strava has reported a huge increase in people cycling in Lincolnshire, in 2019 21,000 people logged journeys and already 43,000 people have logged journeys in 2020!

• Join the staff social cycle group - email environment@lincoln.ac.uk to be kept informed of future cycle dates in 2021.

Hire bikes are available through the SU, Sports Centre and the Lincoln Orange Hire bikes. *(Subject to current Covid restrictions)

If you do head out, we’d love to see any photos you take. Make sure to tag us in them on social media:

Sustaina-Bailey

Your VP Campaigns and Environment, Bailey, started a monthly vlog series at the beginning of term where she discusses all things environment, sustainability and eco-friendly! Each week, we'll highlight one of her episodes:

The wonder of birds

“The shell must break before the bird can fly.” ― Alfred Lord Tennyson

As we've spent more time at home, with the nights growing longer, nature can seem more distant to us. But that changes when it comes to birds. You might have taken to feeding them at home during the first national lockdown, spotting all the different varieties that you haven't seen in the past. The small act of caring for birds can bring a huge amount of joy.

We have a great variety of birds on campus and you'll more often than not see or hear them as you walk through, particularly by the Delph Pond and also around the Brayford. We've seen goldfinches, sparrows, wagtails and grey wagtails, robins, wrens and even kingfishers. The Cathedral peregrines have also been known to hover over the Brayford Campus too.

Recently, we installed another bird feeding station on campus, adjacent to the Isaac Newton Building, and you can find another station at the Kitchen Garden behind Witham House.

A variety of birds, including blue tits and long tailed tits photographed at Alex's balcony feeding station.

There are some easy ways to encourage birds to visit you.

How can you support & encourage birds near you?

  • Provide fresh water - make sure to break any ice so that birds can get a drink.
  • Hold back on cutting back - at this time of year, birds should have an abundance of berries to nourish themselves with, please refrain from cutting back hedges unless necessary!
  • Get a window feeder - if you've not got a garden, a window feeder can be a brilliant way to encourage birds to visit.
  • Provide a custom menu - different birds like different things, if you're getting a variety of visitors, you might want to adapt what bird seed you're putting out. Check out this bird feeding guide by the RSPB:
  • Be patient  - sometimes it can take a few days for birds to find you. Make sure food is fresh (don't let it go mouldy) and be persistent.
Alex with a goldfinch outside the Isaac Newton Building earlier this year.

The Great Hedgehoggy Bake Off

Took place on 14th & 15th November 2020

Thank you to everyone who took part in our first at home bake off! This event focussed on hedgehogs but keep an eye out for other themes in the future.

We asked for your best prickly pal in baked form and you delivered. Some of our favourites entries are just below.

Don't forget to follow our Hogfriendly team on Twitter!

Entries to our hedgehoggy bake off!

Our Environment team will vote on the winner on Wednesday 18th November.

And if you're missed taking part but would still like to support, please consider making a donation to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society who fund the Hedgehog Friendly Campus campaign.

On this week:

  • Lunchtime walking group - every Wednesday at midday. Check out the Homehub for more information
  • Nature Live - the Natural History Museum has a schedule of free events inc. talks this week on What are Bivalves and Why are They Brilliant? and Meet a Wildlife Photographer.
  • Virtual LoveEarth Festival. Be filled with inspiration and optimism by the incredible climate negotiator Christiana Figueres and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, then have your soul nourished with live performances from Missy Higgins and Paul Kelly plus so much more! Saturday 5 December or Friday 4 December if you're in the US or UK.
  • Boultham Park Photography Competition - Boultham Park Lake Restoration Project team has launched a photography competition to encourage people in the area to enjoy the great outdoors. The competition runs from 9th November - 6th December 2020.
  • The opening ceremony of Mock COP26 will take place at 12 noon on Thursday 19 November. It will be broadcast on the Mock COP26 YouTube channel.

This just in:

Binocular Library - your SU is launching a binocular library for wildlife enthusiasts!

Coming soon...

Get involved with the #photoinnature challenge - look out for a competition run by Lincoln SU soon!

The CLEAN Hub Launch - the University of Lincoln is partnering with C.L.E.A.N to deliver our first ever joint litter picking equipment library on the Brayford Campus.

Clean Lincoln Everywhere And Now is a platform for the community who want to be proactive in taking care of their environment. They have a free scheme using "CLEAN Hubs" loaning the equipment and information to safely perform litter picks anywhere across Lincolnshire either as an individual or in a group for free.

From left to right: Ryan Lovett, C.L.E.A.N, and Tracey Turton and Alex Foxley-Johnson from the Sustainability team put the hub together!

Full details on how you can book equipment to set up your own litter picking event will be released soon. Email environment@lincoln.ac.uk to register your interest.

November is our #energysaving month, this weeks top tips are based around working at home without keeping the heating on all day and saving energy too:

  • Wear slippers - the funnier the better we think!
  • If you've got wooden/tile/ceramic floors - a rug makes a huge difference to the heat retained.
  • Wear fingerless gloves, thermal vest and even a woolly hat!
  • Choose a room to work in where the sun is shining, then move if you can to follow the sun as it moves round the house - it'll save the amount of hours you need the light on. (We understand this isn't practical for everyone).
  • Replace light bulbs with LED ones (if your fixture allows you to do so).
  • Open the curtains when the sun is out to let the heat in, and shut them to retain the heat when the sun goes down.
  • Fill a flask at the start of the day and use the hot water from it to make your tea/coffee/bovrill!

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Credits:

Images & words by Alex Foxley-Johnson & Tracey Turton