Royal Holloway’s campus has received the prestigious Green Flag Award for the second consecutive year, after achieving the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.
The University is one of a record-breaking 2,391 in the UK to achieve the award this year, a fantastic testament to the hard work, passion and dedication of the team who care for the campus, ensuring it is maintained to a high standard.
Daniel Steel, Senior Gardener at Royal Holloway, said: “We are very excited to have received the Green Flag Award again, recognising a focus on delivering quality land management and spaces for people and nature.
“We have made concerted efforts to improve the site with new wildflower and grassland areas, measures to support hedgehog populations, improvements of waterways, or removal of invasive shrub species across our woodlands.
“We are lucky to have such a historic landscape with a wealth of biodiversity and natural areas for the local and University community to enjoy.”
The University is committed to championing campus biodiversity and promoting academic and collaborative engagement opportunities across the natural campus.
Royal Holloway’s Egham campus exists within a mature 135-acre parkland estate, characterised by a variety of woodland, meadows and watercourses.
It is part of a vital connective green corridor and hosts a wide range of natural life.
The mix of meadow and lawns has a diversity of floral species, including a population of bee orchids; the woodlands across the site are host to a variety of invertebrates, including stag beetles and fungi; and a natural aquifer feeds several springs and stream systems that provide habitat for our resident bullhead fish and egrets.
Paul Todd MBE, Green Flag Award Manager at Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Parks are essential public spaces that support our wellbeing, our communities and our economy. Yet for millions of people, particularly in the most deprived areas, local parks simply don’t feel safe or welcoming.
With public services under pressure, investing in parks is not a luxury, it’s a practical, preventative solution and one of the most visible ways to improve people’s quality of life.
“Royal Holloway has shown what can be achieved when green spaces are properly supported and managed. As we celebrate 30 years of the Green Flag Award, we want every community to have access to green spaces like this that are safe, welcoming and maintained to a high standard.
"Congratulations to everyone involved."
The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy under contract from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of green spaces across the United Kingdom and around the world.
