The Good Gardener 2024

The Good Gardener banner - seeding for biodiversity

 

We are thrilled to announce the Good Gardener campaign 2024. The University’s commitment to reaching biodiversity net gain by 2035 is an ambitious target requiring a comprehensive approach including mitigating negative impacts through our operations and supply chains while enhancing biodiversity on the University estate.  

The Good Gardener campaign welcomes staff and students to plant native wildflowers across the collegiate University that support Oxford’s pollinators and raise awareness for the importance of biodiversity. Participating gardeners have the chance to see the full process from seed to flower in full bloom and capture the impact with some citizen science surveys of bee populations.    

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the importance of wildflower species and bee populations in Oxford while having fun with a team of your peers. Not to mention, the hands-on experience of gardening provides many benefits to our wellbeing.  

Participating gardeners will be provided with all the materials they need! No prior gardening experience necessary, just an interest in enhancing biodiversity and the willingness to get your hands dirty. We expect planting to take an hour on average, with follow-up care of about 15 minutes 2-3 times a year.  

All current students and staff of the University are eligible to register.  

Good Gardener Stages

  1. Register. Please note, gardening is sensitive to season, we encourage you to register as soon as possible and before the end of April.  
  2. Receive a confirmation for your location and safety guidelines  
  3. Receive your gardening pack 
  4. Set a date for planting and community engagement! 
  5. Ongoing care and reporting 

We are thrilled to announce the Good Gardener campaign in collaboration with Wytham Woods. The University’s commitment to reaching biodiversity net gain by 2035 is an ambitious target requiring a comprehensive approach including mitigating negative impacts through our operations and supply chains while enhancing biodiversity on the University estate.   

The Good Gardener campaign welcomes staff and students to plant native wildflowers across the collegiate University that support Oxford’s pollinators and raise awareness for the importance of biodiversity. Participating gardeners have the chance to see the full process from seed to flower in full bloom and capture the impact with some citizen science surveys of bee populations.     

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the importance of wildflower species and bee populations in Oxford while having fun with a team of your peers. Not to mention, the hands-on experience of gardening provides many benefits to our wellbeing. 

Participating gardeners will be provided with all the materials they need! No prior gardening experience necessary, just an interest in enhancing biodiversity and the willingness to get your hands dirty. We expect planting to take an hour on average, with follow-up care of about 15 minutes 2-3 times a year.   

All current students and staff of the University are eligible to register. Please note that as gardening is sensitive to season, we encourage you to register before the end of April. 

Register to participate in the Good Gardener campaign with this form. Please read this page in full prior to registering. You are welcome to register as a team, ask to be paired with another group, or join one of our joint gardens.  

Please note that if interest exceeds our capacity we might close registration earlier, as was the case last year.

We encourage Green Impact teams to take part and record the Good Gardener campaign with their actions and toolkit submissions. 

REGISTER HERE

During registration you will be asked to indicate where you would like to plant. The Environmental Sustainability team will ensure appropriate permissions are arranged with the relevant facility manager, college gardener, or University Parks. The project aims to set infrastructure for long lasting results. Please do not plant without approval as the site will not be maintained.

To ensure the Good Gardener is both a fun and safe experience for all, please see the University guidance and risk assessments for events. Give special consideration to the location of your garden to make sure there are no hazards in proximity such as construction, holes, parking or driving routes, or plant rooms.

The Environmental Sustainability team will send you a gardening pack equipped with the following materials: 

  • Seed pack specific to light conditions of your plot 
  • Gardening fork/trowel 
  • Instructions for planting and care of plant species 
  • Stakes, twine, and a wooden garden sign to mark the area 
  • Additional information 

With these materials, you can decide on a day to start planting! To allow for the best possible growing conditions, we encourage planting anywhere from late March to the end of April. Once you have a date in mind, we recommend opening the invitation to your department/college. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together, we recommend using the assets in the communication pack. Feel free to adjust with your departmental or college logo.  

We would love to see your progress and photos throughout the process, tag the Environmental Sustainability team @OxEnvSust and use the hashtag #OxGoodGardener.  

For the planting session we suggest setting aside an hour or so and inviting people to bring their lunch, some snacks, or a cuppa along. Please remember to drink water and take breaks when you need to! 

Over the course of a few weeks, you will begin to see your annual wildflowers grow! However, you won’t see any blooms for 60- 80 days. Every yield will look different based on a myriad of environmental factors. Please remember that not every seed will be able to flower and that is quite natural. 

The seeds should sprout without too much additional care as they are native to the UK.  However, we will suggest checking in on them and watering based on need. All of the specifics can be found in your gardening pack’s care instructions. In case of extreme weather like drought we will send out a special watering notification.   

We will share a map of all the Good Gardener sites with everyone. You will be prompted to report back on the status and growth of your site including pictures (2-3 times a year).  

We invite you to conduct some citizen science with short bee population surveys after you see blooms. You can find a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the 10-minute bee count from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme.

In the future we will aim to study the impact of these areas on pollinators in the urban environment with more comprehensive surveys overtime.  

What else can you do for biodiversity? 

  • Consider your consumption habits and opt for more environmentally friendly options. For example, eating less carbon-intensive foods (e.g. meat and dairy). Eating vegetarian/vegan meals once or twice a week can make a large difference over time!
  • Buy second-hand and pre-loved items wherever possible, or items that are certified Fairtrade.   
  • Find low or zero waste alternatives to common items like disposable cups and grocery bags. You can even visit a refill store in Oxford to completely remove the need for plastic packaging.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/1qyZhRVHiR0

Additional resources for growing a wildflower garden