BIODIVERSITY

The Biodiversity Team this year are working on creating a video to celebrate the surprisingly exciting range of wildlife that co-habits with us, largely unnoticed, here at Wellington. As exposed in a recent survey by The Natural History Museum, the team learned that nearly a quarter of Britons are unable to identify the flora and fauna in their own gardens.Through exploring Wellington in their filming, the Biodiversity Team are bringing to light a range of wonderful and intriguing facts: from the birds at Swan Lake captured in slow motion, to time-lapses of trees, the video will contribute fascinating insights to our understanding of our campus environment.

As well as investigating our local ecosystem, the team also got to grips with the ins and outs of film production, editing software and compiling an engaging mini-documentary that would warrant the approval of Sir David Attenborough. By studying the flora and fauna of the campus, they have been able to help in its conservation and have tried to find new species.

Did you know? Wellington College has a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on campus - a peat bog home to two uncommon species, the bog bush-frog and the keeled skimmer dragonfly. It is one of the richest in the country for bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) and flowering plants. Despite some trampling damage to it, the tiny site is highly diverse in soil types and vegetation, some of which is not found anywhere else in Berkshire, which is why it is important to scientists.

KINDNESS