Why did the grass disappear?
You may have wondered why an excavator recently removed large sections of the lawn at the administration building at SDU in Odense? Here is the explanation.
It's not pipework or landscaping – it's a flowerbed. Because SDU wants to increase biodiversity and establish more vegetation in the university's outdoor areas.
The initiative arose from employees' desire to give their Christmas present to something that supports green development.
Rikke Pode Madsen, Team Leader in Purchasing, explains:
– Some employees asked if they could support a sustainable cause instead of choosing a physical Christmas present. We investigated the possibilities. We are not allowed to donate money to external organisations, which means that employees at SDU cannot choose to have their Christmas gift value donated to the Danish Society for Nature Conservation or similar, but we can use funds internally for green initiatives at SDU.
Gifts with green power
The result was a donation project where employees and student assistants could choose to donate their Christmas gift to biodiversity at SDU instead of receiving a traditional gift. Twenty-six employees and two student assistants chose to do so. Together, they donated Christmas gifts worth DKK 10,800.
– It is the gardeners who have chosen what to plant. We suggested the idea to Technical Service and they took it forward, says Rikke Pode Madsen.
So, what the gardening team in Building Maintenance is currently planting is a bed of 2000 square metres, which is now being planted with the Butterfly Flower Mix.
Attracts butterflies and other insects
It is a seed mix composed of flowers that attract butterflies and other pollinating insects such as bees and hoverflies. The flowers in the mix bloom at different times and provide food throughout the summer.
Some of the plants act as host plants for caterpillars and contribute to the entire insect life cycle. At the same time, the planting creates variety, which also provides food and shelter for birds and small animals.
More biodiversity on the way
The project is part of a larger effort to convert SDU's outdoor areas to more biodiversity. There are plans to establish similar biodiversity beds elsewhere at SDU, both in Odense and on the other campuses – for example in courtyards where grass and flowers can be combined.
Whether employees this year will again be able to donate their Christmas gift to flower seeds, or whether it will be trees or something entirely different, has yet to be decided – but that it will contribute to biodiversity at SDU is certain.