Monthly Archives: May 2017

Meet the Green Heart team…

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Hi everyone,

I’m Fiona Woolston and I am the Community Relations and Public Affairs Assistant at the University of Birmingham. My role is incredibly varied; one day I can be liaising with a local MP or community group, the next I can be creating University VR experiences or developing content for digital channels and publications. I am also responsible for many of the day-to-day communications for the Green Heart.

If you read this blog, follow us on Twitter, browse our website or have emailed our Green Heart email account, you have been communicating with myself. My role is to ensure that you are kept up-to-date with the latest Green Heart developments, and have the opportunity to get involved and shape your space; remember the Paving Poll? Have you had a look at our video yet, it was great fun to make!

I am really excited to see the Green Heart come alive over the next two years. I am most impressed by the effort to create a natural and environmentally friendly landscape; for both people and wildlife. I cannot wait to see 160 new trees planted on campus and the huge array of flowers that will blossom, and all the wildlife that those plants will attract. I hope the Green Heart will successfully attract hedgehogs (as intended) as I have never seen one in the wild.

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“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

Love Museums and Culture?

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Another week, and another awareness day. Today is International Museum Day and did you know that our University campus is teeming with some of Birmingham’s finest cultural attractions? All within a 15-minute walk from University Station, the campus is teeming with historical, scientific and cultural wonders; many of which are free to enter, every day of the week!

You won’t be disappointed at what you find:

  • Lapworth Museum of Geology – Transporting visitors back 4.5 billion years, the museum houses everything from dinosaurs to diamonds. The museum is also an Art Fund Museum of the Year finalist 2017!
  • The Barber Institute of Fine Arts – Your very own mini National Gallery, housing one of the finest small collections of European art in the UK
  • Winterbourne House and Garden – 7 acres of tranquil botanic gardens nestled in the grounds of an Edwardian Art and Craft house
  • The Bramall – Birmingham’s most exciting new entertainment venue for music, comedy, lectures and ‘Audience With’ evenings
  • Cadbury Research Library – Feed your curiosity and come and consult 200,000 rare books and some 4 million manuscripts
  • Research and Cultural Collections – Visit our exhibitions to see some of our most unusual, inspiring and significant pieces from our collections

We look forward to seeing you and your family on campus soon. You can discover more about all we have to offer here. Don’t forget, we will also have a striking 12 acre parkland, the Green Heart, for you to enjoy from 2019!

Roary our Allosaurus at the Lapworth
Family fun at Winterbourne
Stunning fine art at the Barber Institute

It’s National Walking Month

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Did you know that May is National Walking Month? Steered by the Living Streets organisation, National Walking Month aims to get us all walking outdoors; whether that’s to work or school, on a city trail or in your local community. Since 1929, Living Streets have not only been encouraging us to walk, but also campaigning for safer roads and pavements, and tackling congestion and pollution.

The University of Birmingham campus stretches across 672 acres. That is a lot of walking space. You can walk and discover our campus on one of our blue plaque or sculpture trails, or explore 7 acres of tranquil botanical gardens at Winterbourne House and Garden. We are also home to some of Birmingham’s finest cultural assets including the Lapworth Museum of Geology and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, and they are all within walking distance of one another on the Edgbaston campus.

When the Green Heart arrives in 2019, it will bring over 12 acres of new parkland to campus. There will be an increased number of new and improved walkways and cycle paths that will benefit from zoned lighting, to make walking safer, and new directional and information signage. The new walkways will even help the environment, as they will generate energy as people walk on them!

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Improved signage, walkways, lighting and technology