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Impact on the environment

The built environment

The buildings of the collegiate University, such as the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian Library, Christ Church’s Tom Tower and the chapels of Merton and Magdalen colleges create Oxford’s iconic skyline.

The University and its colleges comprise a significant part of Oxford and its buildings and green spaces are an integral part of the infrastructure of the city. Of the 50 or so University or college buildings in the city centre, about one-quarter have a Grade I listing.  All styles are represented: from the medieval and reformation periods to Palladian, Classical revival, high Victorian Gothic to the modern architecture of Arne Jacobsen at St Catherine’s College. 

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More recent buildings include the uncompromising modernity of the Saïd Business School, which has played an undoubted part in the regeneration of West Oxford and the glass-finned new Biochemistry building in the University Science Area.

The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter is one of the most significant development projects the University has undertaken for more than a century. The 10-acre site in central Oxford, bound by the Woodstock Road, Somerville College, Walton Street, Observatory Street, and Green Templeton College, is the last remaining large plot of land available for development in the historic heart of the city. The new development will create a vibrant social, cultural and academic centre for both the city and the University. 

Impact on local environment

The Sustainability Team supports the University community to protect and enhance the environment in all its activities. The University’s Sustainability Steering Group reports to the University’s main committees on environmental sustainability issues and drives the University Carbon Management Strategy, which you can read here:
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/estates/environment/energy

Carbon management

The University’s carbon reduction targets are to:

  • reduce scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 11% by 2015/16 (compared to 2005/6 levels)
  • reduce scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 33% by 2020/21 (compared to 2005/6 levels)

Although due to expansion, the University’s total carbon emissions are increasing each year, it is becoming more efficient in terms of buildings-related carbon footprint per floor area. Some individual departments have made significant reductions in emissions, for example: 

  • Swindon Book Store – reduced electricity use by 40% through modifying the Building Management System
  • Sackler Building – reduced electricity use by 30% due to off ventilation over night and at weekends
  • Rewley House – reduced gas use by 50% due to boiler room refurbishment, installation of thermostatic radiator valves and increased loft insulation

Policy and reporting

The University has an Environmental Sustainability Policy and reports on its environmental performance in an annual Environmental Sustainability Report. You can see these documents here: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/estates/environment

ClimateXChange

Oxford has an international reputation for its environmental research, with more than 500 research and teaching staff working in the field. A host of University and community environmental projects are in full swing, including ClimateXChange, led by the University’s Environmental Change Institute. The project encourages individuals, local communities and business to spread the word about climate change issues taking action, communicating, and exploring the facts.

Green spaces

Christ Church Meadow This is a large area of tranquil pasture in the heart of the busy city of Oxford, owned and maintained by Christ Church borders the rivers Cherwell and Isis. The meadow is open to the public until dusk each day and is a much-loved spot for picnics and river walks, as well as remaining one of Oxford’s main tourist attractions.

 

Magdalen Deer Park

Magdalen College Deer Park  A large, beautiful meadow is the home to a herd of deer during the winter and spring. This triangular nature-spot lies to the east of Magdalen College, bounded on all sides by the River Cherwell. In spring it is famously filled with Snakeshead Fritillary. Around the edge of the meadow is a tree-lined path, Addison's Walk, creating a walk favoured by students, academics, and visitors.

The University Parks Consisting of about 30 hectares of parkland on the west bank of the River Cherwell, together with a 1.5-hectare spur of land running towards the south, the University Parks include sports areas and a large collection of plants and trees in landscaped surroundings. The University Parks are open to members of the public during the day. The Parks recently received an environmental award from the Oxford Preservation Trust for the new Keble gates for ‘the contribution made to the preservation and enhancement of Oxford's heritage.’ 

 

Wytham Woods

Wytham Woods covering 400 hectares, the woods were given to the University in 1943 for research, education, and recreational purposes. It is one of the most researched areas of woodland in the whole of Britain and is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. While most of the researchers have been Oxford University staff and students, the Woods attract 20,000 visitors each year. Research projects regularly involve volunteers from local groups and Wytham has become an outdoor classroom for the popular Forest School project. This brings children from Oxford schools out to learn in a woodland setting, encouraging them to think about the environment and the part they can play in taking care of it.
Watch a series of short films about Wytham here.

 

lambs FAI

FAI (Food Animal Initiative) is a livestock farm designed to develop and demonstrate farming systems that are beneficial to animal welfare, the environment, human health, as well as practical and commercially viable for farmers. FAI took over the tenancy of the Oxford University Farm, part of the Wytham estate, in 2001. The farm is 1250 acres, bordered by Wytham Woods and the River Thames, and includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). It is home to free-range chickens, sheep, beef cattle, and pigs. The farm draws thousands of visitors annually, and hosts tours, talks and projects for school children and adults alike to learn about issues surrounding food production, farming and the environment, and the welfare of animals. 
Find out more at http://www.faifarms.co.uk/

 

bluebells in Harcourt Arboretum

Harcourt Arboretum In 1963, the University Botanic Garden acquired the Harcourt Arboretum, which is six miles south of Oxford, an integral part of the plant collection of the Botanic Garden. In spring, there is a quintessentially English 10-acre woodland and in summer a 37-acre meadow full of wild flowers. In December 2006 a further 50-acres on the south-west boundary of the Harcourt Arboretum, Palmer’s Leys, was purchased. Initial survey work by Oxford undergraduates provided data upon which the planned restoration of this historic landscape is based. With help from local school children and a group of enthusiastic volunteers, 13,000 British native trees have been planted to create the 20 acres of woodland 

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Oxford trains academic leaders around the globe: More than 44,000 Oxford alumni are from 188 countries outside the UK, and Oxford runs prestigious international scholarships and bursaries. Oxford has educated more than 30 foreign presidents and prime ministers

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