ID008 Using Keele’s Campus and Green Spaces

The Idea

The idea is to develop Keele’s campus and green spaces as a flagship outdoor learning, sustainability engagement and creative placemaking environment, a model that combines nature-based education, ecological insight, community engagement and creative programming.

The proposal is to reposition the campus as a living laboratory and cultural destination, where outdoor learning, art, wellbeing, renewable energy, history, biodiversity and community participation come together in a coherent, year-round programme. This would include:

• A structured outdoor and nature-based learning offer across disciplines
• A coordinated annual programme of trails, citizen science, exhibitions, residencies and seasonal activities
• Expanded opportunities for community participation, schools engagement and wellbeing activity

This idea builds on existing strengths while creating a clearer narrative, stronger visibility and a cohesive identity for Keele’s landscape.

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

Keele has a uniquely rich campus: the largest in the UK, combining an arboretum, woodland, lakes, heritage landscapes and one of the country’s leading university-based Energy Parks. Few institutions can bring together nature, creativity, biodiversity, wellbeing, research and public engagement so seamlessly.

Sustainability is a strategic priority, and this approach allows Keele to:

• Demonstrate sustainability as something lived, studied and experienced
• Strengthen its identity and distinctiveness in the sector
• Support wellbeing by normalising movement, time outdoors, social connection and reflective practice across teaching, working and leisure
• Build deeper relationships with local communities and schools by developing a clearly structured, institution-supported programme of campus-based learning, creative activities, as well as other opportunities such as volunteering programmes and project- and research-connected activity
• Showcase interdisciplinary research in accessible, creative ways
• Be regarded as an international trusted voice and thought leader on campuses of and for the future
• Contribute to national and international conversations on climate, biodiversity and public engagement

Importantly, the campus itself has evolved over more than eight centuries of custodianship. Thinking in “long time” gives Keele an authentic platform to show how past stewardship can inspire future responsibility, making sustainability meaningful through place, story and experience.

How We Would Implement This Idea

Implementation could be phased and pragmatic, building on existing activity.

A) Governance and Coordination

Clear governance, reporting lines, accountability and collaborative structures are essential to involve all groups, including those currently using the campus in less visible ways.

• A small working group could map existing and historic activity to identify opportunities for the development of a cohesive annual programme.
• Integration with the Sustainable Estates Development Strategy to create infrastructure and stewardship and maintenance processes.

B) Embed Outdoor and Nature-Based Learning

• Expand field-based modules across disciplines and, as part of the mapping exercise, consider which new areas and modules could benefit from this opportunity.
• Support academics to trial outdoor seminars, workshops and assessments, supported by the provision of sheltered and flexible outdoor learning spaces across campus to enable year-round use, including during colder and wetter seasons.
• Ensure that outdoor learning is underpinned by careful consideration of pedagogy, inclusivity and accessibility, drawing on existing Keele practice and published work on using the campus as a learning environment (Rogers, S.), see Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education: https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe/article/view/1020/757.
• Integrate outdoor learning into wellbeing and public engagement strategies.

C) A Year-Round Creative and Ecological Programme

A year-round creative and ecological programme for both internal audiences (students, staff, businesses and residents) and external audiences (local communities and visitors attracted through tourism), including:

• Seasonal trails, exhibitions and creative commissions
• Artist residencies linked to research themes
• Night-time biodiversity events, guided walks and storytelling routes
• Nature-based workshops
• Simple wildlife observations, community planting and citizen science activities
• Drawing on more than 40 years of natural history records at Keele, ecologists are well placed to share informed updates that help people notice and value everyday nature

D) The Long View Project

A key mechanism for achieving this vision will be the Long View art project, a long-term creative and ecological framework that treats the campus as both canvas and collaborator. The Long View will operate as a unifying thread across disciplines, seasons and audiences, offering an accessible way for people to engage with the concept of custodianship.

By gradually developing site-based artworks, seasonal markers, community-made installations and interpretive trails, the project will help participants notice slow change, understand the campus as a living system and contribute to its ongoing story. Embedding the Long View into teaching, public engagement, wellbeing activities and research-linked residencies will allow Keele to demonstrate sustainability not just as a policy, but as a shared cultural practice unfolding over time.

What Success Would Look Like

Success would mean that Keele’s campus becomes recognised as a national example of place-based sustainability engagement.

Indicators of success:

• More students experiencing outdoor learning
• Increased community participation and stronger civic partnerships
• A visible, well-promoted annual programme that draws visitors to campus
• Enhanced biodiversity awareness
• Improved campus community wellbeing. Over time, this cultural shift may contribute to individual wellbeing, improved academic engagement, retention and performance.
• Growing recognition of Keele’s campus as a cultural, educational and ecological destination

Alongside these qualitative indicators, success would also be measured through a small set of agreed KPIs to track impact over time. These could include participation in outdoor and nature-based learning and wellbeing activities; self-reported wellbeing measures; links to academic engagement and continuation; demand for relevant student support services; and sickness and absence data for staff and students. Tracking these measures longitudinally would help evidence the value of embedding campus-based sustainability and wellbeing into Keele’s culture.

Ultimately, success would look like a campus where sustainability is not just a strategy but a shared experience, a cultural identity and a long-term commitment to the generations who will inherit this landscape after us.