ID265 Grow and Gather

The Idea

Grow and Gather (working title) is a proposed campus-wide initiative that uses Keele's landscape to connect food, nature and community- providing a practical demonstration of Planetary Health: the interdependence of human wellbeing, environmental sustainability and thriving communities. Building on existing assets including the Keele Campus Garden Project, Walled Garden allotments and Arboretum, it would create a more visible, coordinated and resilient programme that brings together activity currently taking place across the University. 

As the UK's largest single-site campus, Keele is uniquely positioned to become a leading example of a nature-connected, health-promoting and environmentally sustainable university. Grow and Gather is intended not as a standalone sustainability project, but as a flagship demonstration of Keele's emerging Planetary Health approach. Using the People-Planet-Place engagement framework, it would connect biodiversity, food, wellbeing, education, research and community engagement, creating a more coordinated and participatory approach to sustainability and helping to translate sustainability into practical, everyday experiences for students, staff and partners. 

Structured around the seasonal cycle, Grow and Gather would create a year-round programme of food growing, wildlife-friendly gardening, pollinator planting, nature walks, creative workshops, shared meals, storytelling and harvest celebrations. Partnerships with the Science & Innovation Park, local communities and creative practitioners would further extend participation, innovation and knowledge exchange. An Artist-in-Residence, linked to Keele's proposed Long View programme and broader cultural engagement activities, could foster creative engagement with seasonal change, biodiversity, food systems and sense of place through artistic practice, storytelling, exhibitions and public participation. 

Beyond engagement, the initiative would create opportunities for interdisciplinary research and student learning through a campus-scale living laboratory approach. Using a whole-system perspective that recognises the links between food production, biodiversity, water management, renewable energy and climate resilience through a Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus lens, the campus could support research into agrivoltaics, regenerative food systems, nature-based solutions and community wellbeing. The initiative would provide a platform through which the Institute for Global Health and Wellbeing, the Institute for Social Inclusion and the Institute for Sustainable Futures can collaborate with Estates, students, communities and external partners, strengthening links between research, education, operations and community engagement.

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

This proposal leverages existing assets, expertise and infrastructure to deliver benefits across sustainability, wellbeing, education, research and community engagement. While many of the individual components already exist, including food-growing spaces, biodiversity initiatives, volunteering opportunities, wellbeing activities and sustainability projects, they currently operate with varying degrees of visibility, coordination and integration. The primary added value of Grow and Gather is therefore the strategic alignment, coordination and amplification of existing strengths through a cohesive Planetary Health lens and People-Planet-Place engagement framework.  

Growing evidence demonstrates that regular contact with nature can improve mental wellbeing, reduce stress, strengthen social connectedness and foster a greater sense of belonging alongside a deeper commitment to caring for the environment. By making sustainability visible, practical and accessible through food growing, nature-based activities and creative participation, the initiative would encourage deeper connections with nature, food and place while fostering wellbeing, belonging and shared stewardship. Activities would provide low-pressure opportunities for social connection, helping address loneliness and supporting transition into university life. Through participation in shared activities, connection with nature and engagement with place, the programme would create opportunities for prevention, connection and belonging as part of everyday campus life. 

The initiative would support the development of Keele's graduate attributes, including Social, Environmental and Ethical Responsibility (SEER), through experiential learning, volunteering and community action. Students would develop transferable skills including leadership, teamwork, communication, sustainability literacy, project management, food growing, ecological monitoring and community engagement, enhancing both their employability and their capacity to contribute positively to society.  

Grow and Gather would also strengthen Keele's leadership in Planetary Health and whole-system sustainability approaches. As a campus-scale living laboratory, it would provide a platform through which education, research, operations and community engagement can be brought together to address complex challenges relating to environmental sustainability, human wellbeing and social inclusion. This integrated approach would create wider opportunities for external funding, strategic partnerships and challenge-led research, and further enhance Keele's reputation as a distinctive place-based university where sustainability is experienced, researched and demonstrated in practice

How We Would Implement This Idea

Implementation would draw inspiration from Loughborough University's Fruit Routes programme. Opportunities to collaborate with Loughborough and share learning around programme design, community participation, governance and long-term stewardship could help inform the development of a distinctive Keele approach, while creating opportunities for wider knowledge exchange on the role of campuses as living laboratories for biodiversity, wellbeing and Planetary Health. 

The Walled Garden would be developed as a central hub for food growing, biodiversity and community activity, building on existing assets and the network of students and staff interested in food growing, wildlife and nature-based wellbeing. Overseen by the Natural Environment Restoration & Development (NERD) Group (which include key representatives from. Estates, academic staff, allotment custodians and student body), the Grow and Gather Charter would be developed by a cross-university group including Events & Catering, ArtsKeele, and staff and student networks such as Disability & Accessibility and REACH, to guide the programme's principles and operation. 

The NERD Group would provide strategic oversight for planning and delivering phased expansion of an edible and ecological campus network, as a key community engagement and living laboratory component of Keele's Biodiversity Action Plan. Grow and Gather would provide a visible and participatory framework for delivering biodiversity enhancement, nature recovery, ecological monitoring and community stewardship across the campus estate. Where internal capacity is constrained, Keele’s existing partnerships could be leveraged to provide specialist ecological expertise, supporting habitat design, implementation and monitoring, and strengthening delivery and impact. 

The edible and ecological campus network could include demonstration projects such as forest gardens and edible landscapes, providing visible examples of how food production, biodiversity enhancement, climate resilience and wellbeing can be integrated through a Planetary Health approach. By combining trees, shrubs, perennial crops and pollinator-friendly planting, these approaches can create resilient, lower-maintenance systems that deliver long-term benefits for both people and nature while reducing reliance on intensive annual cultivation. 

A cross-university steering group would coordinate a seasonal programme of planting sessions, wildflower sowing, shared meals and seasonal celebrations as part of the overall Campus Life programme. Using the People-Planet-Place framework, activities would be designed to strengthen connections between people, nature and place, while creating opportunities for participation, learning, wellbeing and community building. The SDG Impact Catering & Events team would oversee protocols relating to foraged or campus-grown produce, ensuring appropriate governance and risk management. 

To maximise visibility, participation and long-term impact, Grow and Gather would be supported by a digital engagement platform and "Living Atlas" of the campus landscape. This could provide an interactive map of edible landscapes, biodiversity projects, walking routes, seasonal events, volunteering opportunities and living laboratory projects, enabling staff, students and community partners to discover, contribute to and monitor activity across the estate. By combining physical participation with digital engagement, the Living Atlas would improve accessibility and inclusion, support citizen science and ecological monitoring, and help communicate the wider Planetary Health story of how people, place and environment are interconnected. 

Research and innovation activity would be supported through a campus-scale living laboratory approach, creating opportunities for students, researchers and operational teams to collaborate on real-world challenges relating to biodiversity, food systems, climate resilience, wellbeing and sustainable land management. Together, the People-Planet-Place engagement framework and living laboratory approach would provide a visible and coordinated model for translating Planetary Health principles into practice. 

Given the central role of campus land, habitats and green infrastructure, successful implementation would depend upon close collaboration with Estates. Consideration should be given to establishing dedicated Ecologist/Horticulturist role within the Estates team to support biodiversity enhancement, sustainable land management, living laboratory research and community engagement. Targeted investment in coordination, communications, student placements and creative engagement would further maximise participation, visibility and impact. The intention would be to combine professional oversight with community participation. While volunteers, student placements and curriculum-linked activities would make significant contributions, long-term success would require professional oversight to ensure continuity, safety, accessibility and effective stewardship of the campus landscape.

What Success Would Look Like

Success would see Grow and Gather become a highly visible, well-supported programme that enables staff, students, local communities and Science & Innovation Park tenants to engage with sustainability through meaningful, practical experiences. The campus would feature an interconnected network of edible planting, biodiverse habitats and pollinator-friendly spaces, supported by a vibrant programme of seasonal activities. Participants would develop stronger connections with nature, food, place and one another while gaining practical skills in environmental stewardship. 

Keele would become recognised for using its campus as a living laboratory for Planetary Health, nature recovery and wellbeing, generating research projects, student dissertations, external partnerships and innovative approaches to managing the relationships between food, energy, water and ecosystems. The initiative would support the delivery and demonstration of both statutory and voluntary biodiversity objectives, providing a visible framework for habitat enhancement, ecological monitoring and evidence of Biodiversity Net Gain, while strengthening opportunities to attract external funding for interdisciplinary research focused on Planetary Health, nature-based solutions, food systems, climate resilience and community wellbeing. 

Success would also be demonstrated through stronger integration across the University's sustainability activities, providing a shared framework that connects biodiversity, wellbeing, food, community, education and research. Rather than being perceived as individual sustainability projects, these activities would collectively contribute to a visible institutional commitment to Planetary Health and the interdependence of people, place and environment. 

Importantly, success would reinforce one of Keele's distinctive strengths: the combination of academic expertise, operational infrastructure and an extensive campus estate. By fostering stronger collaboration between researchers, Estates, students and community partners, the programme would create a more resilient model for translating research into real-world environmental action. Success would also be reflected in strengthened ecological and horticultural capacity within Estates and a thriving culture of participation and stewardship, and wider recognition of Keele as a place where Planetary Health is not only researched and taught, but experienced through everyday interactions with people, nature and place.