MMU Birley Campus Sustainability Trail Brochure

The University forWorld-Class Professionals

Birley Campus Sustainability TrailFind out about the sustainability design aspects and technologies at Birley Campus

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Zero Water

Reducing the University’s water consumption

Birley Campus Sustainability Trail

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Community Orchard

Locally grown fruit for everyone!

Sensory Garden

Herbs and plants to smell and touch

Wetland Area

A natural way to prevent flooding

Wildflower Area

Providing a rich habitat for wildlife

Robert Angus Smith Energy Centre

Making hot water, heat and electricity

Robert Angus SmithEnergy Centre

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About the sustainability trailThe Birley Campus Sustainability Trail is open for everyone to visit, relax and enjoy

MMU aims to be a University with a positive environmental impact. By integrating environmental sustainability into every aspect of design, Birley Campus is playing a major part in achieving MMU’s ambition of ‘Zero Carbon, Zero Waste and Zero Water’ and Maximum Biodiversity. Birley Campus features:

An Energy Centre, a Community Orchard, Sensory Garden, Wetland Area, Wildflower Area, borehole water supply and rainwater collection systems, a waste compactor to improve the efficiency of our waste management and 18 electric vehicle charging points are installed in the multi-storey car park

Zero Carbon:Using design and

technology to optimise the use of electricity and gas,and reduce carbon footprint.

Zero Waste:Maximum recycling andZero Waste to landfill.

Zero Water:Collecting, extracting and

reusing water to meet our needs.

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Zero Water SystemsWater is a precious resource, even in Manchester! At Birley Campus, a range of water supply, collection and sustainable drainage systems are used to reduce the University’s water consumption.

All of our water systems and processes help to reduce the risk of flooding to the surrounding urban area.

We reuse grey water for non-drinking uses such as flushing toilets, and boreholes provide all the tap water to campus. Rainwater which is collected from building roofs and stored in harvesting tanks underground. The rainwater is utilised to flush toilets, and excess rainwater soaks back into the ground to replenish the water table.

Most of the water needs at Birley Campus are met

from the sky and the ground.

Water isrecycled so only aminimum is usedfrom the mainswater supply.

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Community OrchardThe Birley Community Orchard is made up of 19 varieties of apple, pear, plum and cherry trees.

The area is a magnet for wildlife, provides valuable habitats and is a great place to explore and unwind.

The fruit trees were grown and maintained at Hulme Community Garden Centre before being planted at Birley Campus. The tree were selected because of their suitability to the local climate and bountiful cropping characteristics.

The orchard is the perfect place to learn about food production and tree maintenance, as well as a place to enjoy, relax and experience the changing seasons.

Orchards are wildlifehot spots – rich in biodiversity,

providing unique andvaluable habitats.

60% of England’sorchards havedisappeared

since the 1950s.

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Sensory GardenThe Sensory garden has all kinds of edible and aromatic herbs and botanical style planting.

What’s growing? Feel free to touch and smell the herbs - find out what’s growing and the role each plant plays in the garden

It’s a great area for learning and research as well as providing somewhere to explore and relax.

Much of the produce grown in the garden is used in the freshly prepared meals served at Birley kitchen, and includes a whole array of better known herbs and plants such as chives, fennel, bay, lavender, oregano, rosemary and thyme.


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Wetland AreaWetland areas are incredibly important. They are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world and provide habitats for a wide variety of wildlife and plants as well as filtering and storing water.

This wetland area is biologically diverse. It has a good mix of bog, reed bed and marginal planting to attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies and creates vital habitat and food for birds, insects and invertebrates.

The Wetland Area helps to reduce the risk of flooding. The swales are an example of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDs), which provide storage for surface water run-off, slow the rate of soak-away and prevent water from entering the drainage systems.

Dragonfly lifecycleHow the swale area works


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Robert Angus Smith Energy Centre The Energy Centre uses Combined Heat and Power (CHP), water storage and boiler systems to provide heating and hot water to the campus.

CHP meets 100% of the power needs of the Energy Centre – any excess power is supplied directly to the academic and residential buildings in the form of heating, hot water and electricity.

Who is Robert Angus Smith?

Robert Angus Smith (1817–1884) was a Scottish chemist.

He worked at the Royal Manchester Institution, researching the environmental issues of the first industrial city, Manchester. He discovered acid rain in 1852.

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Wildflower AreaThe wildflower meadow is a rich and colourful habitat full of wildflowers and native meadow grasses, all chosen specifically to attract wildlife.

Wildflower Area plants

97% of flower-richgrasslands havebeen lost in the

UK since the 1940s.

Since the 1940s, the UK has lost 97% of its flower-rich grasslands, leading to a loss of vital nesting and feeding habitats for pollinators.

A mix of 25 varieties of hay meadow and grassland plants help preserve the heritage of our UK native wild-flora habitats. Some of the more commonly known varieties include: Buttercups, Clovers, Daisies, Crested Dog’s-tail, Self Heal, Meadowsweet, Salad Burnet and Lady’s Bedstraw.”

Email: [email protected]: mmu.ac.uk/environmentTwitter: @mmuenvironment

MMU Birley Campus Sustainability Trail Brochure

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