Biodiversity and green spaces
The UNIL campus has almost 60 hectares of green spaces, including extensive meadows (maintained and grazed by sheep), orchards, a protected forest, etc.
For years, numerous measures for the sustainable maintenance of these spaces have been applied, including:
- Use of organic products throughout the site and mineral-organic fertilisers on the pitches in the sports area.
- Natural mowing by sheep without overcultivation of the plots and by preserving untouched areas.
- Promotion of local plant species by planting native species and conservation of biodiversity by preserving habitats for birds and other small animals.
The aim is to structure existing measures and complement them to develop a comprehensive action plan to promote and monitor biodiversity.
Creation of a biodiversity plan
In order to structure and complement existing measures, a comprehensive action plan is being developed. It aims both to promote biodiversity on campus and to ensure that it is monitored. The aim is to follow up the recommendations made in this diagnostic report, which make up the vast majority of the planned actions.
Biodiversity observatory
The UNIL Biodiversity Observatory was born out of the realisation that the natural qualities of the campus, as well as the efforts made to monitor and promote its biodiversity, were not sufficiently exploited and promoted. The creation of this observatory is therefore intended to improve the flow of information between the players involved, ensure the sustainability of existing initiatives and develop new biodiversity-related activities.
It is made up of managers of UNIL's green spaces, ecological researchers and representatives of UNIL's scientific research department. Its main tasks are:
- Harmonise existing data. Systématiser et pérenniser les relevés dèces et les &eute;tendre à d’autres groupes d’organismes (par exemple les mammifères) et habitats.
- Collaborate with campus managers (Unibat, Farmers) and the Canton (DGE) to improve measures to promote biodiversity, based on information accumulated through surveys.
- Implement scientific and cultural communication and dissemination activities related to biodiversity on campus.
La Ferme de Bassenges
Since 2020, a collective of young farmers has been looking after the farmland at UNIL and EPFL. Their approach combines market gardening, arboriculture and closed-cycle farming, which they are developing on the 5.5 hectares of land and the Bassenges farm, located in the commune of Ecublens. Produce can be bought directly from the farm, in the form of self-service or contract baskets. Occasionally, their produce is served in campus cafés.
This is the model that appealed to the jury of the 2019 call for projects. It is part of UNIL's ecological transition policy, which aims to promote an exemplary agricultural model in terms of sustainability and biodiversity on their plots.
Find all the information on the website of La Ferme de Bassenges
Contact: info@fermedebassenges.ch