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Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera var. flavescens)

Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

White helleborine (Cephalanthera damasonium)

As the sun comes out and we enter the warmer months, our biodiversity sites and wildflower gardens across campus are starting to bloom, and new naturalised areas are coming to fruition.

Our Grounds team at Sussex Estates and Facilities (SEF) are out and about looking for orchid activity amongst the greenery, and we’re looking for your help in spotting elusive new orchid species growing around the University.

Once spotted, the team places an orange flag next to the identified orchid and marks the area for preservation, so we can encourage orchids and other local species to flourish, developing Sussex as a green space and supporting our local environment.

New spots have appeared in Northfield this season, amongst the accommodation blocks and on the meadow banks, showing the success of our ongoing biodiversity plan and that our campus is a growing and flourishing area for plant species to establish themselves.

The University sits within the unique Brighton and Lewes Downs biosphere, also known as “The Living Coast”, which is a designated UNESCO World Biosphere Region and enjoys a wide variety of plantlife growing upon chalk grasslands, dry chalk valleys, and floodplain meadows.

Orchid season is from April until the end of August, so if you’re walking around campus this summer and you spot any orchids without a flag next to them, please send an e-mail to the Service Centre (ideally with a photo!) with the location included, so we can flag the area as an orchid site.

More information on groundskeeping at Sussex is available on the Grounds webpages.

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