The Estates Department has been collaborating with Kent Union to create a new outdoor space called Giles Courtyard.  This area, located next to the Wellbeing Services at Keynes College, is designed to support wellbeing and encourage people to take a break away from studying and working.

The creation of Giles Courtyard involved consultation with key stakeholders including Kent Union, Student Wellbeing and Counselling Service, Keynes Master’s Office and the Sustainability Team, to ensure that the plans would support biodiversity as well as people.  To meet this requirement, Landscape & Grounds Management reviewed the existing large Japonicas, keeping the larger trees to retain height and valuable nesting, foraging and perching opportunities for birds.  This has led to increased light exposure to the garden, allowing a greater diversity of plant species to grow and invertebrates to thrive in this space.  Staff and students will now have the opportunity to grow their own herbs and produce in the new raised beds and can contact sustainability@kent.ac.uk for more details about how to do this.

The space for quiet conversations has been encouraged by installing screened off seating areas, surrounded by fragrant plants.  This provides a secluded room-like feel to the garden as well as encouraging a wide range of plant species.

This is one of a number of projects Estates is assisting Kent Union with to improve outdoor spaces with emphasis on wellbeing, and has been driven by the feedback gathered by Kent Union relating to improvements students would like to see. To find out more about these projects, or other work the Landscape & Grounds Management team are working on, follow them on Twitter @UniKentGrounds