Weeds is a verdict

Nature on the campus? You bet. From minute bat turds and wasteland biodiversity to dashing damselflies. Together with Garry Bakker of Bureau Stadsnatuur (the Rotterdam Urban Ecology Unit) EM is looking for even the tiniest tracks this summer. ‘Weeds is a verdict.’

The campus pond is ‘clean’ and is full of tiny creatures. As such, it is the perfect spot for a common blue damselfly male to lead his short but intense life. His overarching purpose: to unite with a female in the shape of a heart to create the next generation of damselflies.

What may seem like a weed at first is actually the rare hart’s-tongue fern. The car-park roof appears to be the ideal habitat for this rather discerning plant.

Ever start off your day by doing laps of the office screaming? That’s the morning ritual of the peregrine family. Not only do they live at Erasmus MC, the hospital is also their base when hunting for food.

Of all the nature reserves to be found on campus, urban ecologist Garry Bakker’s favourite is an unused, dusty field of weeds. The honey clover and bumblebees in the fallow biodiversity area help keep the city cool.

Rumour has it that there are foxes on campus. The signs are there, and the location is ideal. Will we be able to spot them?

Fish, brightly coloured dragonflies, a bunch of blossoming lilies, and micro-organisms. The pond at the university library is an oasis of flora and fauna. And it is all mostly thanks to a pipe.

The signs are hard to spot during the day – an animal that fits into a matchbox could never leave large droppings. But the windows of the Tinbergen building are covered in tell-tale chocolate sprinkles: the droppings of the pipistrelle bat.