A University groundskeeper is showcasing his wildlife photography skills and has produced a charity 2016 calendar of wild birds which were all taken on our UK campuses.

Ian Chetwynd, a groundskeeper in the Estates department, has been taking photos of wildlife around the Jubilee, University Park, Sutton Bonington and Kings Meadow campuses for the last 18 months.

After impressing one of his managers with his photography skills, the decision was taken to produce a calendar of the images to raise money for the University’s Impact Campaign.

Rare birds

The calendar, which contains 12 images, some of which are of extremely rare birds – will be available to buy in the shops on each of the University’s campuses at a cost of £5 from 2 November 2015.

Images in the calendar include a Barn Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Kestrel, a Nuthatch, a Reed Bunting, a Tree Creeper, a Peregrine Falcon, a Green Woodpecker, a Yellow Wagtail, a Sparrow Hawk, a Little Owl and a Kingfisher.

Ian said: “It’s wonderful to see my photos in print. I am really grateful to the University for allowing me the opportunity to make this idea a reality. I really hope we can raise a lot of money for the charity. I believe the University is unique in the diverse habitats and species of wildlife it has to offer. The images in this calendar only represent one quarter of one per cent that is out there.”

#beastsofUoN

If the calendar is successful, then the team in the Estates Department hopes to make the item a regular product, potentially opening up the chance to provide pictures to staff from across the University.

Andy Nolan, Director of Sustainability at the University and the man behind the idea for the calendar, said: “When Ian showed me the images he’d taken from across our campuses I was really impressed. I wasn’t even aware myself that we were home to such a diverse range of birds.

“Not only is this a great opportunity to make some money for a really important cause, but it is also a fantastic way to show off the beautiful creatures we have on our campuses. The hashtag ‘beastsofUoN’ is already trending on twitter, and we’d like to further promote that to the public, and we want to encourage other people to see the beauty on our doorstep. Ian has done a fantastic job of these images.”

The calendars can be bought at the Portland Student’s Union Shop (University Park Campus), the Student Union Shop on the Jubilee Campus, in the Atrium at Jubilee, in the catering office at the Portland Building (University Park Campus) and at the Sodexho Shop at Sutton Bonington Campus.

The Impact Campaign was launched in 2011, it is the University’s biggest ever fundraising campaign and supports a vibrant range of projects which are already changing people’s lives, shaping the future and having a global impact.