On 3 November, all Surrenden Campus Heads and Environmental leads were invited to the re-opening of the Liz Williams Butterfly Haven Nature Reserve.
It was an opportunity to celebrate that, after a long absence, sheep were finally returning to the nature reserve and to showcase this wonderful resource that all users are able to share in the heart of our campus. Since 2008, the site has been grazed for one week during every winter with sheep owned by the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
The Mayor of Brighton & Hove Councillor Lizzie Deane, Varndean College Principal Donna-Marie Janson, as well as representatives from local wildlife organisations, were present to celebrate this momentous occasion. Dorothy Stringer High School shares the 28-hectare Surrenden Campus with six other educational institutions including Varndean College.
A list of twenty butterfly species has been recorded in the Butterfly Haven between 2006 and 2010 and this represents a dramatic increase in species richness. In 2011, the Butterfly Haven was named after the late botanist, Liz Williams, as a tribute to her work and who had by 2008 recorded 97 wildflower species and 10 species of grass.
