SDG 15 : Life on Land

Wildlife living alongside people on a university campus can easily go unnoticed. Through the UL Student Sustainability Challenge 2024/25, Physical Education with Geography student James Organ used wildlife photography and filmmaking to document some of the species living on University of Limerick's campus. 

James's documentary captures native wildlife including otters, kingfishers and house martins. It also draws attention to pressures on campus habitats from invasive species, including giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam. 

The documentary created a visual record of campus wildlife, combining James’s photography and filmmaking with his study of geography.

The biodiversity of a university campus can be easy to overlook during everyday life. Through the UL Student Sustainability Challenge 2024/25, Immersive Software Engineering student Karl Gilmartin and Physical Education with Geography student James Organ combined their different skills to develop BioTrail, an app designed to help people discover and engage with biodiversity across University of Limerick's campus. 

The students brought together digital technology and knowledge of the natural environment to create a new way of exploring campus wildlife and natural features. BioTrail is designed for students, staff and visitors, making information about the biodiversity around them more accessible as they move through the campus. 

The project demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary student collaboration. By combining software engineering with geography and an interest in the natural environment, Karl and James developed a digital tool that uses technology to draw attention to nature rather than away from it.

University of Limerick's (UL) Arboretum contains more than 4,500 trees across approximately 32.5 hectares, including a diverse collection of native and non-native species. Trees cover approximately 22% of the campus, making UL one of the most wooded higher education campuses in Ireland. 

In 2025, tree planting continued as part of UL's long-term approach to developing and managing the internationally accredited Arboretum. The University's approach goes beyond increasing the number of trees, combining targeted planting with protection of mature specimens, habitat connectivity and landscape design intended to build resilience to a changing climate.

Restoring land damaged by industrial activity, infrastructure development or other disturbance involves more than improving the soil. University of Limerick (UL) research in 2025 examined how the plants chosen for restoration can influence whether recovering ecosystems go on to develop healthy soils and become more self-sustaining.

Restoration often begins by improving soil structure and nutrient availability so that plants can become established. The UL research found that, once these initial barriers were addressed, plant characteristics became increasingly important. 

Different plant species vary in their root systems, growth rates, nutrient uptake and relationships with soil microorganisms. The research found that legumes such as clover produced greater biomass, accumulated higher concentrations of nutrients and supported larger and more active microbial communities than grass species. Plant species also had a stronger influence on microbial communities than differences in soil amendment rates. 

The findings point to a transition during restoration. Soil conditions dominate the early stages, but as those constraints are reduced, interactions between plants and soil microorganisms become increasingly important in rebuilding nutrient cycling, organic matter and wider ecosystem function.

Giant hogweed is an invasive plant that can threaten native biodiversity, damage riverbank environments and restrict recreational access, as well as posing a risk to human health. In summer 2025, University of Limerick (UL) employee Elizabeth Gabbett worked with the Maigue Rivers Trust, Limerick City and County Council and other partners to support its continued removal along the Morningstar River in Co. Limerick. 

Gabbett, who volunteers with the Maigue Rivers Trust, initiated the Trust's work to remove giant hogweed along the river in 2021. In 2025, she continued to lead community engagement around the programme, helping to mobilise local involvement in controlling the invasive plant. 

The work brings together local landowners, local government, environmental organisations and state biodiversity bodies as part of an ongoing effort to control giant hogweed and limit its spread along the river corridor.