Over the years, the campus in the south of Augsburg has developed into a true natural haven. Forests, traditional orchard meadows, colourful flowering areas, wetlands, green roofs and numerous small refuges provide habitats for wild bees, butterflies, birds and bats. In this way, the campus connects the natural areas of the neighbouring Bavarian Environment Agency with the green spaces of Augsburg’s city centre.

This is made possible through grounds maintenance carried out entirely without pesticides. Meadows are mown in stages, while patches of wild vegetation, long grass and deadwood are deliberately left in place. In addition, Skudde sheep graze the grounds, bee colonies are kept on campus, nesting sites have been created for birds, and bird-friendly window markings have been installed across around 1,500 square metres of glass surfaces. Continuous monitoring carried out together with the Bavarian Environment Agency has already recorded 33 bird species with 277 breeding pairs on the campus.

“I am delighted that our campus has received yet another award recognising its biodiversity,” says Prof. Dr Axel Tuma, Vice President for Internationalisation and Sustainability at the University of Augsburg. "The long-standing activities of the Environmental Science Centre and our gardening staff in this field are being strengthened even further through our focus on the ‘Green Transformation’ and the effectiveness of our Green Office.” Overall, he says, there is strong support throughout the central administration and across the entire University.

Nature You Can Experience – Also in Teaching

The University also uses its campus for teaching and environmental education, with outdoor green learning spaces, a school garden run by biology education specialists, and the digital nature guide Nature on Campus. Students also play an active role, for example by creating the flowering areas maintained by the School Pedagogy department in front of the Central Library and the traditional orchard meadow established in 2025 in the southern part of the main campus. Project partners include the Landscape Conservation Association of the City of Augsburg, the Augsburg Environmental Education Centre, the Bavarian Environment Agency and CityFarm Augsburg. Visitors who wish to explore the campus in greater detail can take part in a guided tour of the outdoor grounds.

What Is the Blühpakt Bayern?

The Free State of Bavaria launched the Blühpakt Bayern (“Bavarian Blooming Pact”) in 2018 to counter the decline of insects and biodiversity. Together with municipalities, businesses, churches, sports clubs and citizens, it promotes practical projects to create more insect-friendly environments. Through so-called Blühpakt alliances, the initiative is extended to additional organisations and stakeholder groups. Organisations demonstrating a particularly high level of commitment may be awarded the title Blühender Betrieb (“Blooming Organisation”).

“Every flowering area and every hedge is a building block in a network of life that we want to strengthen. The ‘Blühender Betrieb’ award is our recognition of the cooperation between business, society and environmental protection in Bavaria,” says Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber.