The Firs environmental research station

Situated in the heart of the University’s Fallowfield campus is a green oasis for research, teaching and community engagement.

Discover more about each of our areas of activity:

General

Research

Community

Sustainability

Wellbeing

Teaching

Wellbeing

We offer a range of wellbeing activities for our students, staff and the local community.

• Students can get involved in various volunteering opportunities at the Firs, all of which can be found through the Volunteer Hub. Our Green Wellbeing Project is offered as part of the student counselling social prescribing options, allowing students a place to connect with others in nature, promoting social support and wellbeing.
• Staff can organise away days at the Firs, in which they can work on team-building exercises or enjoy the benefits of green spaces through a tour of the site.
• Communities groups can contact us to arrange visits and wellbeing events.

Case study

Staff team building day

In the Summer of 2022, a group of staff from the Faculty of Science and Engineering Marketing and Communications team, came to the Firs for a team building event. Over the course of the day the team put in the founding work to prepare our woodland garden, which we have since planted with native woodland species. They also cleared the flower bed around our Queen Elizabeth Tree (Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the Dawn Redwood, planted in 1952), which has been made into a Chinese garden, in keeping with the tree’s origins.

Explore the various biomes at the Firs, plus tour the exterior and grounds of the site. 

Find us

Get in touch with the Firs team, or come and find us in person:

Address

The Firs Environmental Research Station
The University of Manchester
Fallowfield Campus
Whitworth Lane
Manchester
M14 6HE

• E: firs@manchester.ac.uk
• T: +44 (0)161 257 2772
• University's interactive map