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Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Aerial view of the Firs Botanical Grounds

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:

Teaching

The Firs provides outdoor and covered space for a range of teaching activities from across all faculties of the University. Classes can be taught using the living plant collection or in the gardens or marquee.

Teaching in the Firs greenhouse

The site regularly hosts project students from across the University, in degrees ranging from architecture to zoology. Student projects can use assigned greenhouse space, the polytunnel or outdoor areas and staff on site are able to provide safety inductions and give advice and support in the setting up and running of experiments.

In addition to scientific research, the Firs has been used as inspiration for arts student, including poetry workshops and music ensembles. An extensive archive of historical records has formed the basis for history research projects.

Each year, students from Biological Sciences and from Earth and Environmental Sciences visit the living plant collection to learn about the evolution of plants, from the most ancient mosses and liverworts, though to recently evolved and highly adapted groups, such as those in our extensive succulent collection.

If you are interested in using the Firs for your teaching, please contact firs@manchester.ac.uk.

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