In a hollow between the Badger Wood and the Central Building is a marsh fed by the natural waters of a spring which in the early years of the 19th century formed part of the Belfast water supply. Today the marsh is rich in wildlife as a visit in summer will show. Creeping buttercup and orchids provide a blanket of colour, superimposed by the sounds of a myriad of insects and of bird song. On the southern side of the campus there are further small woodlands where the sights and sounds of jays and sparrowhawks are not unusual. Here too is to be found the pond Iying in a depression in the ground considered to be a kettle hole - formed by melting ice at the end of the last glacial period.
Ducks occasionally nest here and herons and kingfishers have also been seen.
The water holds frogs, newts and a great variety of other aquatic life. The College grounds with their rich and varied habitats provide a valuable teaching resource for our own students. Visiting school children, university students and naturalists also use the grounds. At every season of the year the grounds have a particular beauty. They are a very precious natural heritage for us to enjoy, to explore, to study and to hand on to future generations.