Open living lab's digital resources now available

The Weston OpenLiving Lab (OLL) was established in 2022 with a founding gift from the Garfield Weston Foundation. The lab is located across multiple natural sites on The Open University's (OU) Milton Keynes campus, alongside the River Ouzel. The initiative focuses on studying urban ecosystems while supporting restoration projects, including a riverside woodland and a floodplain meadow and is a pioneering “living science laboratory” designed to help the public explore biodiversity and environmental conditions in urban settings.

Since its inception, the OLL team has undertaken a wide range of activities aimed at both restoring the environment and improving scientific understanding of the site. Among the key efforts are the planting of 350 trees along the riverbank to boost biodiversity and support long-term growth monitoring research. A key priority of the OLL is developing resources for our teaching and engaging our students in the project, which we have done, for example, through interactive fieldcasts involving surveys of plant species within the riparian woodland to better understand habitat diversity.

To monitor wildlife, researchers have installed 10 camera traps, capturing footage of animals day and night. Over three years, these cameras have gathered extensive video data offering new insights into urban wildlife behaviour. The lab also features a weather station and soil sensors, which collect data on environmental conditions, helping scientists track changes across the ecosystem.

The OLL contributes to broader scientific initiatives, including the national BIOSCAN project, by submitting monthly samples to support research into the genetic diversity of flying insects across the UK. In addition, acoustic loggers have been installed to record and identify bird calls, enabling further analysis of local species activity.

In a major step toward public engagement, In March 2026 the lab’s digital resources were made accessible via the award winning, OpenSTEM Labs platform. The online tools allow users to view wildlife footage, explore live camera feeds, and access environmental data such as soil temperature and weather conditions. A virtual field trip also enables visitors to explore the lab remotely.

The platform is designed to appeal to a wide audience, from casual nature enthusiasts curious about local wildlife to researchers seeking detailed environmental datasets.

Find out more information about the Weston OpenLiving Lab