Peter WalshThe Prince of Wales will be heading to Norwich next week as part of a visit to the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he will meet staff and students at a special royal reception.Peter Walsh

The Prince of Wales will be heading to Norwich next week as part of a visit to the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he will meet staff and students at a special royal reception.

Prince Charles, patron of the UEA's School of Environmental Sciences, will be updated on the work of the school when he visits the Colney-based campus on Tuesday.

The UEA pioneered the study of Environmental Sciences in the UK, bringing together scientists and social scientists from a wide range of subject areas to work together in one interdisciplinary School, founded in 1968.

A spokeswoman for the UEA, said: 'We are delighted to have the opportunity to update him in person about the world-class research being undertaken in the School.'

The university has a longstanding reputation for its world-class environmental research and is one of the longest established, largest and most fully developed Schools of Environmental Sciences in Europe.

The school integrates physical, chemical, biological, social and geotechnical sciences into the study of natural and human environments.

Prince Charles is no stranger to Norfolk or the university and in May last year spoke via live video link during a special business summit being held at the UEA.

He told Norfolk businesses that they had 98 months to save the planet and that they could save money at the same time at the May Day Network event organised by Business in the Community.

He said: 'We have 98 months to take the necessary action. The doomsday clock ticks relentlessly onwards I believe if all of us take action we can perhaps arrest the worst effects.'

The university is located in 320 acres of parkland two miles from the centre of Norwich and is adjacent to the Norwich Research Park which is home to over 1,000 scientists working in several world ranked institutions.