A student-participation approach to attaining sustainability on campus

Background To support the global movement for a sustainable and green environment, everyone should contribute. Higher educational institutes and their users, who are mostly students, are no exception. A strong student-participation approach should be taken to enhance the environment and to contribute to sustainability on campus. As students are the key users of facilities on campus, their knowledge, skills and habits are key to the successful attainment of sustainable campuses. Another success factor is the selection and installation of environmentally friendly facilities, and maintenance, repairs and daily routines all targeted to saving energy, water and other resources. In addition, using renewable resources such as solar energy for hot water, and growing vegetables and environmentally friendly plants will further contribute to attaining sustainability on campus. These provisions and activities can be made available to students who can then grow vegetables on campus for food, and grow environmentally friendly plants to enhance air quality and control the presence of mosquitoes and other unwanted insects. A strong student-participation approach to attaining sustainability on campus will fully address the three dimensions of sustainability: economy, environment and society (see http://www.arch.hku.hk/research/BEER/sustain.htm). This paper discusses the various means and measures to foster a strong student-participation approach to sustainability on campus, such as introducing creditearning general educational modules for students to learn about energy-saving technologies and facilities; conducting exercises to enhance skills and awareness of optimal energy and resources saving; and growing vegetables or farming on campus for food. Methods The course content of selected universities relating to the student-participation approach to attaining campus sustainability is reviewed, and a new study module is proposed to enhance student participation in school management in respect of sustainability policies and projects. The aim is to foster and maintain a green culture on campus with high profile campaigns, events and activities by and for students.