SUSTAINABILITY ACTIVITIES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Introduction

Sustainability has been a hot topic for more than two decades, with its practices being incorporated into every fiber of activities within society. The plea to have a sustainable environment has been a public outcry, with multiple shreds of evidence being submitted to enhance the notion and create awareness among everyone, thus promoting a sustainable lifestyle.

Sustainability is also being knitted into schools, especially in colleges, to increase awareness and brainstorm ideas to enhance sustainability among the students and also ensure colleges are compliant in supporting the global agendas on sustainability. This article showcases various sustainability activities among students.

What is sustainability?

Notions on sustainability have been promoted for ages, but there still is a vagueness in the ideology of the term. Sustainability is the practice of meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. In most cases, sustainability is encompassed mainly in the environmental aspect due to the magnitude of the impacts of environmental change and the substantial influence in affecting future generations.

Sustainability has three pillars: environmental, social aspect, and development. All the mentioned are crucial in enhancing sustainability and ensuring future generations have an equally fair chance to enjoy the world.

Promoting sustainability in campus – The importance of sustainability in schools.

Schools are a clear depiction of the future generation, and therefore, as beneficiaries of sustainability projects, sustainability needs to be taught in schools. Through sustainability programs, students learn more about the environment and better ways to preserve it. College students also learn about economic development, the impact of economic decisions, and their effect on future generations. Students also get to forecast futuristic needs that will provide a framework to sustain future generations.

Sustainability in colleges is important because:

● Colleges are mass spheres of influence. Through them, immense changes in the society can be made. Educating students allows them to diversify their scope of knowledge and apply it within their societies. This will effect change that produces a ripple effect spread to other people, allowing growth of the culture.

● Colleges also promote growth in society through community service programs and development. The programs allow the colleges to impact their communities directly. Programs such as composting and recycling centers can be set up as development projects.

● Sustainability is important in colleges as it has become an enforced policy. Sustainability has become a widespread notion that even influences the decision of college students to want to enroll.

Sustainability activities for college students.

There are several ways through which students can be part of the big agenda and participate in sustainability programs and activities. They include:

1. Participating in Campus Sustainability Month.

The best way to delve into this topic is to fetch directly from the source, and Campus Sustainability Month would be a great place to start. There has been an increased need to educate students on matters regarding sustainability to help them enrich their lifestyles and impact their direct spheres of influence. Campus Sustainability Month provides the perfect forum to enact this agenda and allow students to participate in sustainability programs.

The Advancement of Sustainability In Higher Education facilitates Campus Sustainability Month, which starts on October 1^st. The month is mainly dedicated to the practice of sustainable practices. It also prompts students to think of sustainable activities and ideas that can be incorporated by the school and adapted into the school’s system. Through a combined effort, campus sustainability is maintained throughout the month to make sustainable activities a routine, hence improving the quality of higher learning institutions.

2. Locally sourcing of food and items.

Most colleges maintain high standards for their institutions to ensure their students obtain the best. Many institutions source their items from vendors who are not within the school’s vicinity and jurisdiction. This brings an increased disparity in the cost and causes increased emissions from transport vehicles.

Local sourcing of materials would promote sustainability in colleges. Food sourced locally is fresh and more organic, thus maintaining a healthy diet for the students while maintaining sustainability. Local sourcing would kill two birds with a stone since it would promote environmental conservation through reduced emissions and also promote the society aspect through improving the society and improving standards of living for both students and outsiders.

3. Visiting sustainability summits.

The learning process of students is endless as it proceeds even after school. The well of knowledge can be accessed in many other ways besides academics. A clear example is through summits. Sustainability summits allow students to learn about sustainability and ways of promoting sustainability in their colleges.

Sustainability summits allow students to interact with other like-minded individuals and give them more exposure to work with initiatives such as social justice, food security, and waste reduction.

4. Hosting sustainability fairs.

Colleges teach students to take initiative and be more involved in various activities outside their academics. In schools, students develop several passions and skills and form groups and clubs to further their skills.

Sustainability fairs allow students to interact with other students and increase sustainability awareness. Fairs held on October 25th, the National Campus Sustainability Day, can allow students to mark a close to sustainability month as they discuss their accomplishments and strategies.

Sustainability project ideas for college students.

Projects have a personal touch and entice students as they involve active participation in promoting change. The following are examples of project ideas for students.

1. Creating a campus garden.

Most students may consider themselves not to have an agricultural bone within them, but until you try it, do not dismiss the idea. Students have a wholesome art of fostering projects to fruition. Academic writing projects have a lot of time cultivated into them for impeccable results. Students may also employ writers such as ThePensters creative writers to ensure top-notch results.

Likewise, students can also cultivate their efforts into a campus garden. Campus gardens allow the institutions to reduce their purchase, thus reducing emissions from transport and also ensuring organic food. This will improve the quality of student’s lives and promote health.

2. Installing recycling bins.

Recycling bins have been one of the vouched methods to ensure the improvement of sustainability. However, some students tend to use the bins as regular trash bins and dispose of all sorts of waste in the bins. The bins should be used categorically for recyclable waste, such as plastic containers and bottles.

As a project, students may install recycling bins all over campus. It is also vital for the students to educate their peers on the need to adhere to the recycling rules and ensure proper disposal of their waste. Students can also involve local recyclers to help them in the process. The bins should also be placed in heavy traffic areas to allow easy recognition. This will help reduce waste in the school while maintaining beauty and enhancing sustainability.

3. Bike rental programs.

Most students remember the day they got their first car as an iconic and incomparable moment. It was a dream come true since most looked forward to that day. Telling students to forfeit their guarded jewels for the cause of the environment may require a lot of convincing.

Through positive influencing, students may take up the project of bike renting programs. Bike riding to school allows for sustainable transport means that aid in reducing carbon emissions from vehicles and also keeping the students fit by maintaining their health. By including bike hiring rates, students can fund sustainable activities such as hosting sustainability fairs.

4. Reducing disposable items.

There are about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste produced globally. Some of the top contributors to the waste are plastic containers, bottles, packaging papers, bottle caps, and straws. All the above are also produced in colleges. Reducing disposable items can be done by educating students on the impact of plastic waste on the environment.

Campus sustainability initiatives can help to reduce this waste through projects that help in the elimination of the waste, such as selling reusable water bottles, Tupperware, and metallic reusable straws. The campus community can also advocate for banning the sale of bottled water.

5. Installation of water refill points.

The absence of clean water refilling points is a key instigator in encouraging students to buy bottled water. This leads to a ripple effect of an increase in solid plastic waste within colleges, thus reducing campus sustainability.

Having water refilling points would greatly influence sustainability and would also solidify the ban on the sale of bottled water. Through a hassle-free water purification system, students would be prompted to switch to reusable plastic bottles.

Conclusion.

Sustainability is very important among college students. This is because it allows a morph of the future generation into a better and more impactful society that protects environmental and societal needs. Through the listed activities and projects, students can also chip into the life-changing program and have a role in instigating global changes through their efforts and charisma.

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Created on Oct 29th 2023 01:49. Viewed 119 times.

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