Learning   Portfolio

    In my reading, I was particularly interested in the “Campus sustainability efforts are diverse” section about how students were working with their schools and staff to make their campus more environmentally friendly. I am very concerned about the shortage of fresh water in the world today, and I am especially troubled by the very apparent shortage going on in the American west. So I decided, for my pre-investigation, that I would look more into how students are encouraging their campuses to conserve water resources. I was surprised to see how many schools were actively taking creative steps to reduce the use of water on campus.

    One of these schools was California State University, which has implemented numerous initiatives to reduce water consumption on campus. Many of these involve restrooms, using eco-friendly toilets and urinals which can use little to no water to run properly. Also, the use of weather tracking technology allowed CSU Los Angeles to turn off all tap water systems while it rained. (Thara, 2012) The most interesting innovation to me was the use of wood chips to create mulch to use on crops. “Wood chip mulch reduces the need for weed control chemicals and frequent irrigation.” (Thara, 2012) Other universities found that removing trays from their cafeterias eliminated the need for them to be cleaned, reducing “not just waste, but energy and water consumption,” too. (Foderaro, 2009)

    This research showed me that students have an excellent opportunity to work with their universities to create greener campuses. By paying attention to the environments they live in, students and faculty can save money, energy, and water.