Green Roofs and Urban Campus Greening: Learning About Sustainability Through Doing

Abstract

Due to its scope and spectrum, sustainable development is a theme which is both interdisciplinary in nature, and flexible in respect of its usefulness and applications. An integrative approach to sustainability, i.e., an approach that combines aspects of several schools of thought, several methods and tools, is therefore very useful not only in respect of teaching but also in research as well, yielding results that monolitical approaches could not possibly achieve. The potential of integrative approaches is threefold:

Campus sustainability in an entrepreneurial framework

“…This may be because an entrepreneurial framework can create profit and mitigate against perceived high cost, which is the most often-cited reason for failing to achieve sustainable outcomes in higher education (Dahle and Neumayer, 2001). We believe that re-thinking campus greening projects in a sustainable entrepreneurial framework should be added to the list of other proven successful strategies that foster campus sustainability and sustainability education, including top-down and bottom-up change from multiple stakeholders (Ramísio et al , 2019), holistic whole-system change (Koester et al , 2006) and experiential learning (Barkowicz and Rogers, 2014).…”

“…Another commonly identified factor for success is experiential learning, i.e. learning through sustainable actions as compared to simply acquiring factual knowledge about sustainability (Barkowicz and Rogers, 2014; Smyth et al , 2010). We think that adding an entrepreneurial component to campus sustainability projects can enhance student learning and promote long-term positive change in the sustainability of institutions.…”

Green Infrastructure Development as Education for Sustainable Development Model in Universiti Malaysia Sabah

“…On the other hand, a project conducted by RMIT University involves landscape architecture students in project-based learning to develop a green infrastructure. The students participated in the planning and development of a green roof project and investigate the impacts of this implementation through the perspectives of economic, environmental and social (Barkowicz & Rogers, 2015). This evidence highlights the opportunity of incorporating ESD in university curricula through the installation of GI.…”

“…The incorporation of GI is not limited to new development; it can be implemented through retrofitting strategies. It has been argued, however, that by introducing GI may not be sufficient to transform into a "green" campus or give a significant change of reduction in adverse impacts to the environment (Barkowicz & Rogers, 2015). Looking through a different perspective, this provides the opportunity of embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the relevant university curriculum.…”