- What resonated with you about learning in the “learning by doing” and “the campus as a sustainability design studio” sections?
Personally, I learn better through experience, which is why I agree with the nine basic premises of a constructive approach that Thomashow cites. I resonated with all 9 approaches, especially numbers 2 (‘people learn to learn as they learn” pg 161) and 5 (” learning is a social activity”). This is because in my experience I group together concepts that I’ve learned with the people and memories I’ve learned them with. I also like the idea of making sustainability an art feature. I see sustainability as an option to be contemporary and showcase a clean look. I agree with Thomashow that if colleges utilized their natural open spaces with sustainable, natural art, it could inspire and educate anyone who sets their eyes on it (pg163).
- On page 160, the author identifies a concern among sustainability teams at colleges he’s visited. He says that they may be proud of their efforts, but feel that they are “preaching to the choir”. Do you feel that’s true at UNE? How might we bridge the gap in sustainability experiences to reach those people in our community that do not share the sustainability ethos?
I feel like there’s a lot of people at UNE who are in the medical field and don’t pay a lot of attention to the environment. I think that for UNE to seriously be able to put their all into becoming more sustainable, more students need to be educated and understand the sustainable aspects of their practices/majors, as Thomashow said “until more research has been concluded we can definitely say that a college student who has been living in a green dorm for 4 years will most likely live the rest of their life sustainably” pg 160 bottom). I think we might be able to bridge the gap better, once again, by making it mandatory for students to take classes that explain how to be more sustainable in their majors. I feel that linking sustainability to topics that students are passionate about will help get them pumped up to add more environmentally friendly aspects to their campuses.
