“The idea of the sustainable campus in Taiwan is similar to that of the EcoCampus and Green Campus initiatives in Europe and North America: they’re all about building a campus environment that focuses on ecology and utilizes green building technology,” says Chiang Che-ming, promoter of the Ministry of Education’s Sustainable Campus program and professor of architecture at National Cheng Kung University. The concept was introduced to Taiwan in 1998, the year before the 921 Earthquake struck. The original plan followed the “eco-community” example of the European and North American experience, but as it encountered manifold obstacles, such as legal restrictions, the need to conduct cadastral surveys, and differences in the opinions of community residents, the focus was turned to primary and secondary school campuses in disaster areas in hopes of first producing model campuses, and then expanding the idea to the community. Other schools not in disaster areas have also undergone partial improvements.

The three principal facets of the initiative are carbon reduction, health, and safety: carbon reduction includes conservation of water, power and other resources; health involves the use of non-toxic, pollution-free building materials and minimizing harmful pollutants; and safety includes preparing for possible calamities in living environments triggered by global climate change. The safety principle should include the use of lightweight structures, basic public amenities, and disaster preparedness and rescue capabilities.

“The three are closely connected,” explains Chiang. If a building is retrofitted to include shade, insulation and natural ventilation, it will be healthier and will reduce carbon emissions. If the campus implements groundwater retention measures and reuses stored rainwater, it will reduce carbon and prevent flooding. And installing renewable energy systems such as solar panels can help save lives during power outages caused by earthquakes and floods.

The sustainable campus concept is diverse, with an all-encompassing scope, from composting, growing vegetables, permeable pavement, water reclamation and solar power, to the latest IT-equipped smart green buildings; after all, which are the most important?

Chiang notes that a sustainable campus is a living organism: once started, there are no limits. This is not just theory: once students and instructors experience the value of sustainability, they won’t be satisfied with taking only a step or two before giving up. Currently, among Taiwan’s 3,400-plus primary and secondary schools, over 1,700 have started on this path, many schools having done so for years. It’s unfortunate, however, that senior high schools are not very keen on cooperating because they are entirely focused on students’ academic advancement, while universities are also unenthusiastic because they feel that government subsidies for the Sustainable Campus program are low (only a few hundred thousand NT dollars a year) and it’s an administrative hassle to get them.

“However, in the decade since the Sustainable Campus program was initiated, Taiwan’s values regarding community and education have changed,” says Chiang. For instance, communities from the seacoasts to the high mountains have set up teaching workshops, and local villagers are investing effort into community environmental topics. From the proposals they’ve submitted with their funding applications, we can see that they have brilliant ideas for ecology, biodiversity, noise, air quality, and community micro-environments.

Why must the sustainable campus be “tied” to the community? Chiang explains that once an ecological cycle is formed on a campus, it will extend outward. Conversely, if the community lacks an open campus space, it would be difficult for the cycle to form.

The cycles mentioned here include the hydrological, soil, and biological resource cycles. Microorganisms play an important role in converting plant matter, water and other resources into usable energy, forming a cycle.

Take the example of the resource cycle: once a community composts its kitchen waste, the compost can be brought to school to fertilize vegetable gardens and plantings. Schools’ rainwater and graywater collection systems can also be shared with the community. In developing solar or wind power, costs and benefits are optimized if the plan covers the entire community and campus.

To establish a reciprocal relationship between communities and schools requires planned actions. In recent years many schools, when retrofitting school buildings and constructing permeable pavements, have replaced prior construction contracts with a program in which the school purchases materials and hires skilled community carpenters, builders and gardeners do their part. They may seek the help of green architecture experts, such as architect Cai Yu­ling, who goes to Zhi­tan Elementary School in New Tai­pei City on the weekends to teach community residents to use local resources, gathering rocks and wood to decorate walls, building walls with mud and rice straw, building tree houses in the woods, and so forth.

“Taiwan really has plenty of enthusiasts who will quietly work for sustainable campuses and their communities,” says Chiang proudly. There have been numerous difficulties encountered in the implementation; for example, schools have to propose teaching and curriculum plans and the Ministry of Education has a strict approval mechanism, causing extra burdens for instructors. Next, administrative procedures often put the squeeze on available work time, forcing schools to cut corners. What’s more, rotation of school presidents can also lead to projects being interrupted. Despite all these factors, there are still plenty of interested people who delight in working to build a healthy, sustainable environment.

It is heartening that the green seeds sown over a decade ago have become pioneers in establishing low-carbon communities everywhere.