Growing Green Minds: How Students Imagine the Sustainable Campus of the Future

Wood Warbler

08-10-2025

– Due to thinking too much, the Great Master has become mentally ill and lost the ability to speak bird language. Thus, we need to vote for a replacement for the fifth session.
In the end, all students agreed that the fifth session would be for checking Kingfisher’s state of mental health.

In “The Great Master”; Wild Wise Weird [1]

© Wix

As universities worldwide face growing pressure to address climate change and social inequality, the concept of the “sustainable campus” has gained prominence as both a practical and symbolic solution [2,3]. A sustainable campus goes beyond recycling bins and solar panels—it embodies an institutional culture that integrates environmental responsibility, social justice, and human well-being into everyday academic life. Universities, as centers of knowledge and innovation, hold a pivotal role in shaping future generations who can think systemically and act responsibly toward people and the planet. Yet, what “sustainability” truly means to students—the very actors expected to inherit this mission—remains an underexplored question in higher education research.

A recent study by Esra Kızıloğlu and Emine Nihan Cici Karaboğa [4] explores how university students perceive the concept of a sustainable campus, offering fresh insights into how young people envision environmentally and socially responsible universities. Conducted at two public universities in Konya, Turkey, the research used metaphor analysis and semi-structured interviews to uncover both conceptual and emotional dimensions of students’ understanding.

The authors found that while most students associated sustainability with environmental ideas such as nature, growth, and ecosystems, many also linked it with human-centered metaphors like peace, hope, life, breath, and meditation. Among the four dimensions of sustainability—environmental, economic, social, and cultural—social sustainability emerged as the most dominant, highlighting that students view sustainability as a shared human endeavor rather than merely a technical or ecological challenge.

However, many students—particularly those in engineering and technical disciplines—had difficulty conceptualizing sustainability beyond concrete practices such as energy efficiency or waste management. Awareness of economic and cultural dimensions was generally low, indicating that sustainability education remains compartmentalized across disciplines.

Universities must move beyond green infrastructure toward cultivating a culture of sustainability that includes social equity, ethical awareness, and cultural heritage. In doing so, campuses can become “living laboratories” for learning to coexist harmoniously with nature and each other—a vision with the high Nature Quotient (NQ) [5-7]. NQ refers to the capacity to perceive, process, and act upon ecological interconnections, guiding individuals toward wiser and more compassionate choices. When nurtured through university environments, NQ not only enhances sustainability awareness but also fosters inner and social peace, as students begin to recognize the parallels between ecological balance and human well-being [8].

For universities to integrate sustainability into every aspect of education and campus life, it is necessary to create spaces where learning, living, and caring for the planet merge. In such environments, cultivating a high Nature Quotient becomes a pathway to peace—both within and beyond the university gates [9].

References

[1] Vuong QH. (2024). Wild Wise Weird. https://books.google.com/books?id=N10jEQAAQBAJ

[2] Adenle YA, Abdul-Rahman M, Soyinka OA. (2022). Exploring the usage of social media in extant campus sustainability assessment frameworks for sustainable campus development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(1), 135-158.

[3] Posner SM, Stuart R. (2013). Understanding and advancing campus sustainability using a systems framework. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14(3),  264-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-08-2011-0055

[4] Kızıloğlu E, Karaboğa ENC. (2025). Making sense of the sustainable campus through student generated metaphors. Discover Sustainability, 6, 1033. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01594-y

[5] Gomez T, Derr V. (2016). Landscapes as living laboratories for sustainable campus planning and stewardship: A scoping review of approaches and practices. Landscape and Urban Planning, 216, 104259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104259

[6] Yusoff S, et al. (2021). Sustainability initiative for a Malaysian university campus: living laboratories and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23, 14046-14067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01250-1

[7] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH. (2025). On Nature Quotient. Pacific Conservation Biology, 31, PC25028. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC25028

[8] Nguyen MH, Ho MT, La VP. (2025). On “An” (安): Inner peace through uncertainty, nature quotient, and harmony with Dao. http://books.google.com/books/about?id=NIKMEQAAQBAJ

[9] Nguyen MH. (2024). How can satirical fables offer us a vision for sustainability? Visions for Sustainability, 23(11267), 323-328. https://doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/11267