Sustainability on the UT Campus

As time goes on, I continue to learn more and more about UT Austin; some discoveries are positive, and some are negative. However, all are interesting. One such discovery was my visit to the Living Wall with my landscape ecology class; we were assessing how urban areas can attempt to provide new solutions to environmental problems and help meet conservation goals. The Living Wall is the name given to the steel wall that contains a variety of freshly planted native vegetation within a honeycomb structure. The wall consists of 148 interchangeable plastic soil containers that support the numerous root systems and consequently provide habitat for a variety of fauna, including lizards, hummingbirds, and butterflies (Lentz, 2016). The wall was constructed in summer 2016 by the School of Architecture in collaboration with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to assess the role of architecture in ecology (Lentz, 2016).

In addition to the aesthetic impact, the wall provides numerous environmental benefits. These include: cooling the building, mitigating storm water, reducing noise pollution, increasing air quality through the removal of certain particulate matter, and providing habitat for native species (Texas Architecture, nd). These impacts are especially significant given the wall’s location – parallel to a busy road. The wall has been received positively, hoping that it will help provide data and understanding into campus sustainability; there is hope that the installation will encourage additional constructions of living walls in other locations on campus (Texas Architecture, nd).

The Living Wall

My visit to the Living Wall made me start to think about the other sustainable spaces on the UT campus and the additional ways the university attempts to achieve sustainability. Before I even arrived in Austin, sustainability was on my mind; I knew from researching the university that the institution upheld certain values and goals, including the provision of sustainability-focused learning and research opportunities for all UT students, the construction of green buildings, the reduction of waste, and the maintenance and restoration of native ecosystems (UT Austin, nd). UT adopted a Campus Sustainability Policy in 2008 and established a Department of Sustainability in 2009 that both aim to promote these sustainable goals across the campus (Office of Sustainability, nd). One of the initiatives I am incredibility impressed with is the university’s microfarm: the urban farm is led by passionate students who grow food and provide education on the benefits of locally grown organic produce to university students and those from the surrounding community.

On the surface, UT seems to certainly tick the sustainability box. Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that the university is regarded by The Princeton Review (2016) to be one of the 361 most environmentally friendly colleges. However, there is a part of me that does not agree with this. After studying here for almost four months, I have noticed certain unsustainable practices; the amount of waste produced from paper towels due to the absence of hand dryers in the toilets, the excessive air conditioning throughout campus buildings, the lack of recycling bins in certain locations, the abundance of plastic food packaging in campus cafes, and as an environmental vegetarian, the lack of support and education of meatless meals.

These are predominatly little things, which is what I find particularly interesting; they are arguably the easiest practices to pursue, especially in comparison to a steel construction that has taken extensive time, money, and persuasion. Therefore, I question the university’s intentions. Large and decadent sustainability projects attract attention – attention that grabs prospective students who care about the environment or prestigious environmental awards. I’m not arguing that sustainable practices are purely being implemented only for their desirable consequences, including the potential increase of prospective students and academics, but instead that these consequences are one of the reasons why sustainable practices are pursed by a university.

UT is not unique. Sustainability is currently not the number one priority for a university. I wish that perhaps in the future sustainability may gain a greater hold in the agenda but in the meantime, I hope that the data collected from the Living Wall shows the benefits and consequently, the positives of certain sustainable practices on campus (even though I fundamentally just wish UT installed hand dryers into the toilets).

References

Lentz, S.R. (2016) Campus Installs First Living Wall [Online]. Austin: The University of Texas at Austin. Available at: https://news.utexas.edu/2016/06/20/campus-installs-first-living-wall [Accessed 13 December 2016].

Office of Sustainability (nd) History [Online]. Austin: The University of Texas at Austin. Available at: http://operations.utexas.edu/sustainability/about.html [Accessed 13 December 2016].

Texas Architecture (nd) Visit the Living Wall! [Online]. Austin: The University of Texas at Austin. Available at: http://soa.utexas.edu/headlines/utsoa-announces-living-wall-project [Accessed 13 December 2016].

The Princeton Review (2016) 361 Green Colleges [Online]. Natick: The Princeton Review. Available at: https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=green-colleges [Accessed 13 December 2016].

University of Texas at Austin (nd) Initiatives [Online]. Austin: The University of Texas at Austin. Available at: https://sustainability.utexas.edu/initiatives/ [Accessed 13 December 2016].