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Introduction

Development, execution and progress of the "Taiwan Sustainable Campus Program"

H.J. Su 1 , C.M. Chiang 2 , Y.Y. Li 3 , K.C. Wan 4 , C.C. Chen 4 , S.L. Fan 4

  • 1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Medical College, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
  • 2. Department of Architecture, Planning and Design College, NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
  • 3. Department of Interior Design, Design College, ShuTe University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan,ROC
  • 4. Ministry of Education, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, ROC

arrowABSTRACT

The ultimate goal of "Taiwan Sustainable Campus Program" have striven to redefine the relationship among people and the environment by facilitating inter-exchange and collaborations among the school's users, the community's residents, the professional architects, and the planning designers through such a government-supported, nationwide endeavor. Opportunities were created to encourage self-examination and self-reflection by all members involved to characterize the exact role and function of each campus as it is expected to be a learning space of safe, healthy, and sustainable qualities for the decades to come.

There were 2 major components in this project when executed in each campus. For the reform of "software system" in each school to compliment the physical reconstruction, we have promoted a bottom-up networking program to lay a necessary foundation for supporting a "sustainable campus" in the future, The green school partnership project. On the other hand, the "Taiwan Sustainable Campus Program", a "hardware" reform, has called for proposals, from each school, to renovate the campus from the following aspects, such as energy-saving appliance, water recycling and reuse system, permeable ground surface, artificial wetland, multi-layer green for CO 2 reduction and biodiversity, compost from foliages and kitchen waste, educational organic farm or eco-pond, among others.

An Advisory Committee, comprising experts of multi-disciplines, was established by the Ministry to craft the general guidelines, provided the necessary support of knowledge and technology, and also to execute essential supervision and evaluation during the exercise of such a nationwide undertaking.

In the year 2002, 23 schools were funded out of 76 proposals, and the number of competing proposals increased to 564 in 2004, almost 16.8 % of all elementary and secondary schools in Taiwan.

Some countable and visible changes are already achieved over the past few years. For instances, the percentage of green-covering area increased from an average of 23.4 % to 35.8 % for those participating campuses. The permeable ground surface was 12.8 % , and 22.6 % of the schools funded have successfully integrated compost from foliages and kitchen waste into the use of their organic farm, obviously a most effective way of conducting field study. In addition, 33.2 % of the funded projects have demonstrated their opportunities in utilizing "renewable energy" for actual use and teaching purposes, and 10.6 % schools have incorporated the use of drained and recycled water in their daily functions. More than 80% of the funded projects have successfully creating a more versatile teaching environment through the Program, and the meaningful process and outputs have been shared among the schools and the neighboring communities; the exact essence and spirit for "sustainable development".