Green Campus
A green university is the extension and development in the campus environment based on the SDGs of the United Nations, including the green ecological university thoughts of “Ecology, Energy Conservation and Waste Reduction, Co-Development”. Universities should focus on introspection of the environment, ecology, and community and social responsibility, and use their best efforts to pursue sustainable development with the environment and community. The former president of CYCU, Samuel K. C. Chang, adopted the campus development policy during his term of office. Under the policy, CYCU’s campus was developed oriented toward the four principles of sustainability, ecology, energy-conservation, and health, as the reference for the campus planning and development plan and continuation of CYCU campus characteristics.
Green Campus Development Policy
In 2014, CYCU aimed to construct a “green, healthy, active, and friendly” sustainable campus to create a campus space scenario with the characteristics of the whole person and, therefore, set forth the “CYCU 60 Campus Reconstruction Project”. CYCU still orients its environmental construction toward sustainable development and moves forward toward a world-class quality “green university”. Under this “forward” thinking, CYCU constructed an “environmentally sustainable campus” to practice the educational philosophy of “respect toward mother nature”.
Environmental Sustainability and Green University Outlook
CYCU campus is full of rich water and green ecological resources with a high greening degree. Lead by the sustainable development trend, in consideration of the “ecology”, CYCU combines the local ecology to create a natural environment that is integrated with the land and constructs a “green campus”, to reflect CYCU’s educational philosophy for “respect toward mother nature”.
Pass through the campus landscape and space with “natural network”.
Rich Plant Eco-system
CYCU is located in the outskirts of Zhongli District, owning high ecological resources and dense water canal systems. Its southern pond was constructed as the “Chung Yuan Ecological Park Plan”, and the campus green coverage rate attains 36%. The campus is full of multi-level plant eco-systems including lone pine, mountain cherry, eucalyptus, swamp pine, silver birch, casuarina, camphor, banyan, sweetgum, large-scale trees, shrubs and grasslands, which constitute a diversified ecological environment. Meanwhile, there are more than 1,600 trees covering more than 80 kinds, including 40 native species. These are CYCU’s largest assets, which also attracts birds, mammals, and insects to inhabit. The animal resources, including insects and birds, inhabiting the campus are increasing day by day. For the time being, the birds inhabiting the campus include sparrows, Chinese Bulbuls, magpies, gray treepies, Japanese white-eyes, long-tailed shrikes, red-backed shrikes, brown shrikes, red turtle doves, and spotted doves.
Campus Green Ground Layout Map
CYCU owns a rich plant eco-system. By practicing campus biodiversity environment, CYCU increases its ecological conservation function and builds the biodiversity over the entire campus to promote the mutual benefits and symbiosis in a biological environment and form an urban ecological network. The campus is built as a green ecological island, it can help mitigate the urban heat island effects and is also an important infrastructural chain for connection and establishment of future environmental green space system. Meanwhile, CYCU also analyzes the current status of plants on campus, proposes to enrich the kinds of landscape plants and maintenance methods thereof, adjusts and plants campus landscape plants every year, and establishes a long-term maintenance system.
Diversified Campus Green Ground
Construction of the campus eco-system should start from the creation of the plant diversity environment. First, it is necessary to maintain the natural and activated surface and soil to build a large-size and continuous natural green space. CYCU campus grass accounts for 8% of the total area occupied by the campus, with the tree coverage accounting for 26% of the total area occupied by the campus. There are more than 80 species, and the area where shrubs (ferns) are planted accounts for 2.6% of the total area occupied by the campus, thus forming a diversified campus green space.
The campus green space is the largest urban green space after parks. Given the development through the past years, there are fewer and fewer green spaces on the campus. Therefore, how to balance the development and ecology has become a very important issue for CYCU’s campus development. The campus base primarily consists of natural soil layers and artificial soil layers cultivating the rain retention capacity. Meanwhile, various trees and shrubs are planted at the base to increase the water retention effect. The base drainage is equipped with underground infiltration wells to increase the groundwater conservation to reduce the runoff volume and mitigate urban flooding during the urban rainfall period. To enhance the water permeability of the campus base and allow water to penetrate into the underground soil, the new sidewalks and square floors adopt permeable pavement (e.g. porous interlocking bricks, grass-planting bricks, cement slabs, masonry and permeable asphalt) to enhance the water retention effect, facilitate the natural water circulation, and lower the temperature on campus. To construct the lawn environment creation, CYCU increases multi-species native grasslands to increase the green coverage rate and establish porous and changeable natural habitats.
Table7-1. Areas Occupied by Green Spaces on CYCU Campus
Water-green Interactive Integrated Spaces
CYCU is identified as an urban campus. In response to the characteristics of urban space and compression by space and time, the campus landscape and space are arranged as overlapping but with multiple functions. The campus has a high amount of ecological green and dense ponds and canals, and thus has the potential to create a blue-green belt integrating with the campus ecological axis space. CYCU proposes the idea of “blue and green co-construction work of university town” to improve the comfortable environment of the axis campus and set a model of urban campuses engaging in environmental education.
Concept Map of Water and Green Co-construction
Water and Green Belt System Distribution Map
“Vale of Springs” is situated in the lowest location of CYCU. It has been troubled by flooding problems for a long time. Therefore, it suffers from problems such as humidity, old facilities, and poor planting status, and few students like to use it. Based on a remodeling strategy, first it is necessary to discuss the water drainage. Then, it can be used as a base to retain water and combine with a pumping motor as a flood detention pond during heavy rain. The topographical relationship is arranged to solve the water problems in steps. The old retaining wall structure is reinforced through the addition of a new wall structure. Meanwhile, by means of the continuous changeable shape of weather-resistant steel plates, the new wall structure is equipped with a circulating water system in the space of the new wall to allow the gushing water to flow following the height, with different textures, just like the side of a in mother nature, to create an interactive space between water and green.
“Vale of Springs” won the 1st place in the LILA international landscape awards, campus category. LILA awards were established primarily to discover and commend creative, challenging, and experimental design solutions. CYCU’s “Vale of Springs” is the first campus team throughout Taiwan to win “first place” in the awards. CYCU’s efforts have brought new life to the environment and plants, and made the world see Taiwan’s design creativity and implementation ability. It has also become a commemorative landmark activated at CYCU’s 65th anniversary and enables the sustainable development of the campus to root in the blood of all CYCU folk.