As another Earth Day passes by, what have UIC students been doing to help the environment? Green Ambassadors, Year Two Accounting student, Kan Yueran, and Year Two Environmental Science student, Chuang Yuting, share what their team has been doing to educate, promote and protect the environment.
The Green Ambassadors are a group of student volunteers who work together to promote and organize environmental events on and around campus. Comprised of twenty students coming from a variety of majors, these students are the champions that want to defend the environment.
UIC Green Ambassadors gather for a group photo
The first event they held this semester was UIC planting day, which is an event for staff and students to learn how to pot their own house plants. During this event, Green Ambassadors were on hand to help participants, as well as present information on environmental conservation.
Students enjoy potting their own plants and learning about the environment
The second event the group held was a Beach Clean-up on neighbouring Qi’ao Island to celebrate Earth Day on 22 April. Over 40 students attended, collecting over 180 kilograms of waste in just over an hour.
Students gather for a group photo after the beach clean-up
The beach before students started the clean-up
The beach after the clean-up
Yueran decided to apply to be a Green Ambassador because she feels that the work done is meaningful. Protecting the earth is important to her, and she wants to spread the message. Yuting joined the team because she cares about the environment, and enjoys the passion of the students on the team.
Yueran and Yuting both think that there needs to be more education in China about recycling and the impact of waste production on the planet. They commented that they didn’t learn much about it in school, and think that many people are not very knowledgeable on the subject, which is why they are both so passionate to share their knowledge with others.
Another project the Green Ambassadors are starting is a waste segregation plan in one of the residences that houses almost 300 students. Working with the Estates and Campus Development Office (ECDO), the Student Affairs Office (SAO) and the Whole Person Education Office (WPEO), they launched a pilot project on 23 April to encourage students living in the residence to recycle their cardboard boxes and plastic bottles.
Currently, all garbage is sent to UIC’s waste segregation room, where workers spend over 12 hours a day sorting the garbage into waste, and what can be salvaged or recycled. The Green Ambassadors launched this pilot sorting project in part to educate students on sorting garbage, but also to lessen the burden of sorting for the workers. If everyone who threw out garbage sorted it when they threw it out, it would make the workers’ jobs much easier and more efficient. The pilot project will finish on 20 May, and if it is successful, the Green Ambassadors hope to expand it to all of the residences on campus.
UIC's waste collection room
The new collection box in residence for students to sort their boxes and bottles
Another issue the Green Ambassadors highlighted was wasting water, and they put up posters around campus in the bathrooms to encourage users to report any water leakages to campus services to reduce water being wasted.
Upcoming in May, the Green Ambassadors will be heading off campus to Jinfeng Middle School to teach students about white dolphin conservation. They hope to educate the young students with interesting stories, videos, and fun games, while instilling the importance of conservation at a young age.
Yuting urges that it’s not difficult for individuals to make a difference. Things like sorting your plastic bottles correctly, taking care of plants, and volunteering for environmental efforts can all help. Yuting believes that if everyone does some small things to live more environmentally friendly, then we can shape a world we can all enjoy.
Reporter: Samantha Burns
Photographer: Sun Jiaqi (Y1, CTV), additional photographs submitted by Chuang Yuting
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He
(from MPRO)
