The Functional Dynamics of Green Universities

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those which take place explicitly. These are not mutually exclusive. Implicit interactions may occur serendipitously in the course of activities instigated for a variety of other purposes, while explicit interactions are planned and structured to achieve specific institutional goals. Implicit activities may operate on the margins or be a by-product of mainstream institutional activity. Some implicit activities occur because the cascade of permissions and approvals required at an institutional level drive sustainability groups or projects to operate primarily within the sanctioned space that universities have historically tended to provide for alternative discourses. An example of an explicit Third Stream activity is provided by the Inland Living Experience (ILE) at the Albury-Wodonga campus of Charles Sturt University. Initiated and coordinated by CSU staff and working with community groups, this program is committed to building/ engaging the critical human and social capital essential to be an institutional culture of sustainability. The Albury-Wodonga campus at Thurgoona is notable for its leading-edge design and construction but these would have limited impact without the ILE Program. Since being established it has bridged the gap between a small number of passionate environmental advocates in the School of Environmental Sciences and the wider CSU community (including Admin staff) at Albury-Wodonga. It has also developed a platform for effective engagement with campus visitors and other CSU stakeholders about sustainability and fostered multidisciplinary research examining aspects of environmental education. Importantly, the ILE has embedded the study of sustainability in the Murray School of Education and enabled the campus to be used as a site for sustainability studies in primary and secondary schools, adding multi-generational depth to its reach into the surrounding communities (Kemmis, Chambers, Stephens, Wallace, & Rafferty, 2010). Currently, more than 2000 primary and secondary students pass through program annually. This also enacts the eighth provision of the Talloires Declaration: to “Establish partnerships with primary and secondary schools to help develop the capacity for interdisciplinary teaching about population, environment and sustainable development�. Further examples of sustainability focused third stream activities at other universities will be provided later in the report in the context of considering the six targeted universities.

Part Two Writing within the European context, van Weenen (2000) identified sustainable development as one of the biggest challenges which universities face in the twenty- first century and described a series of strategic institutional responses. In particular, he mapped four distinct levels of university engagement or committed response to the challenge. The primary approach, defined by van Weenen as level one, involves physical operations (facilities management) and the critical review of product and energy use. Level two as described by van Weenen, may merge with aspects of level one as an emphasis on sustainability is brought to bear on research and education, influencing and guiding campus infrastructure and university development. Level three of engagement is when university management undertakes to reformulate policy

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