U022-Shanghai University of Electric Power

The “My green heart” Roots & Shoots environmental association of Shanghai University of Electric Power was founded in March 2008 by a group of students passionate about environmental protection.

Since establishment, we have held the purpose of “Preserving the campus environment, advocating environmental ideas”. We have held various interesting activities. The most popular activity with the best turnout is “Green Campus” environmental evaluation program.

We went to every corner of the school and we were surprised to discover that there were no garbage bins in the playground. This brought about a lot inconvenience for many students. Since empty plastic bottles couldn’t be thrown in bins, they were instead deposited on the playground.

This was harmful to the environmental hygiene and the school image, and may threaten students’ health, causing them to fall down during sports. Our proposal to put bins on the playground was soon adopted, and there were garbage bins on the playground. We also learned that since there were no plants in the computer room where there were many computers, there was intense radiation.

After looking for information on the internet, we learned that cactus could absorb computer radiation. So we are preparing to propose purchasing cactus for the computer room to provide a healthier environment for students and teachers. There is another important part of the Eco-Audit, interview.

Members visited students’ dorms and teachers’ offices, and investigated whether they could save resources and energy, and whether they could put environmental ideas into practice. We suggested ways to improve to them, such as bringing water bottles to office so that we can reduce the usage of plastic and the harm it does to the environment. The investigation was supported by students and teachers, and we were greatly encouraged!

Then on World Earth Day, led by Roots and Shoots, eight members of our organization started “Green Office” Evaluation at BHP Billiton Ltd. – Broken Hill Proprietary Billiton Ltd. Shanghai Office. We were responsible for observing the office environment and interviewing the staff.

The members were very polite and professional, leaving a positive impression for the office and the media present. We were also appreciative of the cooperation by BHP Billiton Ltd. They got a very high score.

In the last semester, we held a creative cloth bag design competition, aimed at encouraging people to use cloth bags instead of plastic bags by participating in the competition.

In the next semester, we will plan more great events to make the campus more beautiful, as well as to strengthen the environmental awareness of teachers and students and improve the abilities of members.