SDG 15.2.2 Sustainably farmed food on campus
Yes, two cropping areas in the NCUE promote sustainable agriculture that continuously produce food. Among them, one area is the Crop Garden developed by the Department of Biology, which facilitates sustainable food production on the campus. The second initiative involves the development of a “Happy Farm” on the vacant land near the faculty and staff dormitories at the Baoshan Campus. This farm is dedicated to students taking life exploration and development courses within the General Education program. The students are primarily engaged in planting corn on a 140 sqm area. During the two semesters of 2022, about 100 students from two classes were involved in planting approximately 200 corn plants. These corn plants were initially cultivated from seedlings at the beginning of the semester and harvested once they reached maturity at the end of the semester. After the harvest, the corn plants were uprooted and composted on-site to serve as fertilizers for the next semester’s corn crop, contributing to carbon fixation. Some of the harvested corn was gave to faculty and staff members to express gratitude, while the surplus was cooked on-site and shared with the students. This allowed the students to savor the corn they had cultivated themselves and experience the joy of hard work resulting in a delicious harvest. Moreover, this practice of “from farm to table” food consumption helps reduce carbon footprints and aligns with sustainability goals. Related event photos are shown in Figures 1-5.
Figure 1. Crop Garden, Department of Biology |
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Figure 2. Leading students to plant corn crops |
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Figure 3. Students worked hard on the field |
Figure 4. Mature and tall corn plants nearing harvest |
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Figure 5. Students harvested and cooked corns on site |