When we picture campus life, normally we would think of closely knit relations and experiences between our friends, the mind wrecking madness of a class and exams, late nights with friends having food and watching movies, or even gossiping about any topic from pop culture, to career prospects. In a way, the campus becomes a small view into how the world around us functions. It’s vibrant and challenging at the same time.
Although I have memories of the many experiences I had in my campus, one thing that feels familiar and domestic to me, is walking from classes back to my dorm room. I’d always pass by an avenue of tall trees where you can hear the birds chirp and the insects croak. At one point, there even used to be monkeys that inhabited the tree branches and caused mischief (too bad they were later taken away). I then walk to the newer built sections of my campus, and that natural and sonar aesthetic completely vanishes surrounded by concrete hell that gives it an uncanny liminal aesthetic.
Humans live with nature. Within my own friend group, nature is something that’s not only beautiful to the eyes, but it also adds to someone’s internal harmony. Harmony for my friends didn’t come through botanical herbs that take someone to space, but through the use of location and hobbies that centre around nature like hiking, photography, or even having a cup of coffee as the sun sets across campus. One thing I particularly remembered was how initially surprised I was after hearing many of my friends not even caring about house lizards in their dorm rooms especially since I have somewhat of a phobia of lizards. Despite the initial surprise, when I started to think about this further, I realised how interconnected humans and the environment are to each other even if we surround ourselves with technology from turning on the ACs during a hot summer day, or even scroll on our phones in class or on our beds.
I find myself also enjoying the presence of trees and nature too compared to being in the liminal space that is the newer areas of my college campus that constantly get built. Along with the trees in the old areas of the campus, there are also a lot of people who spend time together, and lots of communal outdoor spaces. Whenever there is a campus event, when it’s not being hosted indoors, it’s often expected to be hosted in the avenue with trees rather than the liminal asphalt of the newer sections of campus. That’s not to say that renovations aren’t to be disencouraged and we should allow crows, snakes, and overgrown vines to enter our rooms (unless someone really wants to), but it’s to recognise that the presence of nature and a green thumb also makes our lives marginally more enjoyable and provides a greater sense of community and even some self awareness that we share an earth rather than feel alienated from each other.
Through our ability to make our campuses greener, we can build healthier and more sociable lives. Even the most reserved myself included, enjoy a breathing campus rather than just be cramped indoors all day. Being green also means being alive on a more personal level outside of the emerging hurdles of adulthood. It means in the campuses that we call home, that we also get to make it more like a home as well for both current and future generations. Pleasantries, wildlife and recreation may be seen as an aesthetic, but it also increasingly provides a reason to move around and engage with the world outside of a computer monitor, or a textbook.