A wide range of student initiatives and groups in Germany pursue similar goals to the Green Office Konstanz: making a lasting impact on universities in the area of sustainability.
The netzwerk n is a non-profit organization that, as an official project of the UNESCO Global Action Programme “Education for sustainable development“, presents ways in which students, doctoral researchers and young professionals can participate in the sustainable development of the university landscape. The network is both a platform for people to connect and a means of actively influencing science policy. The Green Office supports this shared vision and participates in a number of netzwerk n projects.
We are certainly not the only group of students at the University of Konstanz who work on promoting sustainability, environmental protection and similar topics: We are joined by a wide spectrum of university groups and initiatives active in this area.
“The “Campusgemüse” team gardens on the university campus. We care for a large garden between the G and H buildings, initiate guerilla gardening activities and take care of the herbs growing in the pots in front of the E building.
We are an AStA working group that works very closely with the AStA representative responsible for sustainability. We are always open to having new dedicated and reliable people with a green thumb join the team!
If you are interested, just drop by our next meeting. We come together Mondays and Wednesdays at 18:30 in the space between the G and H buildings. We look forward to meeting you”!
“Our green university group currently includes around ten active people who contribute to the work of the student representation and other university bodies. We consider ourselves to be the political representation for all the groups and individuals working to promote sustainability at the university.
o We strive to make our university a place committed to sustainability.
o We promote equal opportunity at all levels of the university.
o We make the work done by student representatives more transparent.
o We work to assure and expand upon the broad range of diverse cultural events in Konstanz.
Drop by and join in! Visit our Facebook page for details on our upcoming meetings”.
“Psychology and the environment - how do those two items fit together?
Two topics one would usually not automatically connect with each other create a relatively new topic when we combine them. Never heard of it before?
But you have probably have already thought about how you could outwit yourself and finally get around to taking your bike instead of the car! Or how you could convince your roommates to turn off the lights and save energy? And how many times have you thought that you really ought to pay more attention to sustainability when you go shopping? But how do you even get started?
Those are the questions that psychology and the environment strives to answer in an effort to start saving the world, one small step at a time: It has to do with how we as humans think, feel and act!
Are you interested in protecting our environment and thinking about how specific behavioural patterns can be changed? The Umweltpsychologie university group uses the methods employed in the field of psychology to preserve our environment and promote the development of a more sustainable society. You can even conduct smaller research projects at the university to answer questions such as: Which calls to action to help conserve resources (coffee-to-go cups, paper, handtowels, etc.) are the most effective ones?
If you are interested in combining environmental preservation, making new friends and using concepts from psychology, feel free to drop by one of our meetings. Anyone is welcome, even if you don’t have a background in psychology! Visit our Facebook page for details on our upcoming meetings”.
“We are the student union’s (AStA) Department for Sustainability, Social Issues & Equality. We support various student projects related to sustainability in addition to promoting increased use of the food sharing shelves in the foyer, hosting regular clothing swap events in the foyer, organizing guest lectures and block seminars as well as binding notebooks made of waste paper.
If you would like to find out more, send us your ideas and suggestions or become part of the team, you are welcome to drop by one of our clothing swaps or write us an email”!
“A vegan lifestyle is a sustainable lifestyle.
Are you vegan or curious about the vegan lifestyle? Are you looking for people with similar interests?
Then our group is just right for you! We are a group of vegans who welcome your curiosity! We organize all kinds of events like information stands and bake sales to fundraise for animal welfare organizations. Our goal is to promote animal welfare and encourage the university canteen to offer even more vegan options.
If you would like to advocate for a vegan lifestyle, why not come to one of our meetings, write us an email or talk to us at one of our next events. Visit our Facebook page for details on our upcoming meetings in Café Sol”. We look forward to meeting you”!
“Viva con Agua is an organization from Hamburg that focuses on clean drinking water and sanitation. It collects donations for the Welthungerhilfe, a non-profit organization that conducts water projects in developing countries. Most of the funding comes from fundraising walk-a-thons at schools or from collecting the deposits on cups used at concerts and festivals.
If you are interested in doing something worthwhile and having a lot of fun in the process then our group is exactly right for you! Visit our Facebook page for details on upcoming meetings”!