Green Infrastructure Planning on Campus

College campuses pride themselves in being leaders in promoting innovation in both technical and theoretical aspects of all fields of study, including sustainability. The drive for sustainability in higher education has become institutionalized in many college campuses in the form of offices of sustainability, as well as membership in the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). In parallel, but not always in concert, are more grass-roots efforts by students to promote sustainability through recycling programs, urban agriculture, and similar initiatives. Students are often frustrated between the classroom lessons they learn about sustainability and the slow adoption of sustainable practices in the “real-world,” including on campus. In order to address this issue, faculty have begun to engage students in the sustainability challenges facing their own campuses. The Journal of Green Building showcases these projects in the New Directions in Teaching and Research section of the journal. As part of this series, this article will highlight a course at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst in which students engage in green infrastructure planning projects for the campus.