Another important issue that needs to be addressed at Baruch is the lack of on-campus greenery. Aside from the few trees lining the block, there isn’t a sufficient amount of greenery in or around the Baruch campus. Not only does greenery provide a pleasant atmosphere, it also has many practical benefits.
The advantages that greenery can provide to students are aplenty. Studies such as the one done by the organization, Classroom in Nature, revealed that learning outdoors increased students’ cognitive and comprehension abilities through utilizing their senses, such as sight and hearing. The outdoor environment also created a stronger bond between students and teachers due to the more practical conversations, which changed the students’ perspectives of their teachers. Furthermore, the students were more engaged when they weren’t confined by the classroom. If we were to employ this, we would create a more productive learning environment for all students at Baruch College.
The benefits do not end at providing a more productive learning environment. In fact, a study done by mental health experts at the University of Exeter Medical School showed that greenery can significantly lower stress levels and improve mental health in the long run. For example, researchers found that as people moved to neighborhoods with more greenery, their mental health was enhanced. Think of the impact this can have on the Baruch community. By incorporating greenery into the Baruch campus, we can improve the mental health of our student body.
One way to incorporate greenery is to plant trees around the campus. This could have a major impact on students during times of high stress, like finals week. We can look to City College, another CUNY school in Manhattan, for a model of incorporating greenery.In fact, we could even bring in some people from “Million Trees NYC,” a volunteer program dedicated to planting 1 million trees in NYC, to come down to 23rd and Lexington Avenue and help create a greener campus. We acknowledge that Baruch has limited campus space, nowhere near as much as CCNY’s 35 acres, but there are always alternatives such as bringing in pots of flowers that we can consider.
Other alternatives include having a green room in Baruch and having a green roof top. Much like the New York Botanical Garden, we can have a room dedicated to greenery with various types of plants. This room doesn’t have to be very large, it just has to be a place for students to relax and experience nature. If that idea isn’t appealing, another plausible alternative would be to have a roof-top garden on the roof of either the Mason Hall building or the Vertical Campus. Adding this would not require any rearrangement, it would only require a small renovation of the roof. We can always look to CCNY as an example for this project as the school has been working on designing a new building that integrates ample green space and even includes a green-roof.
Professional organizations and groups aren’t the only places we can look to for help. Aid can come from student organizations, student clubs, or students that simply want to contribute to increasing greenery on the campus. A suggestion of a method to get students involved is to offer them community service hours in exchange for their time and effort.
Our choices aren’t limited. Even in the busy city of New York City, there are various ways to approach incorporating greenery into the campus and funding the projects. The cost of any projects to add more greenery to the campus should not prevent Baruch from taking action for what is important- improving the lives of the students. A change in scenery can benefit the mental health of students and faculty as well as help increase productivity among the student body.