World Environmental Day 2021, 5th June

June 5, 2021

The United Nations has appointed June 5 of every year to be the World Environment Day in order to inspire and call for global positive changes in the environment. It aims to become a platform for all countries to think about how to conserve their ecosystems and take action to (re)build a greener future.

World Environment Day 2021 theme: Reimagine. Recreate. Restore. focuses on reversing the degradation of our ecosystems.

Assumption University of Thailand (AU) is an international university in Thailand with faculty members and students from more than 80 countries. With 50-year history, AU offers multi-disciplinary educational trainings in Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral’s degree, and at the same time, gives particular attentions to importance of environmental sustainability in all community levels. Among them are:

The Department of General Education, Theodore Maria School of Arts, regularly provides courses that cover inter-relationships between human, culture and nature. Consequently, AU students fully realize the interconnectedness between nature and themselves and can adapt the knowledge in their future, becoming seeds for environmental sustainability.
AU always supports and provides funds for environmental conservation projects, such as reforestation and etc.
AU established greened landscapes with central lakes in both Huamak and Suvarnabhumi Campuses as settings for graduates’ mind reflections and life-long learning. Especially in the Suvarnabhumi Campus, Rev. Bro. Dr. Prathip Martin Komolmas, President Emeritus, has invented the concept of “University in a Park”, preserved by Rev. Bro. Dr. Achin Tengtrakul, Vice President for Administration Affairs and Acting Vice President for Student Affairs who is responsible for the maintenances in order to ensure that the greened spaces are ready and well-equipped for everyone.
AU has appointed the AU Environmental Sustainability Management Committee to manage, implement and measure all environmental policies and related activities, participated by AU management board committee and all other AU members, in order to guarantee the environmental sustainability for all futures to come.

Hua Mak Campus

Suvarnabhumi Campus

The message of Mr. Kawis Surapraphan as the Chairman of the Environmental Sustainability Management Committee

World Environmental Day 2021

Assumption University celebrates on the World Environment Day on June 5 every year to remind significance of nature and how we as humans are parts of its planetary systems.

Assumption University has been devoting to recall an interconnectedness between nature and education with a belief that nature can inspire and enhance graduates’ learning processes, eventually shaping them to become reliable global citizens.

As a result, Assumption University established the Suvarnabhumi Campus as a “University in a park” with 200 acres of greened landscapes which offer peaceful spaces for our students to reflect on their minds.

On the occasion of the World Environment Day, Assumption University together with AU environmental committee sustain this concept and brings it to the next level by implementing the following procedures:

Educate all faculty and staff members on benefits of environmental sustainability
Create a set of knowledge assets and procedures on resources saving. This includes electric and water saving as well as reuse and recycle of wastes
Move away from paper-based society to electronic one in order to reduce paper wastes which is one of the main problems of environmental pollutions.
Encourage and implement “go-green” policies to ensure the effectiveness of AU environmental sustainability

Assumption University commits oneself to fulfill the 2021 World Environment Day, “Ecosystem Restoration.” Save Energy, be with nature for the world and us.

Environmental Conservation Movement at AU

Dr. Jaruwan Puangmalee, Chairperson of General Education Department, Theodore Maria School of Arts, who is responsible for Environmental Science course. According to the learning objectives of the department, this course was designed not only to provide knowledge for students but also to encourage the students in having the environmental conservation awareness.

Students of the Environmental Science subject at AU have the advantages of dealing with the study of the interaction between human systems and natural systems.

World Environmental Day 2021

To increase an understanding of the interrelationship between human beings, science, technology, and the environment and to build awareness of environmental problems, students are engaged in environmental conservation both in class activities and extracurricular activities.

Class activities and assignments are related to the learning objectives of the subject and provide experiences that will enable students to engage in practice and gain their progress. Environmental Science students approach environmental conservation through the class activities from two practices which are becoming the project initiator and being in association to organizations.

The impact of becoming a project initiator is to improve environmental analytical skills from finding the causes and effects of environmental problems and finally realize the importance of local and/ or regional environmental problems. The environmental conservation activities that are initiated by Environmental Science students are as follows:

Energy conservation at home: to save fossil fuel, to reduce air pollution and to slow down global warming.
Stop plastic bag in AU: to reduce plastic pollution.
Recycle paper/stuff: to reduce solid waste pollution and air pollution from manufacturing industries.
Planting at primary school/temple: to promote green environment in school fand community.
Bleach clean-up/Local community clean up: to reduce biodiversity loss from plastics and solid waste pollution.
Educate primary school students: to enhance self-awareness of the environment for primary school students.
Raising fund for wildlife protection: to support organization activities for wildlife protection.

To be associated to other organizations, students have learned to apply alternative solutions in order to prevent and solve the environmental problems. The environmental conservation activities that associate students to organization are as follows:

Ecological Footprint: to measure impacts caused by natural lifestyles which encourage students to eat, live, travel and shop more sustainably.
Mangrove afforestation: to provide a range of ecosystem services which helps students to implement possible solutions.
Coral transplantation: to increase habitat for marine life.
Dam construction study: to provide water for wildlife and maintain local ecosystem.
Reforestation: to increase habitat for wildlife and decline global warming.
Sea turtleprotection: to increase marine biodiversity.

Apart from the class activities that promote environmental conservation, extracurricular activities involvement is a key tool to improve environmental awareness of students, but the most importance is to gain more skills and manage their self-improvement. Extracurricular or out-of-the-classroom activities help improve students’ soft skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, interrelationship, self-confidence, self-directed learning, mutual understanding and appreciating differences. Environmental Science students engage in extracurricular activities in two forms which are integration activities and major activities.

The integration activities encourage students to work effectively and cooperatively with high order responsibilities in multidisciplinary settings. There are two integration activities to promote environmental conservations:

Speech contest on the topic “Green University Promotion”
25 contesters are provided with an opportunity to improve their speaking skills and to promote actions and awareness towards Green University. The speech contest was held at Thewanivet, CL building.
Thai Reading Competition for non-Thais
The main purpose of the project is to improve the non-Thai students’ Thai language skills as well as their awareness of environmental conservation and green university.
Zero waste - Project contest
The objective of the project is to promote students’ awareness on waste reduction. Students will submit the “Zero Waste Project” to the project organizer. Then the achievement award will be presented to 5 teams who present attainable projects.
“Green AU” Slogan Contest
The “Green AU” slogan contest project benefits students. They can promote their creativity as well as awareness to reduce waste in the University by thinking about packaging, reusable bottles, paper recycle and others. The achievement award will be presented to 5 winners whose slogans are relevant to the theme “Green AU”.