As anyone who has taken a deep breath of Shanghai’s smoggy winter air knows, the environment of China’s biggest cities could use a bit of a helping hand. It’s a task that initially seems overwhelming, but NYU Shanghai’s own Green Shanghai club has not backed down. With the implementation of the Urban Farm project and plans for a BikeShare program, NYU Shanghai is set to become a beacon of green in the local community. The Urban Farm project brought together a community of students, faculty, and staff to work on maximizing the usage of the backyard of NYU Shanghai’s building and make it beautiful and agriculturally productive. The working group was also responsible for employing cutting edge eco-design and research practices in the Farm, while engaging the rest of the community members in the creation. The new garden, though part of the NYU Shanghai campus, will also be available as a space for the bigger community in Shanghai, allowing the university to better engage and connect with the city. “We are eager to create a space for the community to enjoy and change NYU Shanghai’s atmosphere from one building to a campus, while prompting several sustainability projects of urban farming,” commented NYU Shanghai student Nofar Hamrany, who served as President of Green Shanghai last academic year and spearheaded the project . Currently containing a greenhouse, a raised-bed garden, benches, a solar panel, the Mobiles Mobile project, and a composting system, the Urban Farm will be used for several activities including growing food on campus, for purposes of teaching and research, to implement a composting system on campus to reduce the waste from NYU Shanghai’s cafeteria, and for students to experiment with solar energy models.A form to book a place in the Urban Farm for activities will be released in the Fall semester. Green Shanghai members will also begin using the composting system with waste and garbage from the NYU Shanghai cafeteria, which will allow students to experiment and research about composting on campus while also contributing to the garden’s soil. Other projects in the garden are also encouraged and may be able to receive funding from the Urban Farm’s budget. For instance, as part of the IMA class Solar Solutions, Professor Daniel Mikesell and his students created their own projects in the garden using a solar panel. One of these projects, the Mobiles Mobile, was installed in May 2016.The NYU Shanghai BikeShare program will offer free daily bike rentals to NYU Shanghai students, faculty, and staff. Based on the BikeShare program available at NYU New York, the project will work in a similar structure and furthers Green Shanghai’s goal of making biking a reality for members of the NYU Shanghai community. Hamrany has been working on the formal Green Grant proposal that must be submitted to the NYU Office of Sustainability by August 1st. The Grant awards will be announced on Aug. 26, and if Green Shanghai receives the grant, the project’s timeline aims to make to BikeShare program available to all NYU Shanghai members by Spring 2017. The BikeShare initiative is currently looking for Project Managers who will be responsible for executing the plan should it get approved for a Green Grant; duties include coordinating with NYU Shanghai’s Facilities Department, the Lujiazui Management, NYU Shanghai Office of Public Safety and Office of Student Life. As the NYU BikeShare Program was the starting point for New York City’s own BikeShare program in New York City, this project also has the potential to have a great impact on Shanghai. The biggest hurdle to the development of these projects was approval from the Lujiazui Property Management company, which owns the NYU Shanghai building and has to approve any changes that might be implemented. “There are always difficulties when planning and executing projects that change the structure of our campus or have a big impact in the local and international community of NYU Shanghai, but I found the Office of Student Life and the Facilities Department to be extremely supportive and helpful,” added Hamrany. With the support of Student Life, Green Shanghai was able to get approval for the projects, as well as help in their execution, from the Lujiazui Property Management company. Other projects Green Shanghai has been working on over the summer include an Environmental Film Festival along with GoGreen Week, a student led initiative that started at NYU Shanghai in 2015 as a collaboration between Green Shanghai and the Animals Right and Herbivores Society. GoGreen Week 2017 will be celebrated on all three NYU portal campuses (New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai) simultaneously. This article was written by Editorial Staff. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Green Shanghai Facebook