HSI Report: Working towards asustainable campus and asustainable future
University News | August 21, 2018

Members of the HSI course “Tackling 21st century challenges in universities towards
sustainable society” stand in front of the glass pyramid “Hidamari” at Moerenuma Parkin Sapporo.

A mixed group of international and Japanese students gathered at
Hokkaido University to attend the two-week long course “Tackling 21stcentury challenges in universities toward sustainable society” offeredby the Hokkaido Summer Institute (HSI). Comprising of several
classroom lectures and fieldwork excursions throughout Hokkaido
University and Sapporo City, the course was a collaborative project
between the HSI and the Hokkaido University Sustainable Campus
Management Office.

“One of the responsibilities of our office is social outreach, including
education and research,” said Specially Appointed Associate Professorof the Sustainable Campus Management Office Maki Ikegami.
“Sustainability is a complicated issue, and since there is nosustainability major offered at Hokkaido University, creating thiscourse in the HSI program was something we could do to promotestudent education and awareness about sustainability issues.”“Play Mountain”, at Moerenuma Park in Sapporo.

The course kicked off on July 30th with a field expedition toMoerenuma Park, located in Sapporo’s northeast. Formerly a landfill,
the land was reclaimed and redeveloped over a nearly 20-year process
under the master vision of famed sculptor Isamu Noguchi. The current
area is now uniquely situated as a community park, a retaining marsh
for flood runoff, and an interactive sculpture all in one, serving as aprime example of how environmentally friendly and sustainable
policies can enrich communities. Students attended an on-site lecture
about the history and development of the park, and then were taken on
a tour of the grounds and facilities. On top of being shown the various
attractions the park provides, students were also shown how the large
glass pyramid, which serves as the centerpiece of the park, employs asnow recycling system by preserving snow from Sapporo’s famously
long winters to cool the pyramid’s interior.

Class members descending “Play Mountain”.

“I am excited to participate in this course because I like Moerenuma
Park, and I have never learned about its history before,” remarked En
Kondo, an undergraduate architecture student from Hokkaido
University. Vietnamese PhD student Huong Ngo agreed, mentioningthat she was looking forward to not only the park, but also
participating in a class in Sapporo.
In the second week of the course, students heard from Hokkaido
University Assistant Professor Tomohiro Mitani about the history andcurrent state of dairy production at Hokkaido University. Students
were then taken to observe the operations at the Hokudai Marche Café& Labo, where meals are created from locally grown Hokkaido foodand dairy products are made from the milk of Hokkaido University’sdairy cows. “Until the creation of Hokudai Marche, Hokkaido
University researchers were able to study milk development, but didn’t
have a way to monitor the market situation when milk reached thecustomers,” Mitani explained. “However, now we are able to monitor
the entire process of milk production, distribution, and sales all within
the university.”

Hokkaido University Assistant Professor Tomohiro Mitani (left) and University of
Luxembourg Senior Researcher Ariane König (2nd from the left) examine milk from an
on-campus café Hokudai Marche with the class.

The course concluded on August 10th. When asked what message she
hoped students took away from the experience, Dr. Ikegami said
“Sustainability is a very big and very vague concept. Each student
comes to this course from their own social background and context, so
the information they pick up may be different. However, I would likethe students to understand that the questions of sustainability are
ultimately questions of how we live as a part of society and nature.”
This course also featured lectures from Hokkaido University Professor
Toshihiko Matsuto, Associate Professors Takao Ozasa and Koki Kikuta,
and University of Luxembourg Senior Researcher Ariane König.
Written by Tyler Tannert