Thinking Environmentally: Scotland & Ireland

By Dr. Tom Kelley, Resident Director Ireland, and Dr. Hamish Thompson, Resident Director Scotland.

University students have high expectations for the institutions they attend when it comes to sustainability: 87% want to see it actively promoted; while just over half believe that sustainability should be included in their coursework. We listen to students at Arcadia. While many come to Ireland or Scotland for the beautiful scenery, the excellent institutions of higher education and proximity to continental Europe, they are also lured by their people’s engagement with sustainability and environmental issues. Just like in the USA, the Irish and Scottish are talking about sustainability.

 Working towards sustainability in Ireland

While sustainability is a lived-value at Arcadia, we advise students on how they can live more sustainable lives while studying overseas. During orientation, we share a carbon footprint calculator to create awareness and inform students how to reduce emissions by taking a train or ferry instead of an airplane as they plan their travel. Ireland’s most historic and beautiful attractions are all accessible by boat or train, and this is a great way to engage with environmentalism. 

Food shopping is another way our students can reduce their carbon footprint. Buying locally produced food instead of imported products with environmentally poor packaging is a start. Instead of a plastic toothbrush, buy one made from bamboo. Instead of plastic bags, bring your Arcadia re-useable bag to cart off your shopping. Love coffee? Make it at your housing and pour it into a re-useable travel mug. And when washing that mug, use a bar of soap rather than liquid soap from a plastic dispenser.

We are also seeking ways to make the Arcadia Center in Dublin more environmentally friendly. Plastic cups and washing tools have been replaced with items constructed from recyclables. Hand dryers have replaced paper hand towel dispensers in our bathrooms and cardboard packaging is recycled. Used student bedding is recycled or brought to bring-centers in Dublin to ensure clean and proper disposal. We also promote the environmental efforts of our partner universities in Ireland, like University College Cork, currently the world’s best university for recycling and sustainability, and Trinity College, Dublin, whose Science Gallery is running a fascinating exhibition on plastic.

Arcadia in Dublin is also keen to support our students and partners in sustainable study abroad by developing impactful programming that is sensitive to the local environment.

Taking it slow in Scotland

At the Edinburgh Center, we encourage all students to really live in Scotland and think about the difference between being a tourist and a traveler and how they might connect to communities in a meaningful way. 

One thing we do is provide all semester students a railcard to think twice about air travel and increase the students' use of domestic rail travel within Scotland and across the UK by providing subsidized rail travel, as well as a Historic Scotland card to encourage visiting local historic sites for free.  

Scotland has so many landscapes and regions, from the beautiful Highlands to the Islands and the seascapes of both the East and West coasts and potential ferries to Orkney and Shetland. All our events are designed to encourage students to stay local and learn about different aspects of Scottish identity from its beauty to its history.

Mainland Europe is on our doorstep, so why not take longer in fewer destinations? For example, on our last regional event, we took the ferry to Northern Ireland and the slow travel became a part of the adventure. 

For inspiration, read Robert Louis Stevenson when he traveled on a donkey!