PRME article April edition shows that one of the ways in coping with stress is to connect ourselves with nature. Well, not everyone has the chance to be exposed with nature in their lines of work, such as experienced by wildlife photographer or journalists. However, if we are the ones who work in closed settings, such as in office buildings, we can have the ‘nature’ to be exposed to us. Take as an example the HOK Architecture Firm in London, UK, who believe that ‘the design of the interior (of an office) needed to take into consideration mental and physical comfort and the wellbeing of staff’ (Architizer 2018 HOK London Office).
Further, if we do not want to or are unable do it in a building scale, we can always bring ‘nature’ to our own workspace. The next pictures show that we can decorate our own cubicles and meeting rooms with small plants and flowers in vases to lighten up the room.
Another way in coping with stress, the article also mentions that we need to enhance our spiritual intelligence and eliminate any negative emotions. One approach in doing so is by feeling the care for others. In this case, not only the care for other people that we need to have, but also to nature. By caring the nature, we will eventually see that she will care for us as well.
We know that the mantra of caring for the nature is the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). What we propose here that caring for the nature does not have to be grand and ambitious, but we can always start small and organic. For example, by reducing the number of printed students’ projects and theses, and cutting down our usage of plastic cups and containers by using reusable kitchenware. We can also eliminate the use of plastic bags and replace them with reusable shopping bags.
For the reuse part, we from the PRME Team, are doing a collaboration project with undergraduate students of SBM in a movement called ‘Bandung Membaca.’ The movement is trying to ask all the civitas of SBM to donate the books that they do not need any more to be sorted and later to be disseminated to the ones who need them more, such as children in rural villages as well as teenagers and students in remote areas.
Another upcoming initiative from the PRME team is that we plan to utilize the PRME Corner, on the 4th Floor Labtek XIV Building, to start a ‘give-and-take project.’ We plan to have storage shelves within the space to be filled with ‘preloved’ items donated by the civitas of SBM to be given away for those who need them more than the previous owners.
In supporting the initiative, together with PRME, SBM has planned to provide a variety of merchandises to be utilized by the entire civitas of SBM for better purposes, as shown in the above pictures. This initiative is one of our ways to help create a better future. We hope that the small steps by each of us will be able to give our lives more meanings and eventually will lead to the productive work and peaceful minds of ours, for the greater good! [If you have ideas to promote green environment at SBM ITB please email prme@sbm-itb.ac.id]