Green campus infrastructure and students’ mental health: a qualitative study in higher education

Purpose This study aims to examine how green campus infrastructure impacts students’ mental health within the context of Chinese higher education, and to clarify how campus sustainability initiatives contribute to student well-being. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative research design. Data were collected through purposive sampling and semistructured interviews with 20 undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students enrolled in degree programs at a large public university in central China. Findings Green campus infrastructure supports students’ mood and attention recovery through short breaks. Furthermore, crowded noisy and uncomfortable campus settings increase stress among students. These results support Attention Restoration Theory, showing that natural environments restore depleted attention. However, the perceived benefits of campus greening depend on usability conditions (e.g. time availability, seating, shade and weather protection) that enable sustained restorative use. Practical implications Universities should design and manage green campus infrastructure not only for environmental sustainability but also to support student mental health. In sustainability planning, wellbeing outcomes can be treated as a complementary performance indicator alongside technical measures. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides one of the first qualitative, student-centered examinations of how campus green spaces support student psychological well-being within higher education sustainability, showing that the benefits of green space depend not only on its presence but also on conditions that support restorative use, including time, seating, shade, comfort and weather protection. This study clarifies how green campus infrastructure supports well-being with transferable implications from a non-Western context.