California State University, Northridge
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

CSUN hosts a 1/2 acre micro-farm that acts as a living lab engaging faculty, students, and the greater community. The Institute for Sustainability is also creating a new 1/4-acre "agroforestry site" in the existing campus citrus orchard that will become a research/engagement space for students, staff, faculty, and the larger public.

A CSUN student worked with sustainability staff to design a survey to be distributed to the CSUN community. This survey assesses knowledge, attitudes, awareness, and beliefs surrounding CSUN's zero waste goal and waste sorting practices. Results of this survey will be very useful in crafting future zero waste messaging.

The Sustainability minor capstone course engages students in community service projects related to sustainability. These include outreach to local businesses on energy and water conservation using rebates from the utility company, improving their sustainability practices, and increasing their outreach to the community to promote sustainability/equity-related programs and services.

In Fall 2021, students in SUST 401 completed a project focused on air pollution and climate change in southern California. They worked with the Institute for Sustainability, Associated Students, and the Coalition for Clean Air to collect pledges for Clean Air Day on October 4. Collectively, CSUN gathered almost 800 pledges, scoring fifth overall for the state of California. The students also hosted a 90-minute Sustainability and Air Pollution webinar and panel discussion with local community organizations including: Coalition for Clean Air, Urban Movement Plans, Pacoima Beautiful, and South Coast Air Quality Management District. All of these organizations are fighting for cleaner air for our local community and educating and encouraging others to take action to develop a sustainable future with clean air for all.

The University is acquiring a "freight farm" vertical hydroponic shipping container farm that will eventually be incorporated into the campus food system via student dining and the Food Pantry, significantly increasing the amount of locally grown food served on-campus. Students will gain hands-on experience with growing food, operating a business, and food logistics, budgeting is included in the student-driven maintenance of the farm.

Over the summer of 2021, a CSUN biology student took on a project to draft an official Standard Operating Procedure for the campus' green waste composting center. She met with sustainability and Grounds staff to get a sense of how the center operated, and also toured the facility to learn about its unique challenges. The final draft of the SOP was shared with CSUN's Grounds Manager, and serves as a roadmap for the continued operation of the facility.

The Chicana/o, American Indian Studies (AIS) and Central American Studies (CAS) departments are collaborating to develop a shared Garden space ​in the middle of the three programs’ buildings. The goal is to incorporate native plants in the garden and turn it into a resource where people can pick fruits, vegetables and herbs, interacting with native plants like those used by Southern California’s tribes for centuries. This garden will be used by all three academic departments in their courses to offer students hands-on learning about plants native to the area and to heal the university's relationship with and honor the people indigenous to the land CSUN sits on.

The Institute for Sustainability also runs a campus composting site and a garden where the compost is used. This program is run by student employees and volunteers with the supervision of a faculty member. Students learn how to compost properly and how to grow edible food in a garden. This program also serves as an educational facility for CSUN community members as well as surrounding community members who are interested in learning how to compost and grow their own food. See www.csun.edu/sustainability/campus-food-garden-and-compost-program

A CSUN student combined four years of office supply purchasing data into an interactive dashboard. This tool allows viewers to quickly view the dollars spent in different categories for custom timeframes, and look at the recycled content or third-party environmental certifications of purchased products. The dashboard makes it much faster to gain insights regarding purchasing trends, and is an engaging way for viewers to explore purchasing data and learn about sustainability impacts of purchasing habits.

A bike-sharing initiative and free bike repair program for the CSUN community was implemented in 2019, aimed at getting students and staff into sustainable transportation alternatives and educating them on the effects of carbon pollution on campus.

A CSUN student worked with campus sustainability staff to design a brief survey to be distributed to the CSUN community. This survey assesses knowledge, attitudes, awareness, and beliefs surrounding CSUN's zero waste goal and waste sorting practices. Results of this survey will be very useful in crafting future zero waste messaging.

A group of Urban Planning students took on a project to identify sustainable storm water management solutions for the campus. This included identifying areas with excessive storm water runoff during rain events, and determining the feasibility of different solutions. The students proposed installing bioswales at numerous locations, and presented their findings to sustainability staff within Facilities Planning, Design, & Construction.

Students in sustainability classes contributed towards development of CSUN Sustainability Plan. Students in sustainability capstone course carried out semester-long project to investigate two-sided printing on campus which resulted in campus policy on two-sided printing default for all printers.
The plan can be found at: http://www.csun.edu/sustainability/csun-sustainability-plan

Students from various classes that require service learning hours, complete their service at the CSUN Food Pantry. These students gain hands-on experience in providing free food and other resources to food insecure and unhoused students. These students assist with program outreach, distribution and event logistics and day-to-day operations. They even harvest food from the multiple campus gardens to provide farm to Pantry produce. They also assist with the monthly Pop-Up pantry which is a free farmers market where students receive fruits and vegetables, some of which are grown on campus.

Many students participate in a living laboratory experience with the HERE Center which is dedicated to improving health equity for individuals in the San Fernando Valley (SFV) and surrounding communities through education, community-academic partnerships, and health disparities research. Much of this research focuses on the intersection of sustainability and health disparities.
More info: https://www.csun.edu/here-center/projects

Business students in finance managed a $2 million portfolio for the campus. They carried out a study to investigate the impacts of designating it, or a portion, for environmentally sustainable investments.

Commit to Be Fit is a free fitness and wellness program led by CSUN Kinesiology students four evenings per week. The workouts consist of functional cardiovascular and resistance training aimed to get you in shape and help you feel your best. The program is open to CSUN staff, faculty, and community members. https://www.csun.edu/wellbeing/commit-be-fit