DePauw University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Professors Jen Everett and Jim Mills and Operations Director Chris Hoffa developed a two-year sequence of courses through which students, faculty, facilities staff, and community members worked together to deconstruct the house situated next to DePauw's campus farm, seeking to maximize not only the materials that could be salvaged for reuse and recycling, but also the educational potential embedded in the structure. They studied the ways places, houses, and objects can matter to people; apprenticed in the green art of rescuing, revitalizing and reusing building materials; and explored scientific research, scholarship, and creative works that reconceive the stuff we produce, consume, and throw "away." Mindful unbuilding taught us to look deeply into physical materials themselves - where they come from, where they go, and how they fit into the global materials economy. It taught us a great deal about the physical construction of buildings as well as the tools and techniques of deconstruction. Perhaps most importantly, it taught us to recognize this house as more than the sum of its material parts - as a hitherto Home, for People of character in our community, with a History, in a Place.

Recycling of building materials is now a requirement under DePauw's adoption of ASHRAE 189.1 Green Building Code which took effect in 2019.

The Campus Farm presents hands-on examples of sustainable food production, business management, and communication with local businesses.

Student employment at Hoover Dining Hall also offers opportunities for students to learn about behind-the-scenes efforts of restaurant operations, purchasing, and customer service from professionals at Bon Appetit, a company with a strong commitment to sustainability initiatives and employee equity.

The Sustainability Leadership Program's Campus Farm group is working with the Facilities Management - Grounds Department to create a sustainable landscaping plan for Hamilton Park on DePauw's campus. Hamilton Park is the shady green space adjacent to the Blackstock Parking Lot on the corner of Jackson and Hanna streets. A group of 10-12 students are designing, planting, and landscaping the area with a sustainable focus. In addition to involving students in the design process, the seeds are being started in the DePauw Farm greenhouse by student farmers, reducing the miles associated with landscaping plants on campus.

The Hamilton Park area has a high concentration of black walnut trees, which give off a toxin called juglone. Juglone is particularly toxic to some trees and plants, and can even be used as a natural herbicide. Because of this, students had to identify and choose plants that are resistant to the juglone toxin, prefer shade, and will thrive near black walnut trees.

Compost produced at the campus farm is also used for grounds landscaping across campus.

The campus farm hires up to 5 composting coordinators each semester to pick up coffee grounds and food scraps from campus cafes, Hoover dining hall, Greek houses, and campus departments. Students are trained to measure and manage a healthy compost pile. This spring, over 2,000 pounds of compost is ready for use at the campus farm and for landscaping projects across campus. Throughout the course of expansion in the last three years, students have had hands-on experiences in the challenges and opportunities that institution-wide composting presents.

Last year, students applied for and received a $1000 Student Activist Grant from Bon Appetit Management Company to expand the farm's composting efforts and make it more accessible to the rest of campus. With the funds, more compost pile management tools have been purchased and more composting bins have been distributed to different campus departments and living units.