Hope College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

An air quality research and education project is in its third year. It involves faculty, students, and staff from Hope College and area k-12 teachers and students to bring together real-time data from around the community. Students in course such as Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to do research and/or in-class projects on various aspects of the campus ecosystem, e.g. energy, transportation, waste, and water.

Our new buildings are designed to be more sustainable and while some of our historical buildings have been updated to save electricity and gas. For example, The Jack H. Miller Center Center for Musical Arts was recently completed with a LEED Silver certification and the Bultman Student Center currently under construction is aiming for LEED Gold. The Director for the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute worked with the Director for Physical Plant, Student Life Office, a faculty member, and group of students to complete Department of Energy Home Energy Star Assessments on college owned cottages. Students living in these homes were encouraged to participate in the assessment and were also surveyed about their basic understanding about energy usage. Hope College has also partnered with a group of colleges in the Great Lakes College Association on an Environmental Dashboard Project. The Environmental Dashboard (www.EnvironmentalDashboard.org), developed at Oberlin College, is a communication technology that combines real-time display of water and electricity use in buildings, organizations and whole communities with photographs and words contributed by community members that celebrate positive thought and action. Using electronic signs and websites, Environmental Dashboard employs compelling graphics to reconnect people with the natural world by making flows of resources visible and promoting sustainable behavior. For more, so to http://www.hope.edu/news/2015/02/11/glca-grant-partners-five-campuses-in-using-environmental-dashboard.html Also, students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative.

Creative Dining Services, owned by Hope College, offers a wide variety of food options for students, faculty, and staff. This includes vegetarian and local food options. They created initiatives such as "totally-trayless," energy/water conservation practices, composting, herb garden, and supported the summer 2016 campus garden. By educating dining hall customers about these types of practices they demonstrates how easy it really is to eat more sustainably. Students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative.

Our new buildings have been designed to be more sustainable and while historical buildings are updated to save more electricity and gas. (see above) Lighting projects such as ones completed at the Dow Center are promoted and used as an educational example about the importance of energy conservation. For more go to http://www.hope.edu/news/2016/campus-life/lighting-replacement-in-devos-fieldhouse-a-bright-idea.html The Jack H. Miller Center Center for Musical Arts that was recently completed and a LEED Silver certification and the Bultman Student Center currently under construction and is aiming for LEED Gold. The Director for the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute worked with the Director for Physical Plant, Student Life Office, a faculty member, and group of students to complete Department of Energy Home Energy Star Assessments on college owned cottages. Students living in these homes were encouraged to participate in the assessment and were also surveyed about their basic understanding about energy usage. Hope College also partnered with a group of colleges in the Great Lakes College Association on an Environmental Dashboard Project. The Environmental Dashboard (www.EnvironmentalDashboard.org), developed at Oberlin College, is a communication technology that combines real-time display of water and electricity use in buildings, organizations and whole communities with photographs and words contributed by community members that celebrate positive thought and action. Using electronic signs and websites, Environmental Dashboard employs compelling graphics to reconnect people with the natural world by making flows of resources visible and promoting sustainable behavior. For more, so to http://www.hope.edu/news/2015/02/11/glca-grant-partners-five-campuses-in-using-environmental-dashboard.html Students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are encouraged to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative.

Students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative. Hope College received a certified environmental steward certificate through the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program. For more information visit http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1599-216431--,00.html and https://www.mtesp.org/

While purchasing policies have changed in a more sustainable direction, we are not doing much on this topic by way of using the campus a living laboratory.

Students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about transportation alternatives around and the greater Holland area. In part because of this work, in the past 5 years we have reduced the total number of campus vehicles and purchased vehicles with higher fuel efficiency. Some summer research students have been working with a local bicycle group, Peddle Holland, to make our campus more bicycle friendly.

Students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative.

Students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative. Also, for the last 4 years faculty and students have been doing the leading research on our local watershed, the Macatawa River watershed, as part of the 13 million dollar project called Project Clarity (http://www.macatawaclarity.org/).

Students in the Race in America course are encouraged to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative.

Students in the Earth and Ethics course complete research projects and are required to connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative. This has also been an initiative of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee (aka The Green Team).

Students interning with the Hope College Sustainability Advisory Committee and the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute learn from our unique "town-gown" relationship the ability to plan and host sustainability related public engagement events, e.g., the "Living Sustainably Along the Lakeshore" lecture series (www.hope.edu/sustainability-institute).