Joliet Junior College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction programs use the campus as our lab in numerous ways. We incorporate our Green Campus Center tours in several of our courses requiring students to research and actively participate in the tour. We use our numerous LEED buildings as working examples. We use our history one-room schoolhouse on campus for drafting and sketching and model building giving our students a strong sense of place. We have formalized and begun construction on our outdoor lab for hands-on building experience to supplement the classroom instruction. The HVAC program tours and uses the physical infrastructure of the campus as part of their curriculum. These give students physical examples of the sustainable building practices incorporated in LEED certified buildings on campus and how they are managed on campus. Often the program hires JJC's facilities staff as adjunct faculty.

The Culinary Arts department offers Advanced ala Carte cooking courses each semester. As part of the culinary art curriculum students work in The Saveur restaurant located on main campus. This year they added a sustainability focus, including growing herbs, canning and pickling, sourcing from local farmers, special dietary options, and several special projects like increasing recycling and compost efforts throughout the department. The students are gaining first hand experience on how to operate and maintain a sustainable restaurant which they will take with them into the profession.

The Fine Arts department offers courses that physically use our natural areas for developing "site specific" work using a sustainable model and practice such as ART 104 The Natural Science department uses the lake and natural areas in several courses, as well as for ongoing research projects. BIO 107 Plants & Society - We collect vegetation data to document how the area we sample is responding to restoration and management practices. Students are introduced to the concept of restoration ecology and learn about native and introduced plants. BIO 146 Environmental Biology - Students complete field notes and observations along the campus nature trails.

The Automotive program teaches sustainability practices in the day to day operations of the service center. Students gain hands-on, real world experience and work on alternative fuel vehicles. Additionally, the program recently wrote a grant to have a group of students convert a truck from gas to electric. The last six week of the Computer Update Technology Class (AS212) is devoted to studying alternate fuels and alternately fueled vehicles. The students become familiar with the Energy Policy Act and its requirements for alternative fuels. The students become familiar with the alternate fuels and the vehicles that use them through classroom lecture and hands-on lab activities. The students explore hybrid and electric vehicles, clean diesel vehicles, propane and natural gas powered vehicles, and ethanol powered vehicles. Additionally, each student is required to write a two page on a topic in the broad category of alternate fuels and alternately fueled vehicles.

Horticulture students are involved in all aspects of the LEED Certified greenhouse operations - growth, maintenance, and selling of plants and flowers. Greenhouse has a rainwater collection system that is continually used as part of the operations for the greenhouse. This reduces the need for city water. They also have an aqua-ponics system and high hoop tunnels that extends our growing season.

Our child care center is used by all early childcare students as well as our psychology students, but this also make an education affordable and accessible to many of our adult students. JJC works with Plainfield High School to offer Work Training Program that provides job training for students with physical and mental disabilities. Students enroll in Food Service developmental courses offered through the culinary program to learn food preparation and other job skills.

HPR 101 course offered by the JJC fitness center teaches students to lead healthy lifestyle through exercise and nutrition. The course is available to students, faculty, staff, and the community members.

The campus arboretum is used by the Horticulture and Biology programs. Arboretum: The JJC Arboretum is used by Horticulture students in Plant identification courses. The Arboretum is home to many tree species that are native to Illinois and are used in the landscape industry. The Arboretum provides students the opportunity to see how these species thrive in our climate and soils as well as their form and function. Flowering, fall color, branching structure and pest resistance are also available for them to study. Specimen in the arboretum also provide shelter for wildlife living on campus. The public can also explore the arboretum. Landlab: The JJC Landlab is used extensively by all horticulture classes – from plant id, pest identification and control, cover crop trials, season extension. The landlab provides students the opportunity to practice what is learned in the classroom. A small vineyard provides hands-on- management vineyard experience to those interested in viticulture. Grapes grown are sold and the income invested back into the landlab. The agroforestry plots demonstrate how to use land efficiently for production . Fruit and vegetable crops provide students with hands on experience in those areas. Produce grown by students is sold at the local farmers market or given to local food pantries. Landscape Construction class completes projects that are installed in the landlab. Composting techniques and outdoor hydroponic demonstration as also in place in the landlab. Honeybees are also kept, providing students with an opportunity to learn more about beekeeping. The general public is also welcome to take a look at what is happening there.