Oakton College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

In the Strategic Plan Connecting What Matters, sustainability is focused on.
"Green initiatives have made sustainability a priority in a wide range of institutional
practices, academic offerings, and in the use of the grounds and internal environment... Oakton will use the College campuses as living laboratories for courses and activities that
emphasize the study and practice of sustainability"

Sustainability month and Environmental month: Oakton College dedicated two months of the year towards Campus Engagemet around Sustainability. Since 2022 Oakton College consistently dedicates the month of April as "Earth Month" and October as "Campus Sustainability Month". Examples of Campus engagement include workshops in gardening, local food production, nature walks, lectures on the environment, water quality workshops, biodiversity education, and equity discussions just to name a few. Programs are offered to students, staff, faculty, and the local community. These programs are hosted through Oakton College's Sustainability Center in partnership with external organizations such as The Grove, Master Gardener Program, and Internal organizations such as Asian American Pacific Islander Advising, Campus Activities Board, and Environmental Studies Concentration.

Oakton has a community Apiary apiary with 2 bee hives on the Skokie campus. This project is the result of an intergovernmental agreement with Village of Skokie to provide a communal beekeeping space for Oakton college, Skokie residents, and neighboring residents. The Village of Skokie works closely with Oakton College to manage the space, vet beekeepers, and maintain paperwork for the hives as well as health of the bees.

Oakton College recently entered a partnership with Izaak Walton League to provide stewardship in their natural areas as well as promote conservation efforts within the City of DesPlaines. Students from Oakton are encouraged to complete service learning with Izaak Walton League as part of their curriculum.

Oakton's Environmental Club partners with City of Des Plaines to receive environmental proclamations on behalf of Oakton college. This event is a symbol of the City and the College working together to proclaim the importance of conservation and stewardship efforts within City limits.

Oakton College offers certificate training in HVAC proficiency. The curriculum highlights the importance of efficient mechanism behind air quality, air flow, and thermodynamic components of indoor climate control. Oakton's HVAC faculty have collaborated on shared HVAC curriculum through community college networks in Illinois. The shared curriculum focuses on green methods of insulation and HVAC efficiency in new and existing buildings. Students are provided hands-on training with HVAC structures within the curriculum.

In 2015, we opened the Margaret Burke Lee Science and Health Careers Center, a LEED Gold certified building. Educational signage and self-guided tours, as well as in-person guided tours allow students and campus visitors the opportunity to learn more about green building technologies. In addition, the energy dashboard for the building's energy usage and solar generation is publicly available for exploration. The building is utilized as a learning lab space for students, particularly those in our Environmental Sciences lab course.

The Lee Building uses reclaimed barn wood. Instead of using newly harvested wood to create this accent wall, reclaimed wood roof sheathing was chosen from barns in Wonewoc Township and the Village of Readstown in Wisconsin.The use of local, reclaimed wood not only conserves trees, but also reduces the amount of water, energy, and oil used in processing and transportation. In academic labs, students learn about the reclaimed barn wood. In a lab report they are asked to determine the reclaimed barn wood's Impact on Environmental Quality / Sustainability, Impact on Economic Vitality / Sustainability, Impact on Social Equity / Sustainability.

Lee Center by default is a lab space. The Building contains a greenhouse which is utilized by classes for prep, seed starting, and horticulture. The building's facade being all glass poses a danger to wildlife however classes are able to utilize this context to study the effect of bird bigration through urban areas, collect data on bird collisions around the building, and identify species of birds affected. A key component of Lee center are its outdoor areas which are planted with natives. These spaces are used to conduct labs to study the density of flora that support the monarch life cycle. Students consistently complete labs in this space and have recently used their data to certify the space as a monarch waystation habitat.

The Lee Building uses high-efficency lighting, a low-energy elevator, smart controls, a heat recovery system, photovoltaic cell sun shades, exterior operable blinds, skylights, and concrete flooring

LED (light-emitting diode) light fixtures used for feature lighting and in laboratories burn longer and use less energy than traditional fluorescent bulbs. Because they last more than ten times as long, fewer bulbs need to be manufactured, installed, and discarded, resulting in less waste and more savings.

This EcoSpace Low-Rise Elevator uses approximately half the energy of a conventional traction elevator and about one-third the energy of a hydraulic elevator and requires no oil. It is also made from 95 percent recyclable materials.

The Lee Center is fully equipped with smart electric technology. Daylight sensors detect the amount of natural light and alter the amount of electric lighting used in a given space. Occupancy sensors keep lights on when a room is in use and turn them off when it empties. These features maximize energy savings, because artificial light is used only when sufficient daylight is unavailable and rooms are occupied.

""The Lee Center's Gold LEED rating owes much to the installation of a high-efficiency energy recovery ventilator (ERV) that captures exhaust air created in the laboratories and uses it to heat and cool the fresh air coming into the building. This transfer, implemented through a plate heat exchanger, uses less energy than a standard HVAC heating and cooling device, resulting in significant cost savings.""

The PV panels above you convert the sun's rays into electricity, generating energy for the Lee Center, while the shades block summer heat, still allowing light to pass. To view the tracking of real-time solar energy production, visit the interactive screen in the Center's entryway.

Exterior-operable window blinds help maintain a comfortable work environment by reducing heat during the warm months from the setting sun. They also sense sun, ice, rain, and wind speeds and respond automatically to changing conditions throughout the day. During winter, the blinds retract, allowing the sun to heat the space.

""Daylighting"" is a design strategy that uses natural sunlight to replace artificial light during the day. Skylight windows and the floor plan maximize sun exposure so nearly all spaces benefit from direct or borrowed light. Automatic shades are provided at each skylight to darken areas for presentations and to keep warm air in during the night.

Heating and cooling account for most of the energy consumption in traditional buildings. Decorative and functional, the Lee Center's polished concrete floors absorb winter sun and release heat throughout the day, a process known as passive solar heating. A closed-loop radiant heating system optimizes comfort and energy efficiency. These features reduce the reliance on standard HVAC systems for temperature control.

In academic labs, students learn about these sustainable features. In a lab report they are asked to determine their Impact on Environmental Quality / Sustainability, Impact on Economic Vitality / Sustainability, Impact on Social Equity / Sustainability.

Energy consumption on campus has been consolidated into a single online platform for diseemination, education, and engagement purposes. The link to this platform containing energy data is shared with faculty to utilize in their curriculum for analysis, statistics, and interpretation.

Oakton Des Plaines Campus hosts a community Garden where faculty bring their classes out often to study local food production and concepts of food security. Examples of faculty-student engagement in the space include growing fruits and vegetables, experimenting with compost styles, identifying native food sources, managing the space, and studying harvest techniques such as mushroom innoculation and fruit tree care. The Environmental Studies Concentration owns two beds in the community garden where students in the classes are sole managers of the beds.

We are fortunate to have 147 acres of natural spaces on our Des Plaines campus. This provides a unique opportunity for students to develop hands-on skills related to biology, ecology, botany, and restoration. Students regularly connect with our College Naturalist and faculty members to explore the natural areas, identify plants and animals, observe ecosystem changes, and take part in restoration activities. It is an incredible opportunity to connect coursework to practical skills. One course, in particular BIO 107: Ecological Restoration was developed specifically in relation to our campus space, to provide students a practical learning experience and prepare them for future positions in the field if interested.

"The Des Plains campus offers electric vehicle charging. A Chargepoint Level 2 dual charging station was installed in June 2017 on the Des Plaines campus. The stations located at the south side of Parking Lot D (close to the Lee Center). Drivers of electric vehicles may park in one of the two designated spots while they are charging. The Oakton station is visible on all PlugShare maps. In academic labs, students learn about the EV charging stations. In a lab report they are asked to determine the charging station's Impact on Environmental Quality / Sustainability, Impact on Economic Vitality / Sustainability, Impact on Social Equity / Sustainability.

The Des Plains campus offers Low-Emitting and Fuel Efficient Vehicle Parking. A row of reserved spots for low-emitting and fuel efficient vehicle parking is located on the East side of the Lee Center on Des Plaines campus, in Parking Lot D. A second set of three spots is available to employees only in Parking Lot C.

Oakton College offers reduced price tickets for Pace Bus, up to 50% in savings. This is an incentive for Oakton students to utilize public transportation as a more affordable and sustainable option when compared to individual cars."

Composting is offered on the Skokie campus and student in the Early Childhood Development Center work closely with composting concepts year-round.

The Lee Building uses water-efficient fixtures. Low-flow faucets, toilets and other water-saving fixtures reduce the building's water usage by 35 percent, saving energy and money as well as conserving this limited resource. In academic labs, students learn about the water-efficient fixtures. In a lab report they are asked to determine the features' Impact on Environmental Quality / Sustainability, Impact on Economic Vitality / Sustainability, Impact on Social Equity / Sustainability.

Faculty at Oakton's Biology department often use Lake Oakton as a site to conduct water quality testing and macroinvertebrate studies.

Students within the Environmental Studies Concentration are often brought on paid positions in which they work closely with the Sustainability Specialist to coordinate Sustainability Initiatives on Campus. Examples include Data collection, department outreach, Event promotion and Sustainable Space management.

The Elevating Indigenous Voices at Oakton Working Group has drafted a Land Acknowledgement as well as a call to action.

Part 1: Land Acknowledgement for Oakton
Oakton is the community’s college. We recognize that our community embodies a network of historical connections and contemporary relationships with Native peoples, families, students, and alumni. We continue to live and work on the traditional homelands stolen from many different Native peoples, including but not limited to the (Potawatomi), (Chippewa), (Ottawa), (Kickapoo), (Menominee), (Miami), (Sac and Fox) and (Ho-Chunk) nations. Others have settled and cared for this land from time immemorial. The land of our Des Plaines campus nurtured a large Bodéwadmiakiwen settlement along the Des Plaines River. This was a site of trade, travel, and gathering for many Native people. With the lush forests and vibrant river, these communities flourished in this beautiful land of biodiversity and reciprocity. These lands are still home to many Native people of many nations.
Part 2: A Call to Action
As an institution with an educational mission, we ask everyone to commit to continue learning how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit and the water we all share and depend on for life. We call on everyone to build relationships of inclusion with Native communities and to nurture respectful partnerships and meaningful collaborations. We stand as allies of the people we encounter, and protectors of these natural gifts and resources. We remember and honor the ancestors of this place and do this for the sake of all our relatives.

Oakton Student are brought into paid positions in which they study the Sustainability budget and learn to request and allocate funds for sustainability Initiatives.

A 2022 grant from the Oakton Education Foundation funded the creation of an ADA Native and Wellness Nursery. This space is meant for students to receive nature therapy by providing an outdoor environment to care for seedlings and to breath fresh air, hear the sounds of nature and to experience tactile sensations of working with natural components. Faculty have brought their students out to this space often to help with the development and setup of the area.

Press Release for Lee Center: https://www.oakton.edu/about/accountability/strategic/sustainability/lee_cntr.php

Lee Center building details and video tour: https://www.legat.com/project/oakton-lee-center-for-science-and-health-careers/