Assessment of the Ecological and Engineering Services of the Established, Extensive Green Roof at the Syracuse Center of Excellence Understanding the long-term performance of green roofs is vital to the success of the technology in alleviating the effects of urbanization. This project aims to assess the ecological and engineering function of the established extensive green roof at the Syracuse Center of Excellence by monitoring the hydrological and water quality performance of the roof, assessing approaches for enhanced water retention, and improving the plant growth by establishing two new bee colonies. This project brings together faculty and students from engineering, construction management, health, design, and architecture from Syracuse University. This project is still on going.

Pete's Giving Garden is a garden for all faculty, staff, and students to volunteer and work to grow vegetables, herbs, and wildflowers. The vegetables and herbs are all donated to the food pantries on campus. https://video.syr.edu/media/t/1_s0sdpy49 The University joined Bee Campus USA - Thinking globally and acting locally, Bee Campus USA provides a framework for campus communities to work together to conserve native pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the use of pesticides. Bee Campus USA affiliates make commitments to conserve native pollinators. Students, faculty, administrators, and staff work together to carry out these commitments and make their campus a better place for pollinators.

Energy and Environmental Analysis for a South Campus Dormitory The interdisciplinary project, led jointly by the Schools of Architecture and Engineering, will engage students in data collection design, data logging, analysis activities, and visualization in collaboration with the I School. The current project aims to increase awareness about environmental sustainability by utilizing data already collected by SU Facilities and obtaining the additional data necessary to present clear linkages between energy use, air quality, carbon footprint, and the potential impact of a Net Zero Energy + Zero Carbon Campus. It also aims to promote reductions in GHG emissions directly by increasing energy use and environmental quality awareness for members of the campus community.

Use of Sustainability Management space, The Carriage House, as a senior design project for Environment and Civil Engineering students who were designing a Net Zero space The structural, geotechnical, and environmental engineers reviewed the existing structure and performed an energy audit to determine the best equipment and repairs need to ensure the space is net zero.

Students in the Environment and Civil Engineering school helped design several projects around energy for their Capstone Projects. Student Group 4 worked on developing a plan for Sustainability Management space, the Carriage House, to become Net 0 by incorporating solar shingles to our roof. As there is no natural gas in the facility, they did not have to worry about negating natural gas. The group analyzed the building energy use, the building site location, the building occupant's work and scheduled, to determine the total amount of solar need to reduce our electric grid needs to zero. Student group Citrus Energy worked on a project to determine how much solar energy the University would need to ensure the South Campus housing would be net zero.

Foods Studies Falk College of Sports & Human Dynamics students for-credit internship was created to work with Sustainability Management to help navigate one of the University's Food Pantries. The students order all the produce, dry goods, and inventory, and ensure all the volunteers are scheduled and trained for the food pantry. The students also help with organizing University departmental food drives to help stock the food pantry with donated pantry staples.

University Sustainability Management, Falk College of Sports & Human Dynamics and Hendrick Chapel partnered together to work with staff and students to install and maintain a vegetable garden. Students helped with the garden design, spring plantings, and maintenance of the garden. Students learned how to grow, plant, maintain, harvest, and winterize the vegetable garden. The garden also became an outdoor classroom for professors who hosted their classes in the space for either tours or community service hours.

Sustainability Management collaborates with the Whitman School of Management’s Green Supply Chain class as a client partner. Each year, projects are developed, and students meet with the Sustainability Coordinator to address the department's needs. The product needs for FY23 were as follows:

1. Native Pollinator Celebration Event: To maintain compliance with the Bee Campus USA organization.


2. Reusable Garden Markers: For Pete's Giving Garden, to be used for multiple years. These markers could not be made from plastic materials.


3. Small Greenhouse or Hoop House: For use at Pete's Giving Garden to start seedlings, not to be made of plastic materials.


4. Solar for the Carriage House: To offset the electricity usage of the Carriage House, where Sustainability Management is based.

Dynamics Sustainability Lab On October 27, 2022 they spent the morning sorting, weighing, and evaluating ten bags of waste and three bags of recycling from the Schine Student Center. The waste was sorted weighed and determined what types of materials entered our waste and recycling bins at Schine. The team bags were audited for materials that either could have been recycled or replaced with a sustainable alternative.

Smart Management of Water Systems for Sustainability

The college’s work in this field is based upon expertise in hydrology, soil physics, aquatic and soil chemistry, sensor systems and informatics. It draws added depth from colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences who conduct research in the areas of geology, geomorphology, sociology and history. Current projects include instrumenting green roofs to measure water inflows, outflows, and assessment of water chemistry; identifying social and political factors leading Syracuse to emerge as a national leader in green infrastructure; and developing a wireless sensor network to monitor green infrastructure performance in real time. 

https://ecs.syracuse.edu/research/smart-management-of-water-systems-for-sustainability

Our Community Development Law Clinic (CDLC) is one of the oldest community development law clinics in the country. Founded in 1988, it provides representation for not-for-profit organizations and businesses involved in improving low-income communities.

Healthy Monday Syracuse is a major initiative of the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.  The Lerner Center works in partnership with citizens, students, researchers and public health professionals to develop Healthy Monday programming on campus and in the community to make meaningful change in the health of Onondaga County residents