University of Nebraska at Omaha
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Analysis of UNO Sustainable Transportation - This research project examines the costs, benefits, and challenges of enabling and supporting sustainable modes of transportation—Public Transit, Biking, Walking, Carpool/Share— compared to the current focus on parking for Single-Occupancy Vehicles (SOV). The comparative costs and benefits were examined in several key areas: Direct fiscal costs and benefits for individuals and for university capital, operation, and maintenance; and indirect costs and benefits for Health, the Environment, and Community. http://www.unomaha.edu/sustainability/center-for-urban-sustainability/_docs/UNO-transportation-study.pdf

Mammel Hall, the LEED Gold Certified home of the College of Business, was the focus of a post occupancy evaluation (POE) completed in 2015. The research was conducted by faculty in architecture and business administration and sought to understand if an individual's attitude towards sustainability influenced his/his satisfaction with a building's design and if the satisfaction with the building influenced organizational commitment.

Mammel Hall, the LEED Gold Certified home of the College of Business, was the focus of a post occupancy evaluation (POE) completed in 2015. The research was conducted by faculty in architecture and business administration and sought to understand if an individual's attitude towards sustainability influenced his/his satisfaction with a building's design and if the satisfaction with the building influenced organizational commitment.

As part of a two semester project (and still ongoing), sustainability capstone students worked on designing a campus community garden. The first semester was spent identifying the location and conducting test to verify viability of the location for the garden (infiltration rates, etc). The second semester involved a landscape design class (and was part of a service-learning program) that worked on designing the garden, including what plants to grow and the purpose of the garden (production, education, both).

The campus bioretention garden is a living laboratory utilized by horticulture students. Students observe the way plants adapt and move throughout the garden. The UNO Welcome Center bioretention gardens recently had a number of pieces of monitoring equipment installed to assess how the gardens are performing. Installed equipment includes soil moisture sensors, temperature sensors, data loggers, and cameras. The soil moisture and temperature sensors have been installed in groups of three in two locations in both of the bioretention gardens. The depths of the sensors are at 6 inches, 18 inches, and 30 inches. These sensors will provide a better understanding how moisture moves through the soil throughout a given year and over the long term, how it changes from year-to-year. Soil temperature can play a significant role in bioretention plant and soil health as well as infiltration; this equipment will help expand the limited research that has focused on garden soil temperatures. The two live web cameras will provide excellent insights into how the gardens perform during a given rain event and also provide a visual assessment of how the plants perform within the gardens. Time-lapse video will show how the garden grows and changes throughout the year, providing an excellent way to assess plant performance as well as illustrate the seasonal beauty and diversity of native and adapted garden plants throughout the year. The data collected by the sensors and web cameras will be displayed online as well as in real-time on a kiosk to be installed in the Durham Science Building. It will also be utilized by multiple classes at UNO to teach about green infrastructure and stormwater management in general.

"Study of Environmental Preferable Purchasing of Office Supplies for the University of Nebraska at Omaha" http://www.youblisher.com/p/1327394-EPP-Study-Summary-UNO/

Analysis of UNO Sustainable Transportation - This research project examines the costs, benefits, and challenges of enabling and supporting sustainable modes of transportation—Public Transit, Biking, Walking, Carpool/Share— compared to the current focus on parking for Single-Occupancy Vehicles (SOV). The comparative costs and benefits were examined in several key areas: Direct fiscal costs and benefits for individuals and for university capital, operation, and maintenance; and indirect costs and benefits for Health, the Environment, and Community. http://www.unomaha.edu/sustainability/center-for-urban-sustainability/_docs/UNO-transportation-study.pdf

A student in the "Principles of Sustainability" business class did his final project on waste generation on campus. To accomplish his project, the student conducted a number of waste audits at UNO's residence halls and then developed an action plan to address ways to improve awareness and accuracy about recycling.

The campus bioretention garden is a living laboratory utilized by horticulture students. It provides students with a demonstration of how native plants effectively deal with stormwater. The UNO Welcome Center bioretention gardens recently had a number of pieces of monitoring equipment installed to assess how the gardens are performing. Installed equipment includes soil moisture sensors, temperature sensors, data loggers, and cameras. The soil moisture and temperature sensors have been installed in groups of three in two locations in both of the bioretention gardens. The depths of the sensors are at 6 inches, 18 inches, and 30 inches. These sensors will provide a better understanding how moisture moves through the soil throughout a given year and over the long term, how it changes from year-to-year. Soil temperature can play a significant role in bioretention plant and soil health as well as infiltration; this equipment will help expand the limited research that has focused on garden soil temperatures. The two live web cameras will provide excellent insights into how the gardens perform during a given rain event and also provide a visual assessment of how the plants perform within the gardens. Time-lapse video will show how the garden grows and changes throughout the year, providing an excellent way to assess plant performance as well as illustrate the seasonal beauty and diversity of native and adapted garden plants throughout the year. The data collected by the sensors and web cameras will be displayed online as well as in real-time on a kiosk to be installed in the Durham Science Building. It will also be utilized by multiple classes at UNO to teach about green infrastructure and stormwater management in general.

Mammel Hall, the LEED Gold Certified home of the College of Business, was the focus of a post occupancy evaluation (POE) completed in 2015. The research was conducted by faculty in architecture and business administration and sought to understand if an individual's attitude towards sustainability influenced his/his satisfaction with a building's design and if the satisfaction with the building influenced organizational commitment.