Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 45.28
Liaison Nina Bisbee
Submission Date Sept. 22, 2023

STARS v2.2

Bryn Mawr College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Nina Bisbee
Director
Facilities Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Campus Engagement

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability - This workshop-based course begins with the concept of ecological exiles then consider how local initiatives on campus and beyond can help us to work towards global goals for sustainable development. Final projects were presented in Spring of 2022 as part of our Earth Week Celebration. Projects presented at a tabling event included and alternative carbon sequestration approach involving algae and publishing a heat map to make community members more aware of their engergy consumption. Hannah Nye hosted a sustainability trivia night to educate and engage students in sustainability as part of this assignment.

Public Engagement 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
The professor Donnay and students Liwei Yang '21 and Johnluca Fenton (HC '21) worked with residents on a solar panel installation proposal for the Haverford Township Board of Commissioners. As a result the Township Budgeted $1 million for Solar projects.

Air & Climate 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability - This workshop-based course begins with the concept of ecological exiles then consider how local initiatives on campus and beyond can help us to work towards global goals for sustainable development. Students designed ecological studies of impacts of two tree planting projects (one on campus and one in Altoona PA) that the College is implementing to offset campus carbon emissions. Student's measured tree on campus planted to offset our carbon footprint as part of the data collection for this assignment and visited another planting site in Altoona PA where they planted trees as part of the off-set initiative.

BIOL B220 Ecology- A study of the interactions between organisms and their environments. The scientific underpinnings of current environmental issues, with regard to human impacts, are also discussed. Students will also become familiar with ecological principles and with the methods ecologists use. Students will apply these principles through the design and implementation of experiments both in the laboratory and the field. Morris Woods is used to study carbon sequestration.

Buildings  

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability- Kristen Hung's final project studied the feasibility and benefits of converting the campus exterior lighting to LED technology.

Maisie Smith produced a final project to reduce energy use through a strategy of ongoing building improvements as well as energy management policies and student engagement.

Energy 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
Shefali Ramakrishna created a model in the spring of 2022 to calculate the number of charging stations required to fully electrify the Bryn Mawr vehicle fleet. The results of her study were presented in a spring meeting of the Sustainability Leadership Group.

BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability- Masie Smith researched proposals to reduce energy use on campus including building improvements and student engagement programs and policies.

Food & Dining 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability
Clay Stoltenberg proposed an aerobic digester to be used in the dining Halls to more sustainably manage food waste that is currently transported to an off-site composing operation.

Grounds 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
BIOL B225- Plants are critical to numerous contemporary issues, such as ecological sustainability, economic stability, and human health. Students will examine the fundamentals of how plants are structured, how they function, how they interact with other organisms, and how they respond to environmental stimuli. In addition, students will be taught to identify important local species, and will explore the role of plants in human society and ecological systems. As part of this study, students are required to find a spot on campus to make weekly observations regarding plant-plant and plant-environment interactions. Locations include Morris Woods , the meadow behind Wyndham, the buffer around Rhodes Pond, and the rows of oak trees on the main green.

BIOLOGY 230 Ecological Exiles and Sustainability- Emma Askren completed a term project investigate the feasibility of planting native plan species on campus green areas.

Purchasing 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
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Transportation 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
Shefali Ramakrishna created a model in the spring of 2022 to calculate the number of charging stations required to fully electrify the Bryn Mawr vehicle fleet. The results of her study were presented in a spring meeting of the Sustainability Leadership Group.

BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability - Hannah Nye produced a study of options to incentivize sustainable leisure transit for students including programs to support the use of public transportation and bikeshare programs.

Waste 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability- Arlowe Willingham produced a final project to reduce waste by expanding the College Library's free book program to deaccession books.

Syalomee Pradhan produced a final project that aimed to assess the costs and benefits and address the implementation of a compost collection system for certified compostable packaging such as takeout materials.

Water 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
BIOL B220- A study of the interactions between organisms and their environments. The scientific underpinnings of current environmental issues, with regard to human impacts, are also discussed. Students will also become familiar with ecological principles and with the methods ecologists use. Students will apply these principles through the design and implementation of experiments both in the laboratory and the field. The pond and on site stream are used to study water quality and runoff issues.

Coordination & Planning 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability - This workshop-based course begins with the concept of ecological exiles then consider how local initiatives on campus and beyond can help us to work towards global goals for sustainable development. Students in this class were assigned a project in Spring of 2022 to conduct a Campus Sustainability Inventory mapped to UN SDGs. The results were shared with the co-conveners of the Sustainability Leadership Group.

Diversity & Affordability 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
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Investment & Finance 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
No

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
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Wellbeing & Work 

Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
Yes

A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
BIOLOGY 230: Ecological Exiles and Sustainability- In the Spring of 2022, Sophia Wagner produced a final project to explore the use of "All We Can Save Circles" to address the mental anxiety around Climate Change. The project surveyed student interest, proposed a budget and outlined a plan for the sessions.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Solar panel Proposal: https://www.brynmawr.edu/news/prof-victor-donnay-students-present-solar-energy-proposal-haverford-town & https://www.brynmawr.edu/news/haverford-township-budgets-1-million-solar-projects-bi-co-recommendation

Trivia Night event: https://www.brynmawr.edu/inside/latest/events/earth-week-sustainability-trivia-night

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