California State University, Long Beach
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

As part of the Campus as a Living Laboratory (CALL) program, students have participated in multiple campus engagement events, including the annual Sustainability Month, Earth Week, Fall Mixer, and Green Generation Mixer events. Students are responsible for spreading awareness of the campus’ sustainability programs and initiatives at these events by staffing the Office of Sustainability table, assisting with planning and coordination, and encouraging students to participate in different calls to action. Every year, students from more than 20 courses also submit sustainability-focused projects that relate to their discipline for the Sustainability Project Showcase as part of applied student learning projects for their courses. In the fall of 2023, students from POSC 401: Women in Political Theory course helped to create a "Guide to Sustainable Living" for students living in the dorms. This resource is intended to help students be more mindful of their resource consumption (water and energy), the ways they produce and manage waste and strategies for saving money while also helping the planet.

During the spring 2023 semester, students in the POSC 401: Women in Political Theory course worked with the Office of Sustainability to create a short PSA-style video announcing the newly launched recycling program in the Water Pyramid, the campus' primary athletics stadium/venue. The target audience for this video, which was shared on the Office of Sustainability and the CSULB Athletics social media account, was students and the general public who attended sporting events on campus.

During the spring and summer 2023 sessions, a team of students from the Masters of Science in Sustainability Management and Policy (MSSMP) program produced a capstone report and presentation on their research related to potential options and approaches for obtaining carbon offsets to meet the climate neutrality goals set out in the university's Climate Action & Adaptation Plan.

Every semester, two to four CSULB students serve as interns in Beach Building Services, working with the Energy and Utilities Manager to learn about energy efficiency on campus and in the working world. They get hands-on experience monitoring and adjusting systems in campus buildings, as well as the chance to meet engineers in the field. Students have been involved in projects related to metering and retro-commissioning, for example.

In fall 2023, students from ESP 392: Climate Action & Sustainability course helped implement a Food Waste Reduction Challenge in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and Residential Dining Services. Students researched and developed talking points about the issue of food waste and participated in tabling events inside the dining halls to educate student diners and encourage them to reduce their contribution to food waste. Students also developed and deployed a survey to gather data about students' food waste behaviors and motivations.

Service learning students from ESP 392: Climate Action & Sustainability have worked with the campus Landscaping & Grounds department each semester since the course's inception in 2015. A project that was completed in 2023 after more than 4 years of student involvement is the production of two plant catalogs that document all of the trees and shrubs on campus. These catalogs contain information about each plant's management requirements, including sunlight and shade requirements, maximum height and width, growth rate, watering needs, potential pest and disease issues, and designation as either deciduous or evergreen. The Grounds staff will soon receive these books to aid them in their comprehension of the campus landscape and the specific needs of the trees and plants located here.

A student intern from the College Corps program who interned in the CSULB Office of Sustainability created an "Alternatives to single-use plastics" matrix, which was used to help educate the campus community about the Single Use Plastics policy, which went into full effect on January 1, 2023. The policy bans certain single-use plastic products such as water bottles, bags, polystyrene food packaging, and straws. The alternatives matrix provided recommendations for items that could replace these banned items. The matrix was disseminated by the Office of Procurement to the campus community, particularly those involved with purchasing for departments, along with a notice about the policy and the implementation and enforcement protocols.

During the fall of 2023, student assistants participated in data collection to determine how the expanded bike infrastructure was being utilized by students on campus. Two data collection methods were utilized: observations and surveys. During the observations, students kept notes of student behavior, such as adherence to the designated wheel paths. With the surveys, the student assistants randomly approached students to ask them a series of questions that included: What is your main mode of transportation to campus? If you use a wheeled device, do you feel safe riding your bike/wheeled device on campus? Have you ever been involved in a bike accident on campus? Do you think there are enough bike lanes on campus? The data collected (190 observations and 31 surveys), revealed that students feel safe riding their wheeled devices on campus. Students suggested continuing to expand the bike lanes in areas of campus where they are currently unavailable. Additionally, students observed that signs in some areas were not clear/available, which left wheeled users uncertain about how to proceed. This data will be utilized by the campus planning department to continue to expand wheel paths on campus.

During the fall 2023 semester, students from ESP 392: Climate Action & Sustainability at CSULB participated in a post-consumer organics diversion pilot program at two eateries on campus. The students developed signage for the new green organics bin, created a survey to poll customers about their waste diversion knowledge, did outreach to educate diners about how to properly sort their waste, and collected data on the waste diversion behaviors they were seeing throughout the project.

In spring 2023, the ART 318: Intermediate Typography class worked with the Office of Sustainability to informational signage to promote the use of hydration stations on campus. While the ultimate goal was to reduce single-use plastic water bottle waste and consumption, the project was also aimed at combatting the perception that the water from the hydration stations was unfiltered, and therefore less desirable than bottled water, which was an assumption that the Office of Sustainability had learned was somewhat prevalent among students.

In the Fall of 2022, students from ESP 392: Climate Action and Sustainability course conducted a study to evaluate the amount of shade available in various high-traffic areas of campus. The goal of the study was to determine priority areas for adding more trees to shade walkways during the hot summer months. Increasing the shading of outdoor spaces and walkways is a key strategy outlined in the university's Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Analysis of available shade conditions was also an important consideration of a recent landscape study and planning effort conducted in 2023.

Over the 2022-23 academic year, a student taking part in the College Corps internship program who was interning with the Office of Sustainability took the lead in developing a Green Events program that emphasizes equity, diversity, and accessibility as it relates to campus events. One of the key components of the program is the Equity and Sustainability Checklist and Toolkit, which calls on users to consider the ways that they are including and centering the voices and representation of historically underrepresented groups in their event planning, marketing, and execution. It also requires participants to ensure that events are accessible to all by taking steps to accommodate those with varying abilities.

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Reporting Period: AY 2021-22; AY 2022-23, AY 2023-24