Colorado College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The Office of Sustainability interns have used the campus as a living labratory for air & climate while collecting data for STARS. Furthermore, the Office of Sustainability employs a student intern to work on the college's annual greenhouse gas inventory. The intern looks at all aspects of campus to collect data related to greenhouse gas emissions and has looked into ways of implementing more efficient recording systems. In addition, the Atmospheric Dynamics class includes a student-designed laboratory/field research component related to local pollution.

Office of Sustainability interns have used campus as a living laboratory for buildings while collecting data for STARS and in other projects. Through communication with CC's Campus Planner, interns have learned about building operation and maintenance, design and construction, and indoor air quality. Interns are working with faculty in the GreenLabs project, which aims to improve energy efficiency in labs on campus. Additionally, members of Campus Sustainability Council including interns and students wrote a petition to advocate for a carbon-neutral library design. These students were exposed to carbon neutrality on a large scale and were able to influence the college's decision to build a high-energy efficiency building. The net-zero Library opened in 2017.

The Office of Sustainability Interns have used the campus as a living laboratory for energy while collecting data for STARS. Through meeting with the College's Campus Energy Manager, interns learned the ins and outs of energy on campus and were able to evaluate the strengths of shortcomings. In the Intro to Geodesign course, students undertook campus-based geodesign projects that identify opportunities for renewable energy placement. Additionally, the large number of solar arrays on campus provide a learning opportunity to members of the community who see them and are able to inquire about renewable energy. There are real-time energy dashboards located in the Worner Student Center which display the campus' energy use minute by minute. These dashboards provide information for students to see and further inquire about. In addition, the Energy: Environmental Energetics and Thermodynamics course works with a local nonprofit to conduct an energy audit and retrofit for a low-income house in the community.

Using the framework provided by the Real Food Calculator, the students systematically analyzed the quality of the various products being purchased and generated quantitative data based on local, ecological, fair trade, and humane expenditures. In addition, the Office of Sustainability interns met with Bon Appetit staff in order to collect data for STARS. Further, the Food and Social Justice course includes independent projects exploring food on campus and in the community. Finally, the Human Impacts on Biogeochemical Cycles course in the environmental program conducted a nitrogen footprint calculation for the college, including impacts related to food.

Students enrolled in courses such as Nature & Spirit -Science & Religion, Environmental Stewardship & Spirituality, and Conservation Biology & Spirituality have studied ecology through South Crestone Creek at CC's Baca campus. First year student orientation groups have and will continue to participate in stewardship efforts at the Baca Campus through native planting activities etc. In addition, two interns from the Office of Sustainability have been collaborating with faculty and facilities staff to improve the prioritization of sustainability in campus landscaping. In addition, the Office of Sustainability interns have used the campus as a living laboratory for grounds while meeting with the Grounds Crew to discuss campus landscaping. In the Intro to Geodesign, students undertook campus-based geodesign projects that identify opportunities for xeric landscaping and/or vegetable gardens, together with plant communities that provide habitats for pollinators, birds, and small mammals. Finally, in maintaining the Tree Campus USA program, students and interns in the Office of Sustainability have been researching and maintaining tree count, tree type, and tree health on the Colorado College campus.

The Office of Sustainability interns have used the campus as a living labratory for purchasing while collecting data for STARS. By communicating with members of the Purchasing Department, interns have been briefed on the purchasing policies and procedures adapted by the College and have been able to see opportunities to improve.

The Office of Sustainability interns have used the campus as a living labratory for transportation while collecting data for STARS. By communicating with representatives of the Transportation Department, interns have gathered insight on the campus's use of sustainable transportation and have been able to determine areas in which the campus can improve. The Pike Ride system is new at Colorado College and with the addition of this as well as CC's certification as a Bicycle Friendly University, students have been exposed to biking at Colorado College. The introduction of the bike share has allowed all students to have the option to bike at no cost and learn about the feasibility of biking at CC. The college annually audits the fleet vehicle emissions every year and determines a surcharge for offsets.

The Office of Sustainability interns have used the campus as a living laboratory for waste while collecting data for STARS. Additionally, the new waste-receptacles in the Worner Student Center have signage displaying waste streams with a Leave No Trace logo on the centers. These receptacles provide a learning opportunity to all students about recycling and compost and has led to an increased diversion rate from the landfill. Student activism surrounding Recyclemania also provides an opportunity for educating the student body about waste diversion for the college. The Community Engagement team weighed the compost produced at Rastall at the dish return area for 2 weeks over 6th block (this was our baseline period). We then continued to record the weight for the first week of 7th block but we made the data aware to students after each day by filling out a graph that was hung up in rastall comparing the data to the baseline period. During the 1st week of 7th block we also put signage up around Rastall educating student on food waste and the impacts of their food choices on the environment.

The Office of Sustainability interns have used the campus as a living laboratory for water while collecting data for STARS, and in other projects. The Building and Grounds subcommittee from the full campus sustainability council is working on a project to increase xeric gardening across campus and conserve water. In addition, in the Intro to Geodesign course, students students undertook campus-based geodesign projects that identify opportunities for water conservation and xeric gardens. Further, Monument Creek (which runs through campus) is used to study urban water quality in a number of courses, including Physical Geology and Biogeochemistry of Watersheds. The Monument Creek Project also studies Monument creek in the innovation and geodesign course.

The Office of Sustainability Interns used campus as a living laboratory for Coordination, Planning & Governance while collecting data for STARS. In the Intro to Geodesign course, students submitted projects related to landscaping and energy on campus to the Campus Master Plan architects, as a means to communicate student-developed sustainability aspirations to the designers. Further, a number of students serve on the Campus Sustainability Council, which has developed a Sustainability Action Plan to address broad planning and governance goals.

The Office of Sustainability Interns have used the campus as a living laboratory for Diversity & Affordability while collecting data for STARS. The Butler Center provides cultural competency and sensitivity training around issues of diversity at Colorado College.

The Office of Sustainability Interns used campus as a living laboratory for Investment while collecting data for STARS. Students in the Investment subcommittee of the campus sustainability council also have engaged with the Board of Trustees to advocate for sustainable investment. This subcommittee is made up of students and staff and is researching the feasibility of sustainable investment, initiating a trend towards sustainable investment at CC, and investigating proxy voting. The subcommittee published a document in the Spring of 2016 which is a guideline for proxy voting at CC available to the entire campus community and is working on publishing written guidelines for sustainable investing. A green portfolio is currently being managed by Colorado College's investment club and the funds are being invested based on thorough CSR guidelines.

The Office of Sustainability interns have used the campus as a living laboratory for public engagement while collecting data for STARS. This goal has been advanced by developing a deep relationship with the college’s Collaborative for Community Engagement (CCE). The Office of Sustainability’s Community Engagement Intern is specifically charged with working closely with the CCE to develop and maintain relationships based on sustainable initiatives. The intern has played a key role in helping the CCE to foster intracampus collaboration around sustainability and facilitating a deeper understanding amongst students of the responsibility CC has to sustainability as part of the Colorado Springs community. Furthermore, student organizations in the CCE are working on programs to improve engagement in the broader community by working on projects to address food justice, diversity and inclusion, and youth engagement. In 2015, the college sponsored The Soup Project Challenge as a way to fund new projects addressing homelessness in Colorado Springs in the wake of the campus soup kitchen. The student organization, Roots: Colorado Springs Homeless Collective carries on the legacy of the soup kitchen by leading weekly creative workshops at Urban Peak youth shelter downtown and producing a magazine in collaboration with members of the homeless community with the goal of humanizing their experiences and elevating their voices. In addition, student organizers in the CCE Co-op’s Education and Sustainable Community Development Coalitions have been collaborating with student organizations that work with youth from the local District 11 schools to facilitate activities that provoke the youth and CC students to think about food justice and sustainable eating. Finally, students in the environmental education TREE semester develop and implement curricula for fifth grade classes in local elementary schools in which they conduct projects related to environmental science at the Catamount Center near Woodland Park, Colorado.

The Office of Sustainability Interns have used campus as a living labratory for Health, Wellbeing & Work while collecting data for STARS. All interns and volunteers at the Office of Sustainability are invited on an office retreat to the school's BACA campus. The retreat includes yoga, board games, hikes, and free time to reset. Further, the Environmental Education semester at the Catamount Center includes a component of reflection relating to health and wellness and students' personal relationship to their environment. The Wellness Center now includes a corner for crafting and more space to play as this is integral to mental health. Students can learn from the seminars provided by the Wellness Center or from spending time in the office space.

Sense of Place programming has been successfully implemented into New Student Orientation. This is designed to help educate new students about various aspects of sustainability on campus including water, food, energy, buildings, landscape, etc. Sense of Place trips are also carried out throughout the year to strengthen student and faculty relationships with their surrounding environment. Faculty are encouraged to implement Sense of Place principles into courses as well. Senior Colleen Orr wrote and presented her thesis to both students at Colorado College and at the AASHE national conference regarding nitrogen footprinting and the positive outcomes in calculating the college's nitrogen footprint. Starting fall of 2017, the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Intern will be calculating the college's nitrogen footprint along with the carbon footprint.