Hope College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

--Our Engineering Department is connected with our Physical Plant Department and Office of Sustainability and have worked on the following projects together from freshmen coursework, independent studies, senior research project, and teams competing at the national level. A few examples include: designing a solar-shed for our landscape equipment and golf carts; students as part of our LEED team for the student center education committee and credit verification; designing a energy and water conservation device for the campus cottages; studying, inventorying, and recommending efficiency upgrades to cottages; "Permeable Vanderplex" a redesign of an area of campus with permeable pavers; designing plans for our Cook Villages Apartment complex as part of the Race to Zero Energy Competition; studying our campus cottages to select on to be further studied and developed into a sustainability campus cottage; studying our LEED Silver Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts and evaluating the energy usage of the building; designing a green mobility station for students; and researching the best practices/lessons learned from other colleges as we develop our own Green Revolving Fund.

--Our Biology Department is also connected with our Physical Plant, Sustainability Institute, the City of Holland, and holland in Blook through our Urban Tree Project Inventory Project - TreeSap.
TreeSap was built to allow nature enthusiasts to identify and understand the value of trees throughout the Holland, Michigan, area. Using data collected by Hope College and the City of
Holland, users can identify trees via their current location, manual coordinate entry, map and QR code. Additionally, users can add their own trees to the database and have their trees reviewed and approved by trusted curators.
Download the app to your Apple or Android device.
Our research identifies and quantifies specific benefits that trees provide us
Allows us to make smart planting decisions based on desired benefits
Encourages a relationship with nature

--A biology student and a communication student have also developed a campus tree map brochure highlighting special trees around campus. The same biology student has also been helping us to develop a calculation for our future carbon off-set GHG land project.

--Another student in a media production class created a video about sustainability on campus and interviewed key personnel and faculty.

--We have welcomed students from departments all over campus to help make Hope more sustainable, we strive to give them resources and support for projects they see as important.

Students interning with the Hope College Sustainability Advisory Committee (Green Team) learn from our unique "town-gown" relationship the ability to plan and host sustainability related public engagement events. One of the most recent examples includes additional coordination with our Center for Diversity and Inclusion "Environmental Justice and Indigenous Peoples' Event" https://calendar.hope.edu/event/environmental_justice_and_indigenous_peoples_event

Our Biology Department is also connected with the City of Holland through our Urban Tree Project Inventory Project.

Our "There's No Place Like Home" program continues to support additional community based partnerships between Hope and Holland. A third round of funding, for five projects, has been awarded through the “There’s No Place Like Home” initiative administered by Hope College to link community organizations with Hope faculty and students to together address pressing social needs in the Holland area.

Subtitled “The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Community-Based Partnerships Presidential Initiative of Hope College and Holland, Michigan,” the program was established in February 2020 through an $800,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It is running through June 30, 2023, and is supporting area projects through multiple application cycles. https://hope.edu/news/2022/academics/theres-no-place-like-home-supports-additional-community-based-partnerships-between-hope-and-holland.html

Multiple projects in the Fall 2022 Center for Leadership (CFL) Program foscused on sustainability. Students worked with social justice organizations, EV charger infrastructure, carbon offsetting at a local level, and solar panels for a local company. https://hope.edu/academics/center-leadership/student-consulting.html
Article about EV in frastructure project with Ottawa County: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIOTTAWA/bulletins/32f3c5d

An air quality research and education project continues to engage local students. It involves faculty, students, and staff from Hope College and area k-12 teachers and students to bring together real-time air quality data from around the community.

Students in courses such as Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to do research and/or in-class projects on various aspects of the campus ecosystem, e.g. energy, transportation, waste, and water.

Multiple projects in the Fall 2022 Center for Leadership (CFL) Program foscused on sustainability more specifically air/climate. Students worked on EV charger infrastructure, carbon offsetting at a local level, and solar panels for a local company. https://hope.edu/academics/center-leadership/student-consulting.html
Article about EV in frastructure project with Ottawa County: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIOTTAWA/bulletins/32f3c5d

Refer to the tree project up above as well.

Our new buildings are designed to be more sustainable and while some of our historical buildings have been updated to save electricity and gas. For example, The Jack H. Miller Center Center for Musical Arts was completed with a LEED Silver certification and the Bultman Student Center currently under construction is aiming for LEED Gold.

Engineering Project (Kleinhecksel Cottage): During the summer of 2022 two engineering students helped evaluate a number of potential college owned cottages for a "sustainability themed house." These students selected an existing 100 year old home for redesign with the goal of transforming it to be as carbon neutral as possible. During the 2022-2023 academic year a team of four senior engineering design students further evaluated the home for specific projects to be completed. The projects being performed on this home include adding insulation to all exterior wall and attic, installing an air source heat pump and hybrid hot water heater for maximum efficiency, and adding solar panels to the south side of the house.

Also, students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative.

Our new buildings have been designed to be more sustainable and while historical buildings are updated to save more electricity and gas.

Students in the Engineering Department created solar energy systems for charging our landscape equipment and electric golf carts. The has included sourcing products and working on the permits. https://blogs.hope.edu/sustainability-institute/community-knowledge/student-led-solar-project-powers-grounds-equipment-at-hope/

--Our Engineering Department is connected with our Physical Plant Department and Office of Sustainability and have worked on the following projects together from freshmen coursework, independent studies, and senior research project. A few energy related project examples include: studying our campus cottages to select on to be further studied and developed into a sustainability campus cottage; studying our LEED Silver Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts and evaluating the energy usage of the building; designing a green mobility station for students; and researching the best practices/lessons learned from other colleges as we develop our own Green Revolving Fund.

Creative Dining Services, owned by Hope College, offers a wide variety of food options for students, faculty, and staff. This includes vegetarian and local food options. They created initiatives such as "totally-trayless," energy/water conservation practices, composting, herb garden, and supported the summer 2016 campus garden. By educating dining hall customers about these types of practices they demonstrates how easy it really is to eat more sustainably.

During the 2019-2020 acedmic year one of our students worked with our Dining Services team on developing and implementing "Meatless Mondays." This was set to roll out in April 2020, but due to covid it unfortunately was postponed until the next academic year. It has been a big success and each October (Campus Sustainability Month) and April (Earth Month) we really promote it more heavily and work with our Dining Services team to host events such as cooking demos, panel discussions, and more.

Students in courses like Earth and Ethics and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about these initiative.

Hope College received a certified environmental steward certificate through the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program. For more information visit http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1599-216431--,00.html and https://www.mtesp.org/
Students have been involved in permeable paver projects, inventorying trees across campus, tagging trees with QR codes, water conversation strategies, and working with us on a carbon offset arboretum project.

Students working with our Physical Plant Team, Engineering Department, Office of Sustainability have been involved with researching and recommending products for purchase in our cottages/apartments, residential halls, solar panels for our landscape equipment charging project, and the student green mobility station. This has including solar panels, battery selection, chargers, hvac equipment, water conservation, toilets, and more.
https://blogs.hope.edu/sustainability-institute/community-knowledge/student-led-solar-project-powers-grounds-equipment-at-hope/

Students in courses like Earth and Ethics, Intro to Environmental Science, and some First Year Seminars are required to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about transportation alternatives around and the greater Holland area. In part because of this work, in the past 5 years we have reduced the total number of campus vehicles and purchased vehicles with higher fuel efficiency. Some summer research students have been working with a local bicycle group, Pedal Holland, to make our campus more bicycle friendly.

Students in our Intro to Engineering classes have also worked on designing a student green mobility station, researching larger scale solar panel systems for over our parking lots, as well as chargers.

Students in the Center for Leadership (CFL) program have also worked with Ottawa County and Consumers Energy to better understand local EV infrastructure.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIOTTAWA/bulletins/32f3c5d

One Hope student that was really interested in transportation on campus was also recommended to sit on the City of Holland's non-motorized transportation plan which was adopted in 2022. https://www.cityofholland.com/1178/Non-Motorized-Transportation-Plan

In 2022 we added a transportation student position to our Hope Advocates for Sustainability internship program.

Yes students from a variety of departments (biology, environmental science, communications, etc...) have been working on evaluating our waste infrastructure and education.

In response to all of the take out containers/bags used during covid our students began a program with Trex to collect plast films and recycle them on campus. This was a hugley succesful program and both times we ran it we met our requirements well in advance. We have since received two benches made from their composite material. These are placed in locations around campus. https://nextrex.com/view/programs

During covid our students also hosted reusable bag decorating/giveaways with our Student Congress as well as reusable silverware giveaways. Our students collected silverware from local thrift stores, washed them, and put them in reusable bags and gave them out to students as a way to promote reduction of single use items.

In March 2022 Hope College launched a Global Water Research Institute (GWRI) which supports research concerned with water locally, regionally and globally. The GWRI is building on experience honed at Hope across decades. Faculty from multiple departments — working collaboratively with Hope students — have been conducting research on water quality and related issues since the latter 1990s, not only locally (examples including the Macatawa Watershed, and microplastics in Lake Michigan), but abroad in nations including the Dominican Republic, Fiji and Kenya.
https://hope.edu/research/global-water-research-institute/
https://hope.edu/news/2022/academics/hope-colleges-new-global-water-research-institute-addresses-acute-need.html

In 2020 Hope received a state grant for its covid wastewater testing program.
https://hope.edu/news/2020/campus-life/hope-receives-state-grant-for-covid-19-wastewater-testing-program.html

Day 1 Research Project: Watershed is a year-long program that offers you the opportunity to engage in the efforts of our local community to improve the water quality of the greater Holland area and larger Lake Michigan ecological systems.
https://hope.edu/academics/day1/watershed.html

Hope Advocates for Sustainability (HAS) Student Intern Presidents and Green Hope (student club) Presidents attend our campus sustainability committee meetings and help with coordination of projects and longer term planning. One of our HAS presidents also sits on student congress and continues to bring sustainability issues to that committee.
Students were also involved in campus transportation and strategic plan development.
One Hope student that was really interested in transportation on campus was also recommended to sit on the City of Holland's non-motorized transportation plan which was adopted in 2022. https://www.cityofholland.com/1178/Non-Motorized-Transportation-Plan

Students in the Race in America course are encouraged to research and connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative.

Students through the Center for Diversity and Inclusion also help to organize events for the entire campus and some for the greater Holland community. In 2021 we added an Environmental Justice student position to our Hope Advocates for Sustainability internship program. That student meets biweekly with the Director for the Office of Sustainability and staff from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. The coordinate communications and plan a co-sponsored event each semester. The most recent example was from the fall of 2022. https://calendar.hope.edu/event/environmental_justice_and_indigenous_peoples_event

Students in the Earth and Ethics course complete research projects and are required to connect with staff on campus to learn about this initiative. This has also been an initiative of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee (aka The Green Team).

We have also had students looking into divestment and also sustainable investment opportunities through our retirement program.

In December 2022 we also hired 5 students to work on our newly created Green Revolving Fund, they will work on recommendations to share with our coordinating committee which also includes our CFO and Business Services Director.

In 2021 Hope Advocates for Sustainability (HAS) presented during the Critical Issues Symposium during one of the break out sessions. "Environmental Wellbeing (with Hope Advocates for Sustainability): How do our interactions with the natural world impact mental health?" This was a very well attended event.
https://anchor.hope.edu/campusandbeyond/hope-to-host-critical-issues-symposium-october-6/
This Wednesday, Hope College is suspending classes for a day to give students a chance to engage with serious topics at the Critical Issues Symposium. The symposium this year is centered on the topic of mental health, which is an increasingly common and concerning issue on college campuses. According to the American Psychological Association, “95% of college counseling directors [surveyed] said the number of students with significant psychological problems is a growing concern in their centers or on campus.” Classes have been dismissed in order to encourage and allow students the opportunity to attend the events. The symposium will include multiple panels and events, including a showing of the hit Disney film “Inside Out” (Tuesday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bultman Student Center Great Room) and features talks from four different speakers—all coordinated by Hope students for Hope Students.

Taking place in the spacious Jack Miller Auditorium, the first event of the day will commence promptly at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, beginning with a brief introduction delivered by one of Hope’s very own student directors. Then, from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., a series of lectures—on wellbeing, the difference between an individualist or supportive approach to achieving wellness and the global effects of COVID-19 on collective mental health—will be delivered by Dr. Girija Kaimal, after which students will have a break time for lunch and the opportunity to view an art exhibit, located in the Kruizenga Art Museum.
Other breakout sessions included:
Physical Wellbeing (with Dr. Brian Rider): How will developing healthy habits today not only add years to your life but enhance the enjoyment and quality of those years?
Social/Cultural Wellbeing (with Jevon Willis, Center for Diversity and Inclusion and Residential Life Staff): In what ways has there been social inclusion/exclusion of people with mental illness in the past? How can we seek to solve disparities in mental health treatment among different socioeconomic classes and racial groups? How does culture impact mental health?
Policy (with Markets & Morality speaker Jaimie Cavanaugh, Litigator with Institute for Justice): What can policy makers do to help in the area of mental health care? How did current mental health policies get to where they are today? What can we do as a society in regards to implementation of beneficial public policy?