Slippery Rock University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

A weather observation station is located on campus and available for use in student air quality assessment projects and coursework.

SRU currently has several energy dashboards displaying energy outputs in each Residence Hall that students can see on a daily basis in order to encourage them to decrease their energy use. There is also information displayed on the dashboards to help educate the students on sustainable topics. The dashboards will be used in Spring semester 2014 to provide metrics (and competitive encouragement) for residence hall energy competitions. We also used GIS student workers to create a Campus Sustainability Features Map which locates and explains the benefits of features such as green roofs, rain gardens, photovoltaic systems and permeable pavement; the map is now used on SRU's Admissions Tours.

Student workers in SRU dining halls assist in the dining hall recycling program, as well as in salvaging used cooking oil for use in creating biodiesel fuel for use in the Equestrian Center tractor. AVI, the university's food vendor, uses many green practices (such as "going trayless", using compostable containers, etc.), provides vegetarian and vegan food choices, and provides educational signage and flyers at the dining halls, .

SRU's Environmental Problems class performed a lighting survey on the Advanced Technology and Science and the Spotts World Culture academic buildings on campus, as well as the football stadium lights. This allowed students to visually see the amount of energy being wasted (that can be saved) on a daily basis just from making conscious choices. In addition, the lighting surveys also resulted in additional lighting controls being installed at the football stadium. Student interns of the Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator program also assisted in completing an energy audit of a local restaurant.

Currently two students from the Geography, Geology, and Environment Department are mapping Slippery Rock's campus. They recently completed a map that visually displays all of SRU's campus sustainability features, as well as separate mapping layers showing local Bartramian Audubon Society sanctuaries on and off campus. In addition to raising awareness of sustainable features on campus, the map has additional layers such as a slope analysis layer that can be used by the Grounds crew in evaluating which types of equipment should be used in different areas, based on slope steepness, and which steep slopes might be planted with indigenous ground cover to eliminate the use of fuel-consuming weed whackers.

In 2011 SRU's Purchasing Department placed limits on free Student Printing volume at 500 pages of printing per semester, and removed 450 Faculty desk top inkjet printers to encourage use of multifunction department equipment. The positive outcome is the reduction of printing by 5.5 million sheets of paper per year and the associated ink and toner that goes along with this printing. Savings from these items is estimated at over $150,000 per year.

Students created a Green Bike Initiative several years ago, and in the past year managed this bike loaner program. In Fall semester 2013, students also competed for, and were awarded, Green Fund Grants to purchase repair parts for the bikes and a bike repair station to be installed in front of the Bailey Library to encourage the use of bicycles instead of motor vehicles. The Student Government Association also funds the Happy Bus, which helps reduce auto traffic on campus.

SRU's student-run TerraCycling program encourages residents to recycle any personal care and cosmetic-related containers after use. Many students from SRU's geology, geography, and the environment department have installed recycling bins and advertised the program as projects for their classes. A Recyclemania contest among residence halls is also held each year, as is the "Dump and Run" furniture/appliance collection program that send items left behind by graduates to local charities and reduces our landfill waste.

Rain gardens, rainwater collection, and a greywater system are used on campus and described on the Admissions Tour Campus Sustainable Features Map to increase awareness and educate students about the benefits of these systems.

The Student Government Association (SGA) has formally issued a proclamation committing the organization to support green initiatives on campus, and several officers and senators have been actively engaged in planning new recycling programs (such as the TerraCycling program, improving off-campus student recycling and E-waste recycling days for the Slippery Rock community).These programs increase our recycling and minimize waste sent to the landfill.

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SRU's Exercise Science department offers free faculty/staff Yoga and Tai Chi classes, and holds an annual "Ten Thousand Steps Challenge" during the fall semester where they encourage individuals on campus to track their steps and increase their overall activity by forming teams and competing against others on campus. The challenge has been very successful in encouraging individuals to get outdoors and walk or bike. Several hiking, biking, and nature trails are also maintained and utilized by individuals as well as groups (Outdoor Adventure Club, Bicycling Club, etc.), with the Green Bike Program encouraging students to be more active. The "Harness your energy" green fund grant project also educates users of the Rec center elliptical machines regarding how kinetic energy can be converted to useful electricity.

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- Slippery Rock University's Robert A. Macoskey Center hosts two festivals every year to celebrate Harvest Fest and Earth Day. The festivals are open to the public, include local food vendors, short workshops (e.g, on composting techniques), tours of the gardens and renewable energy systems, and are generally intended to increase environmental and sustainability awareness and appreciation. - The Student Enterprise Accelerator and Students for Sustainability Club host a speakers series each year to present a variety of sustainability topics open to the public/campus community. - AASHE's Campus Sustainability Day is also open to the public and celebrated with planned events highlighting sustainability progress on campus. -The Office of Sustainability works with the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership and other academic/student groups to host a movie series and educational sustainability activities that are open to the public during Earth Week each year. Activities include such activities as cleaning invasive species at the local Jennings Environmental Center and helping local groups (Slippery Rock in Bloom and Sustainable Slippery Rock) in recycling efforts at the annual VillageFest event held in downtown Slippery Rock. Over 1,100 students and faculty participated in the 2013 earth week activities.

SRU currently has several students that are involved in the organization "Slippery Rock in Bloom" where students and other individuals promote gardening, harvesting seeds, and engage in environmental cleanups and weeding on campus and in town.