Texas A&M University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Utilities & Energy Services (UES) holds tours of the operating plants to give students first- hand experience on how the facilities operate. We have a number of students working side by side with UES staff evaluating building, distribution system, and plant operating performance. These students are usually with UES for 2 or more years and have the opportunity to gain real world experience while pursuing their academic degrees.

The Combined Heat and Power system at the Central Utility plant is regularly used to give students a better understanding of CHP. The ARCH 406 class in the College of Architecture was given a project to redesign the underutilized spaces on campus as pavilions with the use of sustainable materials and reduced amount of utilities.

Students collected and analyzed building usage data to create schedules to turn heating and cooling systems off when not in use. Schedules typically reduce building energy consumption by more than 15% annually.

Chartwells at Texas A&M has hired a sustainability intern (current Texas A&M student) that helps manage sustainability related initiatives within the company. This position has led to greater sustainability education for not only the student but the company. Sustainability related projects include the planning and coordinating of the company's first Farmers' Market on campus, data collection for STARS, making food recommendations that are in line with STARS, and working to make Texas A&M a Fair Trade Campus. The latter project will require coordination between Chartwells and the Office of Sustainability. Project implementation will lead to Fair Trade education throughout the Texas A&M campus.

A central focus of SSC Grounds Management is the active support and leadership of sustainability efforts campus wide. The department actively participates in a myriad of activities in conjunction with individual students, student groups, formal course work, research projects, and campus initiatives.

The alternative transportation unit often partners with various academic departments to better transportation on campus. We did several studies with the urban planning department about bike share before we implemented the program based on their recommendations. We also partner with other departments and student groups to educate and enable the student population to know more and utilize alternative transportation modes. We have a bike maintenance shop that teaches bike maintenance to students and allows them to use the station and tools to repair their bikes. We also use League Cycling Instructors to teach bike safety classes to build confidence in cycling so the mode is used more often and appropriately.

The Howdy Farm promotes recycling and reduces green waste through composting practices. The farm composts all green waste generated from the gardens and creates compost that is used to fertilize and build healthy soils. UES partnered with students to conduct a waste audit and provide input on recycling bin placement.

The Howdy Farm, works to teach students about water conservation in sustainable agriculture by using drip irrigation, organic mulches, and by planting seasonal crops that conserve water. The Howdy Farm also utilizes rainwater harvesting in an effort to use less municipal water.

The Office of Sustainability utilizes our Internship Team to assist with reporting requirements for our Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) and our STARS reporting requirements. Interns prepare information needed for credits and help with data collection. In particular, they helped us code syllabi for AC-1. In addition, thanks to their help, we completed our 2nd Biennial SMP Report in 2014 and they will be helping us create the annual infographic report on campus sustainability progress moving forward. Graduate students have also played a significant role in gathering data for STARS and have helped coordinate the Sustainable Office Certification Program.

Develop with information from Diversity...

The Office of Sustainability Internship Program focuses on educating campus and the public in regards to the University's sustainability initiatives and encourages participants to make more sustainable decisions in their daily lives. The main focus of the program is Campus Engagement through a peer to peer outreach platform. Our students give presentations, provide workshops, plan and participate in events and design the educational content, create videos, utilize social media and do various tabling and other engagement activities to engage our campus community around sustainability issues. Positive outcomes associated with this work include: providing presentations to audiences ranging from 75 - 150 students/faculty/staff 2-4 times each semester; providing workshops for audiences ranging from 30-50 students/faculty/staff; creating education content for events that range from 250-600 participants; and generating digital content for social media platforms that have between 500 to 2,500 followers. Public outreach occurs at the community-wide Brazos Valley Earth Day, and at various school/after school programs in the community. Positive outcomes associated with the work include interacting with ~200 people at Earth Day and sharing our sustainability message, presenting about living more sustainably to a group of over 100 5-12 grade students at a local private school, and developing interactive educational activities for K-5 children in the local community.

Develop with information from HR...

The Winnie Carter Wildlife Center is a 12-acre facility located on the TAMU College Station campus. Native Texas wildlife species, including white-tailed deer and Texas tortoises, are some of the animals housed at the facility. Undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students come to the Winnie Carter Wildlife Center to learn about the husbandry, management, research and medicine of these animals. Experiential learning is the method by which courses are taught at the center. Students participate in the care of the animals and the facilities. The center is a unique campus living laboratory. In addition, students participate in composting and recycling and reuse efforts, energy conservation, and are taught about sustainability.