Pennsylvania State University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The Stormwater Living Lab project's core faculty includes ten scholars and Extension educators from multiple disciplines, including Landscape Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Biological Engineering, Economics, and Plant Sciences. It involves students in hands-on experiences around novel stormwater management practices on campus. They collaborate with facilities staff to improve real-world Green Stormwater Infrastructure design, construction, monitoring, and maintenance. https://sites.psu.edu/stormwaterlivinglab/

15 departments utilize the Stone Valley Forest, a 7,000 acre forest, for Living Lab projects in 47 courses. They study soils, recreation, hydrology, entomology forest technology, and geography.

The College of Engineering has developed a badging program based on the Sustainable Development Goals that is being piloted with students before branching out to faculty and staff. Students are leading the development effort. https://sites.psu.edu/sdgbadges/

Penn State Drawdown Scholars program brings together undergraduate students from many different disciplines and institutions to work closely with Penn State faculty mentors, staff, and graduate students to advance transformational strategies for reversing global warming. https://sites.psu.edu/drawdownscholars/

The Sustainable Communities Collaborative connects University Park faculty and students with local communities to address sustainability challenges through an engaged, collaborative effort. A wide range of student class projects have resulted, with topics that range from greenhouse gas inventories for communities in PA; to design of a pollinator garden for a historic church; redesign of a historic building to incorporate sustainability features and improve functionality; strategies for reducing food waste in the community, and many more.
http://sustainability.psu.edu/live/staff/sustainable-communities-collaborative

A post-doc student in Forestry created a story map about the university's Stone Valley Forest, where climate research and teaching take place. the site features research published by faculty and students as well as images of students engaged in hands-on learning. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/87024e43b38c4cb1bb917691dcf7695c

A student team in CED 475, Integrated Capstone Experience, worked with producers from Penn State's Public Radio station to develop discussion guides for communities based on the film "Managing Risks in a Changing Climate".

A student intern with Penn State Sustainability, whose role focused on carbon emission reduction strategies, developed a report "Feasibility Report: Implementing a Carbon Price at Penn State". The report reviewed carbon policies around the world and in the U.S., examined carbon pricing tools and programs used by other universities, and made recommendations for Penn State.

The Interdisciplinary Collaborative Studio (CoLab) in the College of Arts and Architecture is a course offered to fourth- and fifth-year undergraduate and graduate architecture, landscape architecture and architectural engineering (AE) students. Students work on a real-world project that is either in the design or construction phase.
In Spring 2022 a class developed a re-design of Penn State’s MorningStar Solar Home for the Solar Decathlon Retrofit Housing/Solar Flair competition. It how resides at the Sustainability Experience Center (SEC)—a 9-acre site on the edge of the University Park campus. The MorningStar home was originally designed for the 2007 Solar Decathlon and secured 4th place in that competition.
For the Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, students work in multidisciplinary teams for one or two academic semesters to prepare creative solutions for real-world issues in the building industry. Contest narratives included engineering, energy performance, embodied environmental impact, occupant experience, and more. The team took third place in the retrofit housing division.
https://www.solardecathlon.gov/2022/design/2022-design-challenge-results.html

In 2019 a 2-megawatt, advanced utility-scale solar photovoltaic system was installed along Orchard Road at the edge of University Park campus. Students were involved in both the design and post-production process of the project. Currently, research and development is being conducted at the site by students to improve radiance measurement and measurements on units of solar energy being produced, making it more accurate for solar arrays across the world.

The Student Farm at Penn State was established to demonstrate how food is grown and to provide hands-on engagement opportunities for students and volunteers to gain skills and knowledge about sustainable food production, harvesting, and marketing. For 15 semesters, the Farm has served as a living lab for many projects with over 14,000 students and faculty in 215 courses from 11 colleges.
For-credit internships at the Student Farm include working as part of the production team, learning the ins and outs of production, harvest and marketing. Students develop projects with the farm such as trials of different production methods on the farm, developing a new market opportunity, starting a workshop series, and organizing a food donations program.
https://www.studentfarm.psu.edu/

Some examples:
- Students in Biological Engineering (BE) 466 helped the Student Farm keep their harvested produce fresh by developing a cold storage solution out of a shipping container, creating a cost-effective, sustainable, and customizable storage option.
- Students in an English 15 class - Rhetoric and Composition - visited the Student Farm to explore how writing might bring attention to environmental concerns surrounding food waste, carbon emissions, and the personal choices we make about sustainability. The result was a series of six new tours focused on food-related topics.

The "Oak Road Meadow Project" - a proposed planted meadow ecosystem located along Oak Road - served as a course assignment for both undergraduate and graduate landscape architecture students. Students were tasked with designing the general layout of the project and planning some of the potential features of the meadow, such as seating along the walkway through the meadow, an entry sign, a pollinator garden and locations for foliage. Sustainability was an important factor in many of the designs. In particular, the lighting throughout the meadow was often designed to use sustainable energy, like solar-cells, as a means of powering the lights. Students gave end-of-project poster presentations on their designs.

In the co-curricular space, students in the EcoAction club worked with and learned from the Landscape Architects office to advocated for, help write a grant to fund, and are helping to develop a Sustainable Landscape Implementation Plan.

A student-led Strategic Procurement Transformation project identified procurement solutions that apply proven supply chain management processes and operations across the University. It is estimated that implementing the solutions will enable the University to achieve approximately $45 million in annual cost-savings.

A student project with Penn State Procurement worked on reducing the waste amassed from purchases. The student identified areas of opportunity for creating a more circular supply chain for the university.
https://tinyurl.com/PSUsustainableprocurement

Students enrolled in the APEX (Applied Professional Experience Program) in the Smeal College of Business conducted an Opportunity Analysis for Lion Surplus, the University's on-campus store that handles the removal and re-sale of University-owned equipment in environmentally responsible ways. The study looked at current processes used to track items sold and recommend ways that the program can more accurately report its sales data and, in turn, its waste diversion metrics.

A student class in Supply Chain Management developed a template for a sustainability review of suppliers, or Sustainability Score Card. They then applied this scorecard to the University's top 40 suppliers.

A student intern in Supply Chain Management reviewed furniture purchases and developed a decision-making guide to inform the purchasing office about how to prioritize sustainable furniture choices.

In 2019-20 a student intern with Penn State Sustainability, whose role focused on carbon emissions reduction strategies, worked with an interdisciplinary team of 16 faculty and staff to develop a report on a proposed "Travel Emissions Reduction Information Program" known as TRIP. The study focused on strategies to reduce Scope 3 emissions from transportation at Penn State. The student reviewed programs at other universities, examined the commuting infrastructure at Penn State, and explored the potential for engagement and education programs, offset projects, and virtual work to reduce emissions.

Students in a Communications class (COMM 473) studied the Green2Go reusable take out container program to determine barriers to its adoption by students and develop a communications strategy to overcome them. The recommendations have contributed to a redesigned program that is expected to launch post-COVID.

Students in BA 442, a marketing class, were tasked with developing campaigns that encourage recycling of beverage containers during tail gating events. These campaigns will be implemented by the Tailgate Ambassadors student group.

A project titled “Greening our stormwater: using campuses as living labs for green stormwater infrastructure” received funding through the University’s Strategic Plan Seed Grant program, in support of the strategic planning theme of Stewarding our Planet’s Resources. The project involves an interdisciplinary team of researchers, and aims to position Penn State as a national leader in green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) by building a campus community with the capacity to implement long-term cost-effective solutions to water quality and quantity. One element of the project will be to incorporate GSI into relevant courses and give students hands-on experience in the design, monitoring and maintenance of GSI systems on campus and in municipalities.

The Student Sustainability Advisory Council consists of 25 students appointed by the President. Each semester the students develop ideas for improving sustainability on campus, study their feasibility, then present their recommendations to administrators at the end of the semester. https://sites.psu.edu/ssac/

Students and faculty in the Landscape Architecture Department's Ecology + Design research initiative played a central role in the Musser Gap to Valleylands (MG2V) project. This project, which was initiated by Penn State President Eric Barron, partnered with ClearWater Conservancy to explore environmentally responsible land use options for the roughly 355 acres the University owns between Whitehall Road and Rothrock State Forest at Musser Gap. In SP22 before retiring from the university, Penn State President Eric Barron earmarked $700,000 through the Office of the President for the implementation of the first phase.
https://www.psu.edu/news/impact/story/musser-gap-valleylands-conservation-plan-moving-forward-community-input/

A student project in a Labor and Employment Relations class (LER 460) helped the University's public radio station, WPSU, to examine whether their radio broadcast coverage was well-balanced - both geographically (covering not just the immediate University Park region), and including a diversity of topics, such as race, gender and urban issues.

Another student project in LER 460 addressed diversity in hiring practices and identified local resources that may support PSU employees from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Students in Smeal’s Sapphire Applied Professional Experience Program (APEX) work on projects that make an impact on society (e.g., through economic growth, technology development, sustainable business practices, enhanced human services, or environmental impact). Campus partners have included the Student Farm and Penn State Athletics.

Saxbys, a student-run café located in the Business Building, provides students with an opportunity to learn how to run the business and manage the finances. Student projects have included doing brand work as well.

Students in a Labor and Employee Relations course (LER 460) developed a Sustainability in Recruitment Guide for integrating sustainability into the hiring process.
During another semester, students in LER 460 addressed diversity hiring practices and identified local resources that may support Penn State employees from culturally diverse backgrounds.