Sustainability Project Laboratory
Introduction
The Sustainability Project Laboratory is a database of sustainability-related project proposals. This resource supports:
- faculty interested in incorporating sustainability-related, multi-disciplinary, outcomes-based projects into their courses
- graduate students seeking a sustainability-related topic for a thesis or dissertation
- undergraduates seeking a sustainability-related capstone, community service, or honor thesis project
- staff or community members needing student assistance with a sustainability-related initiative
All projects align with goals in the Ohio University Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, OHIO Common Goals Learning Outcomes (particularly Critical Thinking, Teamwork Skills and Integrative Learning) as well as goals from the OHIO Strategic Framework, such as:
- Enhance and increase momentum towards sustainability goals and commitments
- Provide additional opportunities for students to engage with faculty and academic programs across campuses as well as with local communities where campuses and centers are located
- Embed innovative opportunities for high-impact practices, linked co-curricular experiential learning, and evidence-based pedagogies
- Increase applied research to inform the development of vibrant communities, leveraging expertise and scholarly activity that address challenges of our region
- Leverage strong undergraduate research activity and the OHIO Honors program to become a national leader in engaged undergraduate research focused on building and enhancing community success
- Develop and adopt innovative student success intervention and programming that reflect the differing needs and goals of many student populations
- Deploy comprehensive marketing strategy to reflect needs and expectations of target audiences
- With a Digital Transformation University in mind, rethink how space should be deployed to meet the needs of a dynamic institution
Projects require engagement of stakeholders for data collection and analysis of potential solutions including impacts on the sustainability triple bottom line of people, planet and prosperity. Project teams should recommend solutions, and pitch their recommendations to stakeholders at the conclusion of the project.
Get Involved!
Propose a sustainability project whose outcome will be a simultaneous benefit to people, planet and prosperity
Request a sustainability project for an Ohio University course
General resources for sustainability projects
- Funding sources: Experiential learning award
Please contact Dave Bayless (bayless@ohio.edu) or Elaine Goetz (goetz@ohio.edu) for information if no contact information is listed in the hyperlink.
Project Database
Click heading titles to sort.
| Title | Possible Academic Connnection | Project length | Experiential Learning? | Community Engagement? | Brief description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO Carbon Offsets | Environmental Studies, Plant Biology, Geography, Restaurant, Hotel & Tourism | semester, multi-year | Yes | No | Create a proposal for an Ohio University certified carbon offset program. | |
| Recreation & Sport Pedagogy, Urban Planning & Sustainability | semester | Yes | No | Create OHIO hammock stand proposal: determine best practices, location(s), costs and benefits. | ||
| Green Roof Project | Engineering, Communications, Public Health, Public Policy, Business, Economics | month, semester, week | Yes | Yes | Broad opportunities to create projects related to green roof infrastructure. Engage students in public health, policy, business and economics while exploring benefits of green roof infrastructure. | |
| Human & Consumer Sciences; Nutrition; Restaurant, Hotel, & Tourism | semester | Yes | No | Evaluate opportunities for replacing all-beef burgers with a beef/mushroom mix | ||
| Increasing Active Transportation | Marketing; Psychology | semester | Yes | Yes | Increase healthy, active transportation (particularly commuting) among University employees and WellWorks members | |
| Barn Renovation | Civil Engineering | multi-year | Yes | Yes | Design and renovate the abandoned barn at Hebbardsville Farm using sustainably harvested wood and recycled corrugated metal roof | |
| Surface Water Hydrocarbon Baseline Determination | Chemistry; Civil Engineering; Environmental Studies; Urban Planning | semester | Yes | Yes | Develop sampling plan; collect and analyze surface water samples along the Ohio River for a community group | |
| Tree Inventory or Drone-based Tree Inventory | Plant Biology; Environmental Studies; Geography, GIS | thesis | Yes | No | Determination of species, size and diversity of trees on Ohio University campuses | |
| Determining Carbon Emissions from Commuting – Average Distance | GIS, Geography, Environmental Studies | month (repeated annually) | Yes | No | Utilize GIS data from Parking Services to determine average distance commuted by Ohio University faculty, staff and students | |
| Outdoor Recycling Implementation | Operations Research, Management Courses | semester | Yes | Yes | Reduce the overall number of waste locations by developing a multi-tier plan to co-locate recycling at every location. | |
| Educating Faculty Researchers on 'Sustainability Research' Definition | Teacher Education | semester | Yes | No |
Create a plan to educate Faculty Researchers on the definition for sustainable research, and to encourage them to conduct research which meets the definition. |
|
| Determining Carbon Emissions from Commuting- Mode Share Determination | Civil Engineering - Transportation group | semester | Yes | No | Set up a transportation study on campus to determine mode share (% of walkers, bikers, SOV, carpoolers, bussers). | |
| Solar PV Panels for Groundskeepr Shed near Clippinger | Energy Engineering | semester | Yes | No | The project would be to size the PV installation needed to power the electric equipment and to estimate triple bottom line costs for the installation. | |
| Reforming Plastics - Equipment | ETM, Mechanical Engineering | semester | Yes | No | Build and/or optimize use of shredders, melters, extruders to create recycled plastic feedstock | |
| Reforming Plastics - Usage |
COFA, Mechanical engineering, Public Administration, Environmental Studies |
semester | No | No | Determine circular economic use of recycled plastic feedstock | |
| Energy Reduction: Increase use of Natural Light | Interior Architecture; Pyschology | semester | No | No | Why do faculty/staff/students turn on lights in buildings with plenty of natural lighting? Which buildings could be targets for lighting use reduction, and how could this be achieved? | |
| Energy Competitions - Planning |
Energy Engineering, Marketing |
semester | No | No | How do we best encourage energy efficiency on campus (behavior change) with Energy Competitions? What metrics can we/should we collect; how do we group buildings for competitions; how do we market the competition; what rewards should there be for the winning building, if any? | |
| Energy Competitions- Implementation (annual) | Energy Engineering | annual | No | No | Track progress and results from energy competitions. | |
| Food Share System: Prevent Food Insecurity and Food Waste on Campus | Computer Science | semester | Yes | No | Develop a food app, social media platform or texting system that allows for notification of waste food on campus. Identify obstacles to implementation, including policy and procedural obstacles. | |
| Carbon Emissions from Investments | Finance, Environmental Studies | MS project | Yes | No | Determine the carbon emissions from OHIO Foundation investments. | |
| LEED Lab | CE 4540/5540 | semester | Yes | No | Evaluate existing buildings on campus for LEED certification | |
| LEED Lab - Energy & Atmosphere Section | Energy Engineering | semester | Yes | No | Use SAM and the TBL CBA framework to determine costs and benefits of various renewable energy systems for campus. | |
| LEED Lab - Sustainable Sites Section | Geography | semester | Yes | No | Design a stormwater BMP for a building on campus, considering water retention, potable water use replacement, feasibility of cost and maintenance (only should convert already maintained grounds to BMPs that need maintenance), etc. | |
| LEED Lab - Water Efficiency Section | Civil Engineering | semester | No | No | Determine flow/flush rates needed in fixtures and toilets for the water line slopes found in buildings on campus. | |
| Hebbardsville Farm: Business Plan for Sustainable Tree Harvesting | Plant Biology, Business | semester | Yes | No | Create a business plan for sustainably harvesting mature trees at Hebbardsville Farm and reusing timber to renovate barn on site. | |
| Video Projects: How to recycle, compost and landfill at OHIO | Visual Communications, Journalism | semester | Yes | No | Create a short, fun video for orientations about handling waste on campus | |
| Video Projects: Stormwater Management at OHIO | Visual Communications, Journalism | semester | Yes | No | Create a short, fun video about stormwater management at OHIO for EPA stormwater permit regulations | |
| Storm Drain Outlet Sampling | Civil Engineering | semester | Yes | No | Have students locate dry weather storm drain discharges; sample and analyze for pH, alkalinity, fluoride, E. coli, etc., and produce report. | |
| Transportation on Campus: What are the best routes and small mobility devices to choose to navigate campus? | Civil Engineering, Urban Planning & Sustainability | semester | Yes | No | Create maps and recommendations for non-automobile travel on campus. Record travel times for walking, bicycling, e-scootering, etc. from select locations to select destinations | |
| Triple bottom line cost-benefit analysis tool GUI | Computer Science | semester | Yes | Yes | Create GUI for a open access triple bottom line cost-benefit analysis tool | |
| Green bikes program | Sport & Rec Pedagogy | semester | Yes | No | Create loaner program for used bikes, and a bike maintenance shop, both staffed by volunteers | |
| Plastic Bricks | Civil Engineering | semester | Yes | Yes | Partner with service organizations and community groups to create plastic bricks, determine best use, and incorporate into structures | |
| Pollution Prevention Challenge | Environmental Studies, Environmental Health & Safety | one week | Yes | Yes | Students participate in the Pollution Prevention Challenge (part of US EPA Pollution Prevention Week) | |
| Canopy Cover | Plant Biology, Environmental Studies, Geography, GIS | semester | Yes | No | Quantification of greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential and ecological services provided by trees on Ohio University campuses; use i-Tree |
Detailed Project Descriptions
Green Roof Project:
Project contact: Kim Thompson, thompsk3@ohio.edu
Project description:
There are broad opportunities to create projects related to green roof infrastructure. Currently students from many colleges are engaged in projects, even before the rooftop has been planted. We hope to engage students in public health, policy, business and economics while exploring benefits of green roof infrastructure. Please contact Dr. Thompson for more information about projects.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Green roof on Schoonover Center
- Student and faculty time
- Monitoring equipment
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through energy savings (Climate category)
- Increase opportunities for formal, experiential, and community-engaged sustainability learning experiences (Curriculum core)
- Offer opportunities to participate in or contribute to sustainability initiatives (Engagement core)
- Create, enhance & track transformative sustainability engagement ecosystems with University and community partners (Engagement core)
- Support and promote employee wellbeing and resilience (Human Resources category)
- Support and promote student wellbeing and resilience (Student Life category)
- Reduce impacts from storm water (Water category)
- Reduce building impacts (roof costs) by using best practices in construction, renovation and demolition (Buildings category)
- Reduce or eliminate air pollution from stationary and mobile sources (Climate category)
Plant-Based Burger Taste Testing:
Project contact: Theresa Moran, morant@ohio.edu
Project description:
Evaluate the opportunities for offering a beef/mushroom burgers in place of an all-beef burger in dining facilities on campus by conducting a survey and a taste-test. The ultimate goal is to promote healthy food choices and to reduce red meat consumption at Ohio University.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Faculty and staff time
- Tabling space for survey and taste test
- Kitchen facilities for food preparation
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Support and promote student wellbeing and resilience (Student Life category)
- Support and promote employee wellbeing and resilience (Human Resources category)
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through reduction in red meat purchases (Climate category)
Barn Renovation
Project contact: Dominick Brook, brookd@ohio.edu
Project description:
Redesign and renovate the abandoned barn at Hebbardsville Farm using sustainably harvested wood, recycled corrugated metal roof, and paint created from acid mine drainage. A renovated barn could be used as an education and events center for community and University sustainability activities.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Student and faculty time
- Existing structure
- Used metal roofing material
- Sustainably harvested wood for flooring
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through reuse of existing building materials (Climate category)
- Increase opportunities for formal, experiential, and community-engaged sustainability learning experiences (Curriculum core)
- Offer opportunities to participate in or contribute to sustainability initiatives (Engagement core)
- Create, enhance & track transformative sustainability engagement ecosystems with University and community partners (Engagement core)
- Reduce building impacts (roof costs) by using best practices in construction, renovation and demolition (Buildings category)
- Work with communities to protect ground water quality and surface waters (Water category)
- Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting (Waste category)
Surface Water Hydrocarbon Baseline Determination:
Project contact: Leatra Harper, wewantcleanwater@gmail.com or 419-450-7042
Project description:
We Want Clean Water has completed a project through AGU's Thriving Earth Exchange to sample for hydrocarbons in surface water in the Wills Creek Watershed in Guernsey and Noble counties. They would like to expand this program to include the Ohio River to collect baseline data which can later be used to ascertain if spills, leaks and migrations have occurred from horizontal hydraulic fracturing. They have developed and deployed the protocol through work done with Ohio Northern University and need a regional affiliate with GC-MS capabilities. The project includes 1) developing a sampling plan (locations, timing, number of samples, supplies needed) and 2) collecting and analyzing samples.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Sampling protocols
- Sampling equipment
- Faculty and staff consultations
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Work with communities to protect ground water quality and surface waters (Water category)
- Increase opportunities for formal, experiential, and community-engaged sustainability learning experiences (Curriculum core)
- Create, enhance & track transformative sustainability engagement ecosystems with University and community partners (Engagement core)
Tree Inventory or Drone-based Tree Inventory:
Project contact: Susan Calhoun, calhoun@ohio.edu; Matt Riley, rileym3@ohio.edu
Project description:
Contribute to the campus tree inventory by determining species, size and diversity of trees and adding to existing database. This project will assist in improved management of trees on campus.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Equipment to measure tree size
- Landscape coordinator and GIS technician assistance
- Existing database
- Drone and drone pilot
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through carbon sequestration in trees (Climate category)
- Offer opportunities to participate in or contribute to sustainability initiatives (Engagement core)
- Create and maintain healthy, natural, biodiverse and beautiful landscapes that can act as the foundation for sustainability-oriented experiential learning opportunities (Grounds category)
- Support and promote employee wellbeing and resilience through tree ecosystem benefits (Human Resources category)
- Support and promote student wellbeing and resilience through tree ecosystem benefits (Student Life category)
- Reduce impacts from storm water (Water category)
- Reduce or eliminate air pollution from stationary and mobile sources (Climate category)
OHIO Carbon Offsets
Project contact: Elaine Goetz, goetze@ohio.edu, Catherine Marshall, marshalc@ohio.edu, or Nina Adanin, ka005016@ohio.edu
Project description:
Create a proposal for an Ohio University certified carbon offset program. Carbon offsets compensate for carbon emissions that cannot be avoided by reducing emissions elsewhere. For this project, students will investigate methods for creating certified carbon offset programs, and will write and present a proposal with recommendations and best practices. Future steps could include implementation of a certified carbon offset program (for example, tree plantings).
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
-
Initial interview with staff member
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through carbon offsets (Climate category)
- Achieve recognition for innovative and robust sustainability planning, coordination and governance (Administrative Support core)
- Offer opportunities to participate in or contribute to sustainability initiatives (Engagement core)
OHIO Hammock Stand Proposal:
Project contact: Susan Calhoun, calhoun@ohio.edu
Project description:
Create OHIO hammock stand proposal: research best practices; survey stakeholders to determine preferred hammock stand locations; outline costs and benefits for installation of stand(s).
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Initial interview with staff member
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Create and maintain healthy, natural, biodiverse and beautiful landscapes that can act as the foundation for sustainability-oriented experiential learning opportunities (Grounds category)
- Support and promote employee wellbeing and resilience (Human Resources category)
- Support and promote student wellbeing and resilience (Student Life category)
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through carbon sequestration in healthy trees (Climate category)
Increasing Active Transportation
Project contact: Annie Laurie Cadmus, cadmus@ohio.edu
Project description:
Increase healthy, active transportation (particularly commuting) among University employees and WellWorks members. Goals of project include:
- Encourage active transportation to the campuses and fitness center.
- Track active transportation at WellWorks check-in and/or incentivize rides
- Evaluate active transportation commuting routes for safety, timing, etc.
- Create active transportation map/resource for campuses
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- WellWorks staff time
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Reduction of institutional greenhouse gas emissions from transportation (Climate, Transportation categories)
- Support and promote employee wellbeing and resilience (Human Resources category)
Determining Carbon Emissions from Commuting – Average Distance
Project contact: Elaine Goetz, goetze@ohio.edu
Project description:
Utilize GIS and address data from Transportation & Parking Services to determine average distance commuted by Ohio University faculty, staff and students. Each year, the average commuting distance is required for our Greenhouse Gas Inventory report to Second Nature.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Address data of commuters
- Second Nature technical manual
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Reduction of institutional greenhouse gas emissions from transportation (Climate, Transportation categories)
- Achieve recognition for innovative and robust sustainability planning, coordination and governance (Administrative Support category)
Triple bottom line cost-benefit analysis tool GUI
Project contact: Elaine Goetz, goetze@ohio.edu or John Glazer, glazerj@ohio.edu
Project description:
Create a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for a triple bottom line cost-benefit analysis tool, which is currently in an Excel spreadsheet format. This tool is used for sustainability decision-making, and will be more accessible to external users of the tool if is has a graphical user interface.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Excel spreadsheet cost-benefit analysis tool
- Staff consultation time
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Achieve recognition for innovative and robust sustainability planning, coordination and governance (Administrative Support category)
Food Share System: Prevent Food Insecurity and Food Waste on Campus
Project contact: Elaine Goetz, goetze@ohio.edu or Theresa Moran, morant@ohio.edu
Project description:
Develop an app or other electronic method of notification to food insecure students of available food on campuses, such as University of Pittsburgh's "PittGrub" system.
Resources available to students/faculty to complete project:
- Staff consultation time
Project alignment to OHIO Sustainability & Climate Action Plan:
- Support and promote student wellbeing and resilience (Student Life category)
- Increase diversion from landfill to reuse, recycling and composting (Waste category)
- Achieve recognition for innovative and robust sustainability planning, coordination and governance (Administrative Support category)