Campus Sustainability Case Studies - Campus Ecology

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Taking Action for the Climate

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Ball State University

2009 - Ball State replaces 4 coal-fired stoker boilers with the nation’s largest geothermal energy project to heat and cool over 40 buildings.

2008 - Creating a survey Ball State hopes to better understand their students' attitudes toward sustainability.

2008 - Ball State takes a giant step forward, changing their building code, requiring all new buildings to be LEED Silver certified.

2008 - By requiring all administrative units to create their own sustainability plan Ball State works toward lowering its impact on climate change.

2008 - Realizing their campus is a significant portion of the Indiana River watershed Ball State installed medallions upon drainage grates to prevent dumping of harmful chemicals.

2008 - Working with the citizens and officials of Reynolds, Indiana, Ball State helps them become an off-grid-agricultural-supported-alternatively fueled community.

2008 - NWF Fellow Francesca Hernandez conducts an energy analysis on campus, identifies buildings that are inefficient users of energy, and develops a plan to retrofit these buildings.

2008 - Miles Electric Vehicles Corporation awards Ball State with an all-electric car for use on campus.

2006 - Ball State University hosts the sixth international Greening of the Campus conference

2006 - BSU partners with the Barnes and Noble-managed campus bookstore to carry, promote, and sell more environmentally and socially-preferable products.

2006 - Ball State University places eighth in the national Recyclemania Competition.

2005 - Working hard to obtain LEED certification, BSU students and faculty conduct daylighting studies.

2005 - BSU joins in the fight against mercury use and works to contain the poison.

2005 - A hybrid-electric bus shuttles over 19,000 students around BSU’s campus.

2004 - BSU receives delivery of biodiesel for use by the campus bus and shuttle fleet. Campus Ecology Recognition 2003-2004

2004 - More than 250 people attended the fifth offering in the Greening of the Campus international conference series. Campus Ecology Recognition 2003-2004

2004 - BSU recognizes the efforts of faculty, staff and students at the COTE Exemplar Awards program. Campus Ecology Recognition 2003-2004

2003 - Ball State University goes green on wheels by acquiring hybrid electric vehicles for its University transportation fleet. Green Campus Recognition, 2002-2003

2003 - In conjunction with staff, faculty and administrators, a Ball State University student created a video on sustainability that aired on twelve public television stations reaching almost 55,000 viewers.

2003 - Ball State University’s Green Initiatives organization has made 30% and 100% post-consumer recycled paper available for purchase to departments across the campus with 30% recycled content as the default paper source. Green Campus Recognition, 2002-2003

2003 - A composting program led to soil improvement and beautification on campus grounds maintenance at Ball State. Green Campus Recognition, 2002-2003

2002 - Ball State instructors are coming together to discuss how to take environmental education out of the ecology classroom, and incorporate it into history, English and other courses.

2002 - A Ball State organization is leading the way to natural resource conservation, dealing with topics from artist studio waste to hybrid cars to the school’s coal-fired heating plant.

2001 - Ball State students came up with ten concrete recommendations on how to improve their campus' environmental record, from education, both in and out of the classroom, to a recycling program, bikeway system, improved fuel efficiency of university vehicles, and cleaning up the university's heating plant.