Sustainability tours highlight local assets and partnerships for students and community members

A tour guide with a group of school children

Sustainability tours are open to both campus stakeholders and members of our local communities.

Maya Meade

November 29, 2021

The Office of Sustainability at 51�� has been working hard to create community outreach programs for OHIO community members and for the Athens community. According to Sam Crowl, the Associate Director of the Office of Sustainability, “51�� defines sustainability as the capacity to simultaneously benefit people, the planet and prosperity now and in the future. The Office of Sustainability facilitates the implementation of the 51�� Sustainability and Climate Action Plan and ensures fulfillment of institutional commitments to environmental, social, and economic well-being.”

Crowl also emphasizes that the office offers numerous services not only to faculty, staff, and students, but also to local organizations and individuals working to make our communities more socially just, ecologically balanced, and prosperous. Services offered by the Office of Sustainability, many in partnership with the Voinovich School of Public Service, include providing information, reports, tours, and presentations; supporting sustainable events and programs; providing curricular and co-curricular assistance for academic courses and research. Additionally, the university collaborates with the City of Athens and local organizations on advancing sustainability and offering opportunities for volunteers to assist in sustainability initiatives.

Interested in signing up for a Tour? Tours and programs offered by the Office of Sustainability include:

The Compost Facility Tour, which has been requested for OHIO, Hocking College and local elementary school courses as well as other universities interested in developing their own systems, such as Marshall University and the University of Kentucky.

Compost facility image — Staff members of the OHIO Compost Facility focus on day to day activities to turn the university's food waste into usable soil. This compost facility is the largest in-vessel system at any college or university in the nation.

The OHIO Ecohouse Tour, which can be combined with the Compost Facility Tour.

Ecohouse students demonstrate the energy-efficient appliances. — Thane Evans (from left), Jerone Anderson, Nathan Jud, Nora Rye and Danny Young look at the energy efficient washing machine in the basement of 51��'s Ecohouse.

A Stormwater Infrastructure Tour focuses on the history of flooding challenges on campus and locally, and highlights some of the best management practices currently being followed to create a more resilient landscape.

Students and employees sit by the green roof on Patton Hall. — 51��’s first green roof on Patton Hall, installed in 2016, covers 2,000 square feet. Tightly fitting plastic trays contain 16 varieties of low-growing sedums, one thyme and one allium species in six inches of planting medium. The roof uses rainfall to conserve water and sustain plant life.

The mAppAthens Project, an initiative curated by Dr. Nancy Stevens, includes many other sustainability-related tours and resources highlighting our local assets as well, including:

The Energy & Biofuel Tour: