Campus as a Living Lab

Climate Justice & Social Action Students March 29, Friday 10-12 a.m.

Green Lane Field Pedestrian Bridge, ANT/SOC 346 Climate Justice & Social Action Students will lead a planting of pollinator Meadow with First Year Community Engaged Learning (CEL) students and any other interested members of the campus community.

Native Plants Planting April 17th at 5 p.m.

(Rain date April 24th at 5 pm), Outdoor Classroom adjacent to the Education Building, Professor Kathleen Grant, Counseling Children and Adolescents, will be planting native pollinator plants.

Climate Justice & Social Action Students Pollinator Planting April 19, Friday 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Green Lane Field Pedestrian Bridge, ANT/SOC 346 Climate Justice & Social Action Students lead a planting of pollinator Meadow with First Year CEL students and any other interested members of the campus community.

Climate Justice & Social Action Students Organic Landscaping April 26, Friday, 12:30–2:30 p.m.

ANT/SOC 346 Climate Justice & Social Action Students lead a planting of the Organic Landscaping Pilot Area for Earth Week with ECE 302 students and any other interested members of the campus community.

Pilot Turf and Landscaping Management Program

Contact: tcnjorganiclandmanagement@gmail.com

Through training from experts, and soil tests to learn about the current soil conditions and what needs to be done to improve soil quality, students and facilities staff will learn what it means to manage turf organically on a 1000-square-foot pilot area.

Native Wildflower Meadow

Through training from experts, students, facilities staff, and faculty will use this area to engage in learning about core sustainability ideas. This area will allow for new research on native plants, biodiversity, and more to be done, as well as offer a new recreation area for students, faculty, and the Ewing community.

TCNJ Marilyn Gray Early Childhood Education Outdoor Classroom

An area on campus by the Education building (the side that faces Forcina Hall), that combines meeting space with native plants and trees provides professors and students an area to engage in outdoor learning.

Research potential redesigns of Route 31 near campus

Professor Brennan (Engineering) and Professor Bates (Sociology), explore ways to make the entrances and roadways near campus more inviting and safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and other non-car traffic (such as skateboards) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from private cars.

Transportation

Transportation I- Engineering, CIV41 – Thomas Brennan

Students are researching potential redesigns of Route 31 to make transit safer and promote pedestrian and two-wheeled transportation (bicycles, scooters, skateboards). With the overall goal of making the main entrance safer for pedestrians.

Urban Sociology, SOC 320 – Diane Bates

Improve pedestrian & cyclist/skateboard safety on campus and between roadways and campus- Urban Sociology (Bates)

Landscaping

Climate Justice and Social Action, ANT/SOC 346 – Miriam Shakow

Students learn about community organizing. Student groups choose a topic and make a demand. Many of those projects focus on landscaping, composting, phasing out harmful chemicals, and native planting (getting a perm native plants meadow).

Math and Science in Early Childhood Education, ECE 302 – Louise Ammentorp.

Students will visit the meadow and learn about native plants and pollination. Environmental Sustainability Education committee with Marisa Bellino. Kathleen Grant (see below) is helping.

Counseling Children and Adolescents, EPSY 661 – Kathleen Grant

(Module on Ecotherapy). Children not having exposure and connection to nature is a source of distress. Nature is an important intervention when you think of healing. In the course, we will give students hands-on exposure to nature with planting near the school of Education. They notice their emotional state before, during, and after. In Spring 2025, Kathleen Grant wants to do a climate-aware EcoTherapy course.

Biodiversity/Invasives Surveys

People and Plants, BIO 215 (Fall 2023) – Janet Morrison

Survey of invasive plants on campus.

The Biology of Seed Plants, BIO 341– Leeannn Thornton

By establishing sampling plots to collect data on early spring wildflowers. Lab activities are related to this project. There might be 8-10 hours on the project as it is woven into other course activities.

Growing a Green Lens, BIO 370A – Wendy Clement

Students will study the need for (native) plants and how they play a role in biodiversity. Students will write plant histories and detail plant families and distributions. Who are their relatives? What plants can serve medicinal purposes?

Graphic Design, Communication

Typography, AAV 252 (Fall 2023) – Annette Von Brandis

Developed a CaLL logo to use for signage/branding.

Under Interface Experience, IMM 420 – Annette Von Brandis

Create an Information architecture for a universal Sustainability site that encompasses ESC, CaLL, and the Offices of Sustainability, Energy, etc. Also courses, clubs, etc.

Writing for User Experience, JPW 250 – Kim Pearson

Students will develop content design and strategy that complements information architecture emerging from IMM 420 Web class. They will ID SEO keywords, FAQs, forms; create a taxonomy, content style guide

Conceptual Image, AAV 253 – Jason Alejandro

Students are working on a logo for the ESC. This could turn into a strategic framework for other communication needs like signage across campus.

Ecocrit in Medieval Literature, Lit 499 – Glenn Steinberg

Students read about how people perceive the natural world. Students will create content for a future interactive map. The content will include the history of natural spaces on campus and how they are used, maintained, and interacted with.

Intro to Public Relations, COM 261- Kelli Jean Smith

Students will write press releases for any CaLL initiatives for things that the ESC or the Office of Sustainability has already achieved. Also, any events on campus that pertain to CaLL.