Though green is one of the colors of the holiday season, in 2011, the College of Lake County has been going green all year round. Continuing its efforts to promote green practices on campus and in the community, CLC accomplished the following in 2011:
• Began work on plan to reduce CLC’s carbon footprint. The plan is a result of CLC President Dr. Jerry Weber’s signing the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2009. Scheduled for completion in early 2012, the plan is designed to lay out short-term, measurable goals for reducing CLC’s greenhouse gas output for the next three years. The ultimate goal is to reduce the college’s carbon footprint to zero by 2041, according to Dara Reiff, the college’s sustainability coordinator. A 2009-10 inventory revealed that the college emitted 30,258 metric tons of carbon dioxide resulting from fossil fuel consumption, college purchasing practices and commuting habits. That equals the C02 produced by 2,779 homes or 5,595 average cars.
• Received green business award. CLC received the Green Business of the Year Award from the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, recognizing the work of the college’s Sustainability Center and the Green Economy Center. An example of one of the college’s initiatives was the County Green conference hosted by CLC in May, the second sustainability-focused conference for municipal and county leaders, business owners and non-profit organizations. The event was attended by 250 people and focused on local efforts to build a green economy in Lake County.
• Awarded $19 million grant for Green Job Training. In September, CLC, on behalf of 17 partnering Illinois community colleges who are members of the Illinois Green Economy Network, was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant (TAACCCT) in the amount of $19,366,381. The CLC portion is $5,898,790 over a three-year period. The statewide initiative will expand adult transition services, develop comprehensive training programs in eight green economy industries, and expand delivery via online and hybrid (combining online and classroom). CLC is the grant fiscal agent and administrative agent. IGEN is co-chaired by CLC President Dr. Jerry Weber. The initiative is one of 32 grants awarded nationwide. The Illinois Green Economy Network (http://www.igencc.org/) Career Pathways initiative will engage 17 of the IGEN colleges located in areas affected by foreign trade consequences. As “hub” colleges, these 17 will develop comprehensive job training programs in eight green economy industries, employing delivery via online and hybrid (combining online and classroom) formats.
• Sustainable jobs/education programs approved. Two sustainability focused certificates were approved by the CLC board of trustees– Residential Energy Auditing (16 credit hours) and Residential Weatherizing (15 credit hours). Both programs are intended to prepare students for entry-level positions in the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration field.
• Reduced garbage output and promoted recycling. A 2011 waste-reduction campaign, known as RecycleMania, revealed that the college’s total waste output for eight weeks was 86 tons, a 1 percent reduction from the same period in 2010, according to the college’s Sustainability Center. For 2012 and beyond, the college plans to continue promoting recycling, composting and reduced paper usage, according to Reiff. The efforts are designed to help achieve Lake County’s goal of increasing the recycling rate from 39 percent in 2010 to 60 percent in 2020.
• Installed energy-saving light fixtures. At the Grayslake campus, 21 of the sodium lights used in parking lots and sidewalks were retrofitted with light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures last spring, according to Ted Johnson, director of facilities. Another 11 outdoor lights are slated for retrofits in spring 2012. The LED lights use only one-fifth as much electricity as the sodium lights. At the Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan, 20 LED light fixtures were added in and around the Student Life Center in mid-February. In late 2011, the fluorescent lighting in eight Grayslake classrooms were changed to the light-emitting diode (LED) variety. The new indoor lights typically last about three times as long as the fluorescent lights, Johnson said.
• Continued community gardening success. CLC completed a third successful season with the college’s community garden on the Grayslake campus, maintaining 50 plots. CLC faculty and staff also mentored community gardens in Avon Township and Antioch. Community gardens offer fresh, pesticide-free vegetables, according to Rory Klick, chair of CLC’s horticulture department. The gardens also give local residents the chance to grow their own food and, in the process, reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions associated with buying trucked-in, store-bought produce, she added.
• Began discussions to create future farm. CLC began a dialogue with the Lake County Forest Preserve District and other community groups for a proposed 55-acre teaching and learning farm in Grayslake. The forest preserve property is located on the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 45 and Center Street. If approved, the farm would serve as a training ground for future farmers as part of CLC’s new associate degree and certificate in sustainable agriculture, scheduled to launch in fall semester 2012.
• Energy-efficient windows installed. During the summer, the college installed 21double-paned windows on the first and second-floor of the Grayslake campus’s A wing. The new energy-saving windows replace the 40-year-old, single-pane windows.
• Geothermal technology demonstration project. CLC added geothermal technology to the Technology Building in February 2011. Geothermal systems are used to heat and cool buildings using the earth’s steady, underground temperature instead of conventional furnaces, boilers or air conditioning. The technology uses liquid circulating in a loop of pipes buried underground and connected to a heat pump inside a building, according to Scott Allen, heating and air conditioning engineering technology (HET) instructor. The system is for demonstration only. “Technicians who have a good working knowledge of the technology can provide a higher level of customer service than those who don’t know the technology,” Allen said.
• Saved energy at the Lakeshore Campus Dental Hygiene Clinic. A five-week project designed to reduce solid waste, chemical waste and energy consumption was put into place at the college’s dental hygiene program, based at the Lakeshore Campus in Waukegan. In an advanced dental hygiene clinical course (DHY 214), clinic manuals were posted online instead of distributed as hard copies to students. In addition, the course syllabus and other documents used double-sided printing. Total paper usage declined by nearly 90 percent—from 6,432 pages to 713 pages, and the efforts will be continued for all four clinic courses, according to Sue Nierstheimer, chair of the dental hygiene program. During certain times of patient treatment, ceiling lights were completely turned off, and the students used only their overhead dental treatment lights. In five weeks, the move saved 11,500 hours of light-bulb usage. In addition, the clinic’s 20 computers were turned off at the end of the evening instead of staying on continuously, reducing the hours of operation by more than 50 percent. The department also increased the use of digital X-rays, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in the usage of chemicals otherwise used in developing traditional X-rays. In addition to conserving energy and reducing waste, the program had an educational component. Patients, students, instructors and staff viewed a short PowerPoint presentation describing the importance of sustainability. The project also created a wellness-based environment in the dental clinic, using calm music, live plants and pillows for patients.
