Active learning meets sustainability

Our organic garden is just one effort in Baylor’s ongoing march toward sustainability. In 2008, we built the area’s first LEED-certified residence hall.The campus solar farm delivers clean, renewable energy straight to the power grid. By requiring iPads for every student and teacher, Baylor will reduce paper by 75 percent in the next two years.

In addition to having the option for courses such as AP Environmental Science and an Environmental Science elective, Baylor students have the opportunity to get involved in a variety of environmental programs throughout the year:

Organic Gardening
Students who have selected organic gardening as their afternoon activity meet each afternoon to work in a garden located on campus and to learn about techniques in organic farming such as turning and maintaining the soil, crop layout, and crop rotation. Some of the harvest has been sold to faculty, and the dining hall has featured fresh lettuce from the garden in the salad bar.

Campus Recycling
Recycling bins are located near most trash cans throughout campus. Plastic and aluminum items are then picked up by Orange Grove and paper is picked up by Rock-Tenn.

Solar Farm
A 200-kilowatt solar power array installed on Baylor’s campus began generating power in 2012, providing a savings in energy costs while giving students a real life laboratory in which to study sustainable energy. The 858-module array sits on a four-acre plot and connects directly into the Electric Power Board grid, providing power for a portion of the core campus buildings and reducing the school’s CO2 emissions.

Earth Advocates
Earth Advocates provides a variety of ways to get students involved in important environmental initiatives such as paper recycling program on campus.

River Rescue
Each year, a group of Baylor students and faculty participate in the Tennessee River Rescue, an annual event that draws close to a thousand volunteers in an effort to clean waterways throughout the Tennessee Valley.

Alternative Fuels
Students involved in environmental community service collected non-hydrogenated oil from Baylor’s dining hall and the student center grille, and delivered it to a processor located in the school’s physical plant area to produce fuel suitable for the diesel engines of Baylor’s maintenance vehicles and buses.