What began as a dream for faculty in Jamestown Community College's science departments is becoming a reality as they prepare to cut the ribbon on a brand new Science Education Center on Sunday afternoon.
"To have a building dedicated to science is just awesome," said Rebecca Nystrom, professor of biology.
JCC as a whole is part of the American College and University President's Climate Commitment. The ACUPCC is an effort to address global climate disruption by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and promoting research to restabilize the Earth's climate.
According to Ms. Nystrom, the whole college is committed to sustainability, recycling, greenhouse gas inventory and reducing its overall carbon footprint. She said that there is a college-wide emphasis on sustainability and environmental understanding.
When there was overcrowding in the Arts and Sciences center at JCC, Ms. Nystrom said that the science faculty were encouraged by Gregory DeCinque, JCC president, and John Garfoot, vice president and dean of administration, to dream big when finding a solution.
And, when their vision was brought to administration and other financial supporters of the project, Ms. Nystrom says that everyone embraced it.
About five years after that initial vision stands a completed building, in which the science faculty had significant input.
The building itself has many environmentally progressive elements to it.
There is a rainwater-harvesting system, where rainwater and snow melt are collected in underground tanks, filtered, and pumped into the building as "gray water." The gray water is then used for flushing toilets in the building, watering plants in the 300-square foot greenhouse, and providing a drip irrigation system to the vegetative garden on the building's roof.
The roof garden covers about one-third of the building. It provides features such as a habitat for wildlife, storm-water erosion control and treatment, thermal insulation and moderation, and an outdoor botanical classroom.
Sun tunnels bring natural sunlight into hallways in the north and south wings of the building, which helps to reduce electricity use. There are also motion sensors throughout the building, which monitor room occupancy and adjust lighting.
Aside from the physical features of the building are the other characteristics that make it eco-friendly. For example, a portion of all building materials were purchased from suppliers within a 500-mile radius from the college, which promotes regional economies, and minimizes fossil fuel use that is associated with shipping materials. Also, recycled materials, contained in the building and furniture, and FSC-certified woods were used where possible to promote environmentally sustainable natural resource consumption.
"It is this dream come true that allows us to provide our students with great opportunities," Ms. Nystrom said.
The classrooms inside the building are also filled with what Ms. Nystrom calls cutting-edge equipment, adding that the school does re-purpose and recycle older equipment as well.
Each classroom is considered a smart classroom, which gives each instructor the opportunity to use a wide variety of media in their lessons.
The building houses biology, biotechnology, chemistry and geology students.
Aside from being able to use new, up-to-date equipment, students are offered other opportunities that Ms. Nystrom said are rarely offered at a community college level, such as research opportunities.
"We enable all students at all capacities," Ms. Nystrom said.
Additionally, honors students are able to gain experiential learning through field experiences, which includes a bi-yearly trip to Costa Rica for tropical biology students.
Ms. Nystrom emphasized that the building overall helps model a more responsible way to teach and learn, which will be demonstrated in a year-long celebration of science at the college.
One item that is still pending is final approval of a new associate in applied science environmental science degree program, which Ms. Nystrom said has passed through all of the appropriate channels of becoming approved. Now, the college is waiting on the state education department for approval before being able to list it as an offered program.
"We're anticipating approval within weeks. It will be another fantastic new opportunity for our students," Ms. Nystrom said.
There are big plans for the building in the future as well. Ms. Nystrom anticipates a series of speakers and programs that will be offered in the Science Education Center within the coming weeks, which will also be open to the public.
"We always welcome visitors. We want the building to be a community resource," Ms. Nystrom said.
There will also be outreach programs to local schools, including science discovery days that will be beginning next month.
"The programs aim to engage, inspire and excite current students and students of tomorrow to marvel at what we can learn through the science," Ms. Nystrom said.
Visitors to the building will also notice a large flat-screen dashboard panel upon entering. The panel will display power consumption and energy savings of the building, including how many people are currently inside the building, the amount of rainwater being stored, electricity being used and more.
Although the building is too new to know the savings that will be made, the panel will help the college to gauge its impact on the environment.
The Science Education Center was built with the goal of attaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), silver certification.
Although the Science Education Center is not at LEED certification yet, Ms. Nystrom said that she believes that they will be within a year.
"Very few buildings in our area have LEED certification. We're not the first, but we want to be at the forefront," Ms. Nystrom said.
The official ribbon cutting and ceremony for JCC's new Science Center is happening Sunday at 12:45 p.m., followed by an open house for the college from 2 to 4 p.m. for high school seniors and their families. The public is welcome to attend.
