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Tours

  1. Campus Sustainability

    Take a trip around campus and check out the sustainable features of our buildings, grounds and programs.

    Stops

    1. Permeable Pavers

      Location: Alumni & Friends Center

       

      The Alumni & Friends Center parking lot utilizes these porous surfaces, allowing stormwater to seep through the surface.

       

      Key Points:

      • Protects groundwater quality
      • Promotes natural and cleaner groundwater recharge
      • Reduces the amount of stormwater runoff

       

    2. Eco-Turf

      Location: Directly behind the Micron Center for Materials Research (MCMR) Building

      Boise State Landscaping Services has planted eco-turf, a mix of clover and fescue grasses, in several locations on campus. 

      Key Points: 

      • Eco-Turf uses significantly less water than normal grass lawns, saving both money and resources

      • Minimizes the need for fertilizers, preventing harmful chemical runoff in nearby waterways

    3. Campus Clothing Closet

       

      Location: Student Connections and Support Center, Student Union Building (SUB) Upstairs

       

      The Student Connections and Support Center has set up a completely free clothing closet for current Boise State students to bridge the gap in access to quality clothes. They have a donation center where you can donate your used clothes.

       

      Key Points: 

      • Reduces the amount of clothes in the landfill, especially in the era of mass consumerism

      • Provides students with a resource to address essential needs

       

    4. Buster's Kitchen

       

      Location: Student Union Building (SUB), First Floor by the Atrium

       

      Boise State’s dining halls use reusable to-go boxes that students can trade in for a meal swipe whenever they want a hot meal to go! 

       

      Key Points:  

      • Keeps disposable to-go boxes out of the landfill

      • Reduces use of single use plastics and other material  (ziplocs, cling wrap, foil)

    5. The Boise State Bee Team Club

       

      Location: Student Union Building (SUB), Lookout Room Patio

       

      The student-funded Bee Club works to create a safe environment for bees during an era in which bee populations are declining significantly.

       

      Key Points: 

      • Helps support local hives 

      • Educational opportunities on bee keeping, and wax and honey collection

      • Honey sold at the Bronco Shop

       

    6. Bronco Shop

       

      Location: Student Union Building (SUB), First Floor

       

      The Bronco Shop offers more than just school supplies and bronco merchandise! They have a whole range of sustainable practices! 

       

      Key Points: 

      • The Bronco Shop uses recycled printer cartridges and reuses all packing materials from vendor shipments

      • Offers battery recycling, which prevents pollution 

      • Maintenance services to extend electronic lifespans and reduce e-waste

      • Launched a Go-Bagless campaign, encouraging shoppers to ditch single use plastic bags 

       

    7. Cycle Learning Center

       

      Location: Lincoln Garage, First Floor 

       

      The CLC is Boise State’s bike shop and maintenance center that offers a wide variety of services for the public.

       

      Key Points: 

      • Bose State is currently recognized as a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University, a distinction shared with only 5 other universities.

      • Bikes can be rented from the CLC for $180 per academic year, or for the semester 

      • Offers free lunchtime workshops on how to maintenance your own bike

      • Promotes biking as sustainable, cost effective form of transportation

       

    8. Water Bottle Refill Stations

       

      Water bottle refill stations can be found all around campus, in almost all buildings, designed to encourage the use of reusable water bottles.

       

      Key Points:

      • Each station displays the updated number of how many bottles have been reused/filled at that specific station

      • Every time you refill a bottle you prevent the purchase of a new plastic bottle which helps to minimize personal footprint and pollution

       

    9. Boise State Shuttle Stop

       

      Valley Regional Transit, the main provider of mass transit in Boise, stops on campus for students. Bronco Shuttles are free to the public and have stops in various areas both on campus and off!

       

      Key Points:

      • Take the Orange shuttle to go downtown instead of driving to save on emissions

      • Public transportation reduces Single Occupancy Vehicles on the road

      • Fewer cars = fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less air pollution 

       

    10. Paired Recycling and Landfill Containers

       

      Boise State pairs a recycling collection container with every landfill container. 

       

      Key Points: 

      • Boise has commingled recycling: aluminum and steel/tin, corrugated cardboard, paper, and sturdy #1 and #2 plastics.

      • It's important to NOT put glass, paper dish ware, or food in the recycling.

      • Glass recycling is available at the dumpster on campus next to Selway Suites

       

    11. Outdoor Lighting

       

      All outdoor lights are in the process of being switched to LEDs.

       

      Key Points: 

      • LEDs last up to SIX times longer and use HALF as much energy as the fluorescent bulbs being replaced.

       

    12. Solar Powered Parking Meters

       

      Boise State has installed these in several locations to encourage renewable energy usage.

       

      Key Points: 

      • Renewable energy sources, like solar power, help cut monetary costs of energy and reduce energy footprint

       

    13. Solar Charging Station

       

      Location: Outside the Albertsons' Library Front Entrance

       

      An idea crafted by Boise State employees, this charging station has four 160 watt solar panels on the roof with batteries for power storage and screens for promotional messaging, as well as 15 charging outlets.

       

      Key Points: 

      • This station was made partially from recycled materials, as the wood table tops were originally beams in the former Applied Technology Building and were recovered before the building was demolished

       

    14. MakerLab

       

      Location: Albertsons Library, First Floor

       

      The MakerLab is an inclusive, interdisciplinary space that facilitates invention and experimentation while maintaining social responsibility and sustainable practices.

       

      Key Points: 

      • The first Student Sustainability Fund grant came from one of the student employees in the MakerLab

        • Fourth year computer science student Kade Bolen created a filament recycler to reduce the amount of waste 3D printing produces

       

    15. Geothermal on Campus

       

      Location: Mathematics, Interactive Learning Center, Multipurpose Classroom, Morrison Center, Environmental Research, Center for the Visual Arts, Administration, Student Union, Micron Business and Economics and Alumni and Friends Center

       

      Boise has the largest direct-use geothermal energy system in the country, and the university utilizes it here on campus in the 10 buildings stated above. 

       

      Key Points: 

      • The water comes from springs near the Military Reserve to be used and is then sent back to replenish the springs. Heat supply goes through the pipes to heat the building.

      • Reduces the natural gas usage and snowmelt

      • Pipes run under the sidewalk and melts the snow during the winter

       

    16. Tree Campus

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

      Boise State is a certified tree campus for Higher Education through the Arbor Day Foundation. 

      • Benefits of trees include reducing urban heat island effect, sequestering carbon, and providing a habitat for animals.

      • Leaves are composted on-site every fall.

    17. Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

      CATEGORY: ENERGY

      There are currently twelve public charging stations on campus. Four of these charging stations are located in the Brady Street Garage.

    18. Micron Business and Economics Building

      CATEGORY: ENERGY

      The Micron Business and Economics Building (MBEB) is one of the ten geothermal heated buildings on campus. Another unique feature of this building is the geothermal-heated patio. 

      • Reduce ice during the winter, creating a safer environment.
      • Reduce the need to salt or apply sand to the concrete, which lessens the amount of runoff and the related harm to wildlife. 

      Additional details:

      • The Atkins Law Career Closet is located on the first floor, with completely free professional clothes similar to our Campus Clothing Closet for students seeking clothes for interviews, internships, and various jobs. Students need to make an appointment and can take four items each semester. 

    19. Solar Panel Roof

      CATEGORY: ENERGY

      Micron Business & Economics Building (MBEB), Roof

      MBEB has a small solar array that produces roughly 25 kilowatts of power each day.

      • This is the equivalent of the energy used by about five average households.

    20. Green Roof

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

      Micron Business & Economics Building (MBEB), Roof

      Covers over 5,000 square feet on the wings of the building where native ground cover grows in trays. 

      • Reduces the load of storm water into the drainage system.
      • Reduces the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling.
      • Takes very little water and is mowed only once a year, making maintenance easy. 

    21. Cesar Chavez Blvd

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

      The sidewalk along the green belt is designed to be pedestrian friendly, so the green lane along Cesar Chavez is specifically for bikes heading towards Capitol Blvd.

      • Bikes heading towards Park Center are allowed to use the full lane. 
      • Shuttle stops are also available all along Cesar Chavez Lane, making it easy to get around using public transportation or by biking