Cold-Climate Greenhouse And Food Waste Digester Provide Education And Research Opportunities While Greening The Campus

A new pilot-scale greenhouse, energy cabin and food waste anaerobic digester on our campus enable students to research and explore new technologies for integrating food production and energy recovery from food waste. The greenhouse utilizes innovative technologies and control systems for the year-round production of leafy green vegetables, herbs and tomatoes. The integration of the food production and food waste management components provides closed-loop cycling of many energy and material flows.The system has been integrated into a wide variety of student-led research, class and volunteer projects. These systems are part of our University's efforts to provide experiential learning sites on campus for project-based and student-centered professional experiences that are integral to their preparation for further studies or employment. The nature of the student involvement versus the quality of their deliverables and output has been assessed. Research projects (graduate or undergraduate) that include direct on-on-one interaction with a faculty advisor have generated the highest quality work - though this approach is also time intensive and not sustainable. Integrating this system into senior capstone design classes involves more students and is a more realistic model for the real world. Final deliverables from these classes are, however, more varied in their quality.