CHANGES IN SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITY AT AN ISOLATED, RURAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

University Of Idaho, Moscow ID

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Sustainability practices have become a topic of great interest at institutions of higher education as part of an international movement for "greener" campuses. Institutions that adopt sustainability practices expect benefits through economic savings, environmental protection, better working conditions, better community outreach and increased institutional prestige. A new Health Science and Human Services (HSHS) building should be completed by 2010 and will be a "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)" certified building. Drs. Simpkin and Smith will collect baseline data before and after moving into the HSHS building in the following ways. In Specific Aim 1 we will assess health impacts on HSHS students, faculty and staff as they move into the LEED-certified building. This will be done through surveys, monitoring air quality conditions in the old and new buildings and recording frequency of absences and student grades. In Specific Aim 2 we will document social and behavioral changes on campus and the surrounding community as sustainable practices are implemented and in comparison to baseline data. In Specific Aim 3 we will measure the effects of changes in resource consumption on campus. This will include qualitative measures of changes in use as well as the economic impact of these changes. In Specific Aim 4 we will study campus biodiversity, determine which organisms use different areas of campus and whether the campus acts as a corridor for the movement of organisms through the city. The study of the impacts that moving into a LEED-certified building will have on HSHS students, faculty and staff relates to cell signaling because human health and behavior are affected by any environmental changes through the endocrine system. Exposure to light levels, volatile organic compounds and airborne microbes all can adversely affect human health. The chance for undergraduate students at community colleges to engage in research is unusual, and will engender an appreciation of and enthusiasm for human health research.