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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

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

      Alumni & Friends Center

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

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

    2. Campus Clothing Closet

      CATEGORY: RECYCLE & REUSE

      Gender Equity Center, Student Union Building (SUB) Upstairs

      The Gender Equity 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.

      • Reduces the amount of clothes in the landfill, especially in the era of mass consumerism. 
      • Provides students with a resource to address essential needs.

    3. Buster's Kitchen

      CATEGORY: FOOD

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

      Boise State’s dining halls use reusable to-go boxes.

      • Keeps disposable to-go boxes out of the landfill!

    4. Bee Keep

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

      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.

    5. Bronco Shop

      CATEGORY: RECYCLE & REUSE

      Student Union Building (SUB), First Floor

      The Bronco Shop offers:

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

    6. Eco-Turf

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

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

      Landscaping Services has planted eco-turf, a mix of clover and fescue grasses, in several locations on campus. Compared to a typical lawn, ecoturf: 

      • Uses less water.

      • Minimizes the need for fertilizers.

    7. Cycle Learning Center

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

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

      • 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. 

    8. Water Bottle Refill Stations

      CATEGORY: RECYCLE & REUSE

      This is one of many refill stations around campus designed to encourage reusable water bottles.

      • The number at the station represents how many bottles have been reused instead of purchased new.
      • Every time you refill a bottle you prevent the purchase of a new plastic bottle. 

    9. Boise State Shuttle Stop

      CATEGORY: CAMPUS LANDSCAPE

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

      • 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

      CATEGORY: RECYCLE & REUSE

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

      • 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

      CATEGORY: ENERGY

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

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

    12. Solar Powered Parking Meters

      CATEGORY: ENERGY

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

    13. 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.

    14. Geothermal on Campus

      CATEGORY: ENERGY

      Boise has the largest direct-use geothermal energy system in the country, and the university utilizes it here on campus in the following buildings:

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

      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.

    15. 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.

    16. 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. 

    17. 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.

    18. 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. 

    19. 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 

    20. MakerLab

      CATEGORY: RECYCLE & REUSE

      Albertsons Library, First Floor

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

      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. 

    21. Solar Charging Station

      CATEGORY: ENERGY

      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.

      • 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.