Practicum in Ecological Design of the Adam Joseph Lewis Center

In this course co-taught by Professors David Benzing, Katy Janda and John Petersen, The Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies building and landscape serves as a case study to critically examine issues at the interface between design intent, theory and practice.   This is accomplished with lectures, discussions, student presentation and hands-on examinations of design philosophy and technology.  Fall 2004 students introduced the AJLC to students from Miami University of Ohio who are visiting during the planning phase for a new 'green' business school at their University.

Art & the Environment

In fall 2002, art and environmental studies students worked with regional and national artists to design art for the AJLC that will improve its aesthetics and enhance its ecological messages. The results of a semester-long course for art and environmental studies students enrolled in "Art and the Environment" filled the atrium with color, possibility and visions for the future. This collaborative course began with tours of the AJLC and its landscape, discussions of the building's philosophy and function and a slide presentation about contemporary artists working with environmental issues.

Early in the semester, an in-depth examination of various ways that works of art might enhance and expand the teaching potential and aesthetic qualities of the Center was conducted in the form of a three-day charrette. During this charrette, three teams comprised of art and environmental studies students, environmental studies faculty and staff, community members and visiting artists divided the Lewis Center programs into the following topics for closer investigation the building's technology and data information system, the landscape, and community outreach. Visiting artists were: Patrick Clancy of Kansas City who worked with the technology group, Lewis "Buster" Simpson of Seattle who worked with the community outreach group, and Meg Webster of New York City who worked with the landscape group.

Following the charrette, the students took individual or small group responsibility for developing ideas originating in their charrette group. Their charge was to bring these ideas to more complete resolution and present them in visual form through drawings, models, media presentations, etc. The results were displayed in a public exhibition. Some projects from this course may be further developed into permanent installations within the Center.

Black River Watershed Education Program

The Black River Watershed Education Program is coordinated by Cheryl Wolfe-Cragin, lecturer in the Environmental Studies Program. Through this program Oberlin College students participate in a year-long practicum in watershed education.  Watershed education is an innovative approach to learning that encourages environmental awareness by engaging youth in their local places in the Black River Watershed. The Black River and its tributaries, woodlands, farmlands, and wetlands provide the basis for this living curriculum that brings together a variety of disciplines and extends learning beyond the walls of classrooms.

Independent Study

Each semester, winter term, and summer several students from a variety of disciplines complete independent projects focusing on the performance, impact, or evolution of the AJLC for academic credit. Independent study may take the form of a private reading, summer ecological design internship, winter term or senior research project. Recent independent projects focusing on the AJLC include:

Development of AJLC Performance Data Display

Students Gavin Platt, Michael Murray and Vladislav Shunturov spent January of 2004 developing a new feedback display for the center's atrium.  The display provides visitors with background about the Center's monitoring system and allows them to view its current ecological performance. 

Living Machine Extension Feasibility Study

In Spring of 2004 students Jonathan Beckhardt, Ellen Kunz, and Trever Walter investigated the possibility of importing wastewater from other campus buildings to the Center's Living Machine. Their report, presented to facilities planners in May 2004, has laid the groundwork for expansion of the system.

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Payback in Currencies of Energy, Carbon Dioxide and Money for a 60-kW Photovoltaic Array

Michael E. Murray and Professor John Petersen conducted a study on the Lewis Center's PVs to compare their environmental costs and benefits. They found that the Oberlin installation pays back the environmental costs of construction (energy and carbon dioxide) early in its useful life, but it cannot pay back financial investments in the economy as it is currently structured.

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Nitrogen Dynamics in a Greenhouse-Wetland Wastewater Treatment System

Caroline Turner and Professor John Petersen investigated the efficiency and nature of nitrogen removal from wastewater in the Center's Living Machine. Using the persulfate digest method for measuring organic nitrogen Caroline demonstrated denitrification to be the limiting factor for nitrogen removal by the system and identified the primary location of this process within the Living Machine.

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