Center for Sustainable Living

Center for Sustainable Living

The Center for Sustainable Living provides an environmentally conscious place for project-based and interdisciplinary learning. Its key functions are to provide a living and learning laboratory for students, outreach to the community through tours, workshops and group activities and to support K-12 school districts through field trips and hands-on projects.

The Center for Sustainable Living will feature a geothermal heating and cooling system. A geothermal system utilizes a network of underground wells as a source for obtaining heat energy in the colder months and dissipating heat energy in the warmer months.

The kitchen at the Center for Sustainable Living is a model of sustainability. In addition to Energy Star appliances and LED lighting, the space features sustainable design features such as natural linoleum, countertops made of recycled paper and cardboard, sorghum paneling and a Bokashi composter.

The Urban Garden serves as a hands-on resource for teaching and learning about food production in urban spaces. Produce from the Urban Garden also supplies Gateway's weekly farmer's market at the Pike Creek Horticulture Center.

The grounds of the Center for Sustainable Living feature a wood-chipped prairie walking path that is open to the public. Other unique natural features include a wooded creek with majestic bur oaks, grounds maintained by Gateway's Horticulture Program and an apple orchard.

There is plentiful hot water at the Center for Sustainable Living. It is a clean, renewable gift from the sun, thanks to the solar hot water system pictured here.

The Community Room is a well-appointed meeting space that is available for use by community and civic groups, featuring views of Pike Creek and the landscaped grounds. The space is fully equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment, including a projector, distance learning system and wireless internet. In warmer months a large deck and gazebo are available as meeting space.

This space showcases sustainable projects created by students in the Interior Design Program. Everything in the room, which is updated annually, is creatively reused, repurposed and recycled.

The Center for Sustainable Living is located on Gateway's Kenosha Campus yet feels a world apart. The driveway leading to the Center is lined with solar lighting and has parking for up to 13 cars. Additional parking is available just a 2-minute walk away.

Renewable energy is an integral part of the Center for Sustainable Living. This 12-panel solar tracker on Gateway's Kenosha Campus, which follows the sun, cleanly supplies most of the Center's electricity. You can visit this Web site to see real-time and historical data for the solar tracker. Solar Tracker.