The Oaks dining center recognized for sustainability

The Oaks dining center is the latest building on campus to receive recognition for its green design. The Oaks was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute.

This is BGSU’s fourth LEED-certified building. The Stroh Center has LEED Gold status and The Wolfe Center for the Arts and Carillon Place Dining Center are LEED Silver buildings. LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

The dining center was built with sustainability in mind. Seventy-five percent of the construction waste was recycled; all building materials used were purchased within a 500-mile radius; Ohio barn wood was utilized in the flooring, millwork and wall treatments, and the construction used less structural steel.

Additional “green” features that helped The Oaks earn LEED certification include a green roof with herbs, vegetables and a live roof panel system; solar energy panels; electric catering vehicles; water conservation, including storm water reclamation for use in the bathrooms and landscape irrigation; tray-less dining; and educational components, which include an informational hallway on the ground floor and tours of the roof and the building.

“First of all to get a LEED Gold building on your campus is a great accomplishment and to get a dining center is practically unheard of,” said Nick Hennessy, campus sustainability coordinator. “It’s so great to have something that’s both functional and educational in the sustainability area. There are so many sustainability experiences and examples in the building, it’s bound to be an educational experience regardless if people walk through the educational hallway or not. It’s a living laboratory for sustainability that you can eat in.”

Hennessy said they also ran a very successful composting program at The Oaks from March to May.

The dining center is managed by Chartwells, a division of Compass Group, which provides dining services for over 210 colleges and universities around the country