In a tradition that spans over a decade, the Office of Sustainability partnered with the CSUDH Central Plant team on Wednesday, Oct. 28, for fun, Halloween-themed tours of the plant and the massive underground tunnel system that supports the energy needs of the campus.
The Sustainability and Central Plant teams worked together to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the facility, which had been decorated to enhance its spookiness. Along the way, visitors could snack on free candy while discovering the innovative infrastructure that helps power one of Southern California’s most sustainable campuses.
Throughout the morning, members of the Central Plant team guided groups of students, faculty, staff, and community members as they explored the quarter-mile network of tunnels that runs underneath the campus. Visitors got to walk the tunnels that run beneath the Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) Building, LaCorte Hall, and the University Library. They could also check out the tunnel that connects the Central Plant to the Gymnasium, which was the inspiration for the university’s original circular logo.
Other highlights of the tour included the intricate control panel that allows the crew to monitor energy usage throughout campus on a real-time basis, the high-efficiency heating and cooling systems that reduce energy use, and the giant intake systems that draw outside air into the tunnels to help cool the campus.
Along one wall of the main tunnel, visitors could see the work-in-progress mural depicting scenes from the Industrial Revolution that’s being created by students from the CSUDH Art Department. Further along the same tunnel was the antique telecom system workers used to stay in contact in the plant’s pre-cell phone era.
Sustainability Coordinator Aemelia Hellgren says the tours, which have been conducted in some form since 2012, are a fun way “to increase awareness of what’s happening behind closed doors with our energy efficiency program. It lets us showcase things that most people don’t know about and share them with the campus community and anyone else who’s interested in clean energy.”
