Colleges are a great place to try out sustainable living initiatives. They reduce operating costs, provide learning opportunities for students, and can be incorporated into a wide variety of programs. So Western Technical College in Wisconsin is making some of its facilities “living laboratories” to educate students on sustainable living. The college is adding a curriculum to teach passive house construction (building houses that use insulation and air circulation to reduce energy consumption by 80%), and will be able to construct real homes as part of the learning process. The college is also adding a program in hydro technology, in which students will learn to operate a dam that generates electricity. Western’s initiatives are a great example of sustainable living laboratories, as the programs pay for themselves and open a wide variety of educational opportunities for college students and the community.