Explore the ways that JWU’s Providence Campus is making our buildings, grounds and gardens as energy-efficient and green as possible, from LEED-certified facilities to bee-keeping on campus.
A significant portion of JWU Providence’s Harborside Campus sits on reclaimed industrial land that was formerly part of the Providence Shipyard, which built Liberty Ships during World War II. Federal “Brownfields” and EPA cleanup grants received by the school in 2005 and 2006 helped pave the way for converting polluted parts of Fields Point into the Harborside Campus, including academic buildings, residence halls and other facilities.
LEED-Certified Buildings at JWU
JWU’s Providence Campus has four Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold-certified buildings:
- Cuisinart Center for Culinary Excellence (CCCE)
- Grace Welcome Center
- Center for Physician Assistant Studies
- John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation
LEED certification is a green rating system, overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), that encourages sustainable building and development practices. As the most widely-used green building rating system in the world, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. Certification is a globally-recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.
RELATED READING: About the LEED Rating System
Green Buildings on Campus
Certified in 2011, the Cuisinart Center for Culinary Excellence achieved LEED certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies.
Certified in 2011, Grace Welcome Center became JWU’s second LEED-certified building. As a first stop for many prospective students and their families on campus tours, its light-filled lobby and thoughtfully-framed campus views make it naturally impressive, in addition to being environmentally-friendly.
In addition to earning LEED certification, the Center for Physician Assistant Studies was honored with a 2014 Providence Preservation Society (PPS) Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Award — one of 8 preservation projects honored that year. The building also earned a 2015 Smart Growth Award as an Outstanding Smart Growth Project.
From its ground-floor gallery spaces to its robotics, biology and engineering labs, the John J. Bowen Center for Science & Innovation showcases the university’s commitment to interdisciplinary education. Certified in 2016, the building also complies with with National Grid’s Advanced Buildings Program for increased energy efficiency.
Looking towards the future, JWU ECO has undertaken a study for energy storage batteries to power the CCCE building in the event of an outage. An additional study is underway for a campus microgrid project that would add solar canopies to existing parking lots.
Green Spaces, Gardens and Grounds
Tree Campus USA & Arbor Day Foundation Award
Since 2019, JWU Providence has been honored by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management with Tree Campus USA® recognition.
Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and sponsored by Toyota to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. JWU achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards, which include:
- maintaining a tree advisory committee
- a campus tree-care plan
- dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program
- an Arbor Day observance
- student service-learning project
As a Tree Campus affiliate, JWU students, staff and faculty have planted hundreds of trees on campus and surrounding communities.
In 2023, a total of 51 trees were planted on campus, many of which were young trees or saplings. Notably, 10 American elm trees were planted along Harborside Boulevard, and 4 wildfire black gum trees were added to the downtown campus. Two other tree-plantings were conducted off campus in collaboration with the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP), each resulting in the planting of approximately 20 trees. That year also saw the addition of green apple, pear, plum, pawpaw and mulberry trees in and around the Green Collaborative Gardens.
In 2024, an additional 37 trees were planted on campus across five tree planting and educational initiatives. Three off-campus events with PNPP, including one project that spanned two neighborhoods, collectively resulted in the planting of approximately 70 trees.
Of the 37 trees planted on campus, about half were saplings used to replace previous plantings that had not been successfully established. As in the previous year, 10 American elms were planted along Harborside Boulevard, along with four wildfire trees downtown. Also in 2024, JWU ECO teamed up with Cranston Neighborhood Tree Planting Program to plant an American Elm, an American Linden and an American Pinoak in front of the Centennial House to provide shade and beautify the property.
Green Collaborative Gardens
Since 2017, the Green Collaborative — a coalition of student groups including SASS, Bee the Change, Club for Culinary Excellence, Cooking Asia, Culinaria Latina, Afrocentric Cuisine and the Nutrition Society — has spearheaded the development and care of the Green Collaborative Community Gardens. These gardens feature repurposed garden beds (made from recycled podiums), an orchard with pawpaw, pear, green apple, and mulberry trees, a shared shed, compost site, and an expanded pollinator garden.
In 2025, the garden welcomed the Green Collaborative Community Greenhouse, a 10x20x8-foot structure generously donated by an ECO student staff member. The greenhouse enables students to grow herbs and produce all year, including non-native crops, which are used in culturally rooted recipes that reflect each club’s mission. Surplus harvests are shared with the campus and local community, and future plans include selling plants and produce to fundraise. Both the garden and greenhouse serve as a shared, sustainable space for farm-to-table learning and community engagement.
Bee the Change also maintains an active bee site next to the garden, advised by faculty member Maxwell Manning. Their work supports pollinator education and aligns with the university’s Bee Campus USA commitment.
In addition to its on-site activities, the Collaborative also collaborates with local organizations, like caring for 50 pecan saplings to be distributed as part of the Sapling Stewards Community Nursery Project with PNPP and the Partnership for Providence Parks, Recreation Centers & Streetscapes (P3).
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Bee Campus
In 2024, JWU became the first Rhode Island-based institution to join the Xerces Society’s Bee Campus USA program, making Rhode Island the 47th state represented in the national initiative.
Bee Campus USA connects colleges and universities with pollinators, where affiliates make commitments including creating a Bee Campus committee, reducing the use of pesticides, and planting and maintaining pollinator gardens in order to support pollinator conservation.
“Having JWU be the first organization in Rhode Island to be recognized for Bee Campus USA speaks volumes to how JWU prioritizes sustainability on campus, as well as wildlife and bee conservation,” said Michelle Galvin, JWU’s Sustainability coordinator. “Our commitments to maintaining our affiliation with Bee Campus include the planting of pollinator gardens, the reduction of pesticides, the use of proper signage and education opportunities that incorporate pollinator conservation.”
Note: Submitted garden photos lack color. My preference would be to keep these until we can get springtime images with blooming flowers, pollinators and greenery.
