Campus Stormwater Sustainability cALE

This resource contains the course materials developed for the course-based Authentic Learning Experience (cALE) embedded in ENVS 135: California Water and Society at California State University, Sacramento. Sac State is situated in urban Sacramento along the American River, where stormwater management on our 300-acre campus connects us to the sustainability of a 1.3 million-acre watershed facing threats to ecology, water quality, hydrology, and social value. This "relationship to the river" provides an ideal living laboratory for authentic, place-based research that can contribute to real-world campus management and, more broadly, to career-relevant advances in science and policy that shift urban stormwater from a nuisance to a resource for climate adaptation, groundwater recharge and ecosystem health. ENVS 135 is a ~30-student, upper-division Environmental Studies course open to all majors, offered every spring over 15 weeks each with two 75-minute class periods (course description below). This cALE has been implemented since 2024 using an emergent approach where learning goals emphasize process and transferable skills intended to improve students' science identity through: awareness of their existing and developing/desired skillsets agency in designing and implementing a research project with appropriate methods belonging and inclusion in collaborative teams curiosity and humility in interdisciplinary inquiry confidence in communicating to science, policy and management stakeholders As a result, students have carried out a variety of projects with differing designs, methods and outputs, including written reports, presentations, grant proposals and a documentary film. Example questions that student teams have investigated include: How do campus Low Impact Development (LID) features — bioswales, rain gardens, and permeable surfaces — perform in terms of infiltration rates, water quality, and vegetation condition? How effectively do campus LIDs filter stormwater pollutants, and how does performance vary across sites? How aware is the campus community of stormwater infrastructure, and how do perceptions change with increased knowledge? How do infiltration rates and soil compaction vary across different campus landscape management types — native plantings, turf, and impervious surfaces? How does arthropod diversity respond to irrigation intensity gradients and herbicide application patterns across campus landscapes? Is campus groundwater use sustainable, and does current irrigation practice comply with California's restrictions on potable water use for ornamental turf (AB 1572)? The QUBES content includes resources from Spring 2026, intended to provide scaffolding for navigating the emergent research process that can be adapted to other course formats and contexts. At Sac State, these resources are delivered as follows over 15 weeks (in-class time varies to allow for other course content): introduce the cALE and overarching SIRIUS project within the course requirements and expected learning outcomes (20 minutes). picking up on course curriculum covering fundamental hydrology concepts, we narrow in on the urban watershed and the role of stormwater management (45 minutes). on-campus field trip inviting students to view campus as a living laboratory, a system not just of drains, pipes and pumps, but of landscape surfaces with varying perviousness, subsurface aquifers used for irrigation, experimental low-impact development (a.k.a. green stormwater infrastructure) installations, pollution sources, ecosystems and the everyday experiences of the campus community (one full class period). brainstorm real-world research topics by engaging with our campus's management context (e.g. stormwater permit and Master Plan) and stakeholders (e.g. Facilities department staff) (one full class period). narrow to 4-6 topics and assemble groups of 5-7 students based on survey of their topical interests and existing/developing skillsets (45 minutes). background research and drafting research designs in groups (45 minutes). site visits and final research designs (45 minutes). fieldwork planning, including procuring supplies and obtaining needed information and permissions from campus administration (15 minutes). fieldwork (one full class period) fieldwork (one full class period) fieldwork (one full class period) fieldwork and data analysis (one full class period) interpreting findings and cross-group check-in (30 minutes) drafting outputs (30 minutes) communication and self-assessment (full class period) Catalog description for ENVS 135: California Water and Society: This course provides the historical, scientific, legal, institutional, and economic background needed to understand the social and ecological challenges of providing water for California's growing population, agricultural economy, and other uses- all of which are made more complex by climate change. We will look at past and current debates around cases ranging from local issues on the American River to statewide issues that converge in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Both physical and social science research skills will be developed.