Tours
Explore Sustainability Through Engaging Tours
At Stanford University, tours serve as a vibrant example of the campus’s commitment to being a living lab, where learning extends beyond the classroom and into the physical and natural world. Touring Stanford’s innovative facilities and picturesque grounds can help community members and visitors uncover how sustainable systems in waste management, energy efficiency, and biodiversity are seamlessly integrated into everyday life. Tours provide a unique opportunity to witness innovative practices in action, fostering a deeper understanding of how choices made every day impact the environment. Discover how Stanford not only educates but also exemplifies a model for sustainable living, inspiring future generations to champion ecological stewardship, through one or more of the various guided, virtual, or self-guided tours.
Power Up Energy Knowledge Through SESI
Learn more about Stanford Energy Systems Innovations. Through guided, virtual, and self-guided tours of the Central Energy Facility, there are multiple ways to explore Stanford’s ground-breaking energy systems that provide sustainable energy for a growing campus.
Journey to the On-Campus Recycling Yard
Peninsula Sanitary Service, Inc. (PSSI) has been serving as Stanford’s waste service provider for over 80 years. Immerse yourself in the world of recycling at their on-campus yard and learn how this partnership helps the university make progress towards its zero waste goal. Tours are hosted quarterly and vary by quarter. If this doesn't meet your schedule, off-cycle tours can be given with a minimum of ten participants.
Discover Where Stanford’s Recyclables Go
Interested in seeing what happens to Stanford's recyclables after they leave campus? Join a tour of the GreenWaste San Jose Material Recovery Facility to see it in action.
Learn About Stanford’s Resource Recovery Innovations
The William and Cloy Codiga Resource Recovery Center (CR2C) is a groundbreaking facility dedicated to accelerating the deployment and adoption of water and energy resource recovery systems. The CR2C facility enables pilot testing of promising technologies for the recovery of resources (clean water, nutrients, energy, renewable materials) from wastes. Learn more about the facility from staff experts on a guided, in-person tour.
Get Inspired at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma) is a Stanford University field station whose mission is research and education about natural systems. Visits introduce the public to the natural history of the Santa Cruz Mountains and to the research at the preserve. Jasper Ridge docents have wide-reaching, and diverse areas of expertise, and no two tours are the same.
Explore Sustainable Agriculture at the O’Donohue Family Educational Farm
Through residential learning field trip programs, academic field trip programs, and volunteering opportunities, there are many ways to explore the campus farm that provides hands-on teaching and learning about agriculture.
Experience Lake Lagunita
The historic Lake Lagunita on campus is home to a diverse set of species and offers a unique insight into the biodiversity of Stanford’s natural lands. Lake Lagunita is a dynamic site on campus, with seasonal changes throughout the year. Learn more about Lake Lagunita through a self-guided visit, complete with interpretive signs packed with information from Stanford’s own conservation team, and discover what makes Lake Lagunita a special ecosystem on the conservation website.
