Researchers at Oregon State University once communed with roosting hens in a poultry barn near Peavy Hall. Now, the vacant poultry barn has been transformed into a cutting-edge compost laboratory and workshop — all for about the price of a restaurant burger.

Armed with a vision for sustainable living, several OSU students and researchers have taken the unused barn and, using all recycled materials, made it into a working classroom and laboratory focused on the benefits of compost. Justin Fleming, an OSU senior and the campus recycling coordinator, said the project's only cost so far was $6 for some door fittings.

"We had a reuse/recycle theme. All the things we built using reused material, and everything we took out of the building will be recycled."

Even the carpet Fleming placed in the workshop came from a local business, which donated it after replacing it with new carpet.

Outside the barn is an acre of farmland Fleming is going to devote to a demonstration garden. The compost created in the barn will be used on the garden, and the OSU Organic Growers Club will grow produce on the plot to sell, or to donate to local organizations. From food waste to food products, the project will encompass all aspects of sustainability.

"We're closing the loop," Fleming said.

Fleming is working with housing and dining services to process dining-hall food waste through composting "Earth Tubs." That project will kick off this summer when the Summer Start freshman orientation program offers a banquet using all biodegradable foodware and recyclable utensils. The Earth Tubs will turn the entire banquet into compost.

"It will be essentially a zero-waste food event," Fleming said. The Earth Tubs will be stored in the poultry barn, and other food waste projects will follow.

Fleming is also working with the OSU Extension Service to bring small business owners and small farm owners to the barns for workshops.

"We'll walk them through the building and show them different examples of composting," Fleming said, explaining the cost savings involved in sustainability practices and the benefits to small businesses.

But what has Fleming really excited is the potential for OSU students to participate in the project.

"The biggest piece of the project is research," he said. "We have phenomenal researchers on campus, but they have to go to other universities for compost research, or have it sent up here to examine in labs. We want to develop field research on campus and use the researchers we have."

Fleming said OSU could become a top-notch compost research facility.

"It ties into the mission of becoming a statewide campus," he said.

Thanks to a new student fee of $1.85 per term, Fleming will also be able to pay 30 student interns a small stipend and give them academic credit to do projects in and around the barn.

"The big thing is our goal of education," Fleming said. He foresees projects across campus applying to some aspect of sustainability.

James Cassidy, a member of the OSU Organic Grower's Club, is enthused about the project and his club's participation, especially in the demonstration garden. A researcher in crop and soil science, Cassidy recognizes the potential benefits of the compost facility.

"We want to close the loop on using compost to do life-giving stuff," he said. "We'll be using the finished compost on our organic grower's gardens (off Highway 34) and on the new garden adjacent to the barn."

Having a tasty product at the end of the cycle helps get people interested in the project, he said.

"It's easy for people who have an interest in sustainability to get excited," he said, "but the function of the club is, we're a part of this loop, and food is something everybody can get excited about."

Cassidy said he's interested in making this an exciting project for many parts of campus. On Thursday, he and Fleming held a "Tea and Jam" rap session in the barn, playing on the idea of a compost "tea" by holding a real tea party for researchers and scientists on campus, what Cassidy terms a "meeting of minds."

"It's a wide-open, brand-new facility," he said. "The people who come (to the tea) are going to define what it is."

OSU can only benefit by trying to operate in a more sustainable matter, Cassidy said.

"In a time of economic crises it could be a great thing. We're growing, and when things turn around (economically), hopefully people will realize what we're doing," he said. "It's 10 years behind; other universities have been doing this for years."