The recommendation for Sustainability in Study Abroad has been approved!
The stakeholders identified for this project include the Illinois Abroad Council Steering Committee, Environmental Sustainability Study Abroad Working Group, and representatives from study abroad programs in each college.
The forthcoming steps involve a collaborative effort to establish policies and procedures with these stakeholders.
The Green Career Fair is in the process of development, with a scheduled date of February 27th 2024, at the Illini Union Ballroom.
The iCAP Education team has prioritized this project for the fall semester of 2023. We are currently in the process of finalizing the event's name and determining the list of invited companies.
Following is the response from Dr. Ehab Kamarah from F&S on October 11, 2023:
Thank you, Dr. Fraterrigo. F&S supports the recommendations.
Regards,
Ehab
Read the iWG transmittal for Transportation 015 Fleet Replacement.
The following response was received from John Marquardt on October 16, 2023:
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for the recommendation to install permeable surfaces in the State Farm Center parking lots. I am pleased to report that State Farm Center has recently resurfaced two of its lots with permeable pavements, the SE Lot following the renovation of State Farm Center in 2016, and most recently the NE lot in 2021.
Project specifications from the most recent lot renovation list the following description and statistics about how this project (and the SE project in 2016) addressed permeability concerns of the lots:
“A total of approximately 12,500 square feet of permeable pavement was installed in the NE lot. As detailed on the plans, the pavement section will include a consistent 5” of porous asphalt on top of variable thickness permeable aggregate (varying from 8” to 24”). A single 12” underdrain will run the entire length of permeable pavement patch, and a controlled 6” outlet pipe will be connected to the existing and adjacent 36” storm sewer via a new manhole. While soil types in this area will only allow for very minimal infiltration, the drainage rock will provide enough inherent storage to detain the 1-year, 1-hour storm event. The available storage is approximately 7,000 CU FT and the storm runoff volume for this event is 6,775 CU FT. “
State Farm Center will be resurfacing the NW and SW parking lots in 2025 as part of planned and budgeted R&R operations. We fully anticipate that these projects will be completed with similar specifications to ensure that they are environmentally conscious with regard to permeability and other factors.
Thank you for your time and concern.
Read the iWG transmittal for LW005 SFC Permeable Pavers.
Parkland Environmental Biology class visited (24 students) on October 11, 2023.
Sam Wuebbles is one of the two new Sustainable Transportation interns. He started on 10/10/23 and will be working 10 hours per week.
The 2023-24 charge letter identified the Commuter Program as a priority area for the Transportation iCAP team.
The pilot commuter program ran in Spring 2023 and celebrated those already choosing active modes of transportation but struggled to incentivize people to relinquish their parking passes. The Transportation Team will begin to brainstorm ways to incentivize and encourage people to relinquish their parking passes. The team also wants to establish an emergency ride-home program. This program would be made available to those who do not have a parking pass and need to return home in case of an emergency.
The Transportation iCAP Team met on 10/6/2023 to discuss the 2023-24 charge letter and priories for the year. The team will focus on the EV Task Force Report, the 2024 Campus Bike Plan, the commuter program, and Transportation015- sustainable fleet replacement plan recommendation.
At Friday's Illini Lights Out event, 6,059 light bulbs were shut off that otherwise would have been left on all weekend, saving $921.85 in energy costs. This also prevented 7.434 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 833 gallons of gasoline being consumed. That's a huge impact!
The next Illini Lights Out event is on Friday, October 13th, and you can sign up using this link. Stay up to date with other sustainability-related events and news by signing up for the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) newsletter here!
Illini Lights Out addresses objectives 2.2 and 2.2.2 of the iCAP, or Illinois Climate Action Plan, to increase energy efficiency and reduce building-level energy. Find out about other iCAP objectives here and read the entire iCAP here.
Illini Lights Out is a certified Green Event! Click this link to learn how to green-certify your own event.
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on October 9, 2024, to discuss AY 2023-24 action items, iCAP objectives, and charge priorities. The team will be focusing on conducting green tailgating events alongside university athletics, increasing waste reduction and diversion within residence halls, and addressing updates to current facility hydration station standards.
Please find attached PDF containing performance metrics for ZipCar usage on campus for September 2023.
The iCAP Engagement held their first meeting of the Fall Semester on October 5th. Meeting minutes and recordings are attached.
https://uofi.box.com/s/j3udgb9obcdyugbgfy2jio5m53me7t85
'Learn How to Ride a Bike' event was held on Saturday, October 7th, 2023 between 11am and 1:30pm. 3 students attended the event. Please find the attached report and presentation for details.
The Land & Water iCAP team met on Teams from 1-2 PM on Friday, October 6th. The team reviewed the iCAP Land & Water objectives, discussed area/projects of focus for the year, and brainstormed next steps in relation to projects that are underway. Meeting minutes are attached.
Tour with 1 student on October 6, 2023.
The Education iCAP team met on Teams from 1-2 PM on Thursday, October 5th. The team reviewed the iCAP Education objectives, discussed area/projects of focus for the year, and brainstormed next steps in relation to projects that are underway. Meeting minutes are attached.
The following is an email sent by Betsy Ligget Richardson:
Hello everyone, hope you are doing well!
I am writing to share information regarding an upcoming stormwater conference on October 24th at the iHotel to see if you are interested in attending and if you could share the attached flyer with your staff and colleagues. The Illinois Green Infrastructure & Erosion Control Conference is hosted by the Champaign County Stormwater Partnership which the University, Facilities & Services, Safety & Compliance is a member.
The conference presenters this year are from the University of Illinois, the University of Illinois Extension Office, Penn State and the City of Peoria. We will also have a tour at Crystal Lake Park in Urbana following the presentations (MTD transportation available). 5 PDHs will be provided, along with breakfast and lunch!
We do not currently have a high registration count and hope to get more attendees registered this week to support our presenters. We have promoted a soft close registration date on October 10th . Registration will still be open after that, but we are asking attendees to register by Tuesday for the food order and table set up information needed.
Please sign up and share. Thanks in advance!
https://www.ccstormwater.org/2023-conference.html
Betsy
9 individuals from the Fab Lab on October 4, 2023.
September 2023 photos of the Florida Orchard Prairie have been added to the box folder.
MSE 489 class tour with Professor Daniel Shoemaker on October 3, 2023:
