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Co-presidents Owen Jennings, Maiah Caise, Jack Reicherts, and Maria Maring are excited to embark upon their second semester as SSLC leadership together. The primary goals of the semester include:
Bolster collaboration between environmental RSOs on UIUC campus. The SSLC hopes to work with Student Affairs to incentivize participation with the SSLC, using the University of California Berkely’s Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC) as a template. Weekly board meetings and monthly full meetings will continue per usual.
Bolster collaboration between other Illinois schools like University of Illinois Chicago, University of Illinois Springfield, and Illinois State University. Both SECS and ISG may play significant roles in this relationship-building. The SSLC has already been in contact with Illinois State.
Host Earth Month events. The SSLC already began communication with the Illini Union Green Team last semester to begin planning events like Green Quad Day and a movie night on the Quad. Organizations like SECS, Red Bison, and iSEE that have been historically active in Earth Month events will be essential in these processes.
Write SSLC bylaws. The Council has not previously had bylaws, and they are absolutely essential to moving forward in an organized and successful fashion.
Continue to monitor the fight for divestment from fossil fuels. This iCAP Objective has caused copious political strife between students and administrators. Because divestment continues to be a hot topic, the SSLC will continue to listen to student concerns.
The SSLC underwent many changes under the new leadership of co-presidents Owen Jennings, Maiah Caise, Jack Reicherts, and Maria Maring. The board experimented with the mission and niche of the SSLC, ultimately establishing that the organization shall act as a medium of communication between student groups and the administration. The organization will also be the primary host of the annual Student Sustainability Summit in October, touting – among other interdisciplinary events – Green Quad Day, Sustainable Student Research Symposium, and Tuesday Talks at Bevier Cafe.
This Summit was the Council’s most noteworthy accomplishment this semester. The SSLC collaborated with: Red Bison, Outdoor Adventure Club, the Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering, the Sustainable Student Farm, the Pilot Processing Plant, Grand Prairie Friends, the F&S Solar House, Stop Line 3 CU, Students for Environmental Concerns, Prairie Rivers Network, and the Student Sustainability Committee. This myriad of events had varying levels of attendance. The SSLC leadership learned two primary lessons from the inaugural Student Sustainability Summit: first, quality over quantity in terms of events; and second, planning well ahead of time is absolutely essential in order to adequately advertise each event. If you attended or co-hosted any Summit event, and you would like to let the SSLC board know your feedback, please fill out this form. The current SSLC leadership looks forward to how future leadership will expand upon the Summit.
Another noteworthy accomplishment of the SSLC this semester was action following the publication of the Campus Admin Manual’s Expressive Activity Policy draft. Students were largely emotional about the policy’s stringent punishment for demonstrations on campus, so the SSLC – in conjunction with SECs and the SSC – wrote a letter to Chancellor Jones demanding that the policy more closely align with the student body’s needs. As of January 2022, the SSLC has received no reply from the Office of the Chancellor.
Co-presidents Maria Maring and Owen Jennings spoke at the Campus Sustainability Celebration and Sustainability Council meeting, respectively, on the topic of divestment. Though SSLC leadership was merely prompted to give basic updates at these meetings, they utilized the face-to-face opportunity with campus administrators to voice student concerns about completing iCAP Objective 9.1: Fully divest from fossil fuel companies by FY25.
In a first, the SSLC and general members participated in the Homecoming Parade. Roughly a dozen students marched with divestment-related signs. The SSLC hopes to expand Homecoming attendance next year.
The SSLC revived its dormant Facebook account (@sslcuiuc) and newly established an Instagram account (@uiuc_sslc). On the latter, the SSLC made 40 posts and gained 227 followers. The Facebook account has 93 followers; engagement on this platform is much less. The SSLC also made a linktree and a Google calendar to which other RSOs can sync. That way, all events from all different orgs are all conveniently on one calendar. This joint calendar is still undergoing troubleshooting, and it is not yet available for public viewing.
Amidst these new endeavors, the SSLC held full membership meetings roughly once a month, as did the previous leadership. One recurring issue was lack of attendance and engagement. Leadership held many conversations with both general members and staff advisors about how to increase the efficacy of the Council, but no good solution was found. The SSLC will continue to hold these monthly meetings and brainstorm about how to increase engagement throughout the upcoming spring semester.
The SSLC board met weekly. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact the Council at sslc-chair@mx-illinois.edu.
Attached is John Zhao's final report of the SSC Project:
Iris Lee prepared the attached report on Southern Arboretum Woodland (SAW) plantings for the 2021 Tree Care Plan.
From: White, Morgan
To: Moore, Meredith Kaye
Hi Meredith,
Where on the portal do you think BeeSpotter belongs? I'm thinking it should be in the Resilience theme, but I'm not sure whether it should be under one of the other projects or just under the main one.
Morgan
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From: Moore, Meredith Kaye
To: White, Morgan
Hi Morgan,
That’s a good question. In my opinion, it doesn’t seem to fit well with any of the other projects under the resilience theme page. So unless we want to create a new project “support local pollinator projects” (or something of the sort) with the intention of adding additional pollinator projects, I vote for now let’s make it a project under the main theme. Does that make sense?
Thanks,
Meredith
Link to proposal:
https://uillinoisedu-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/fandsamaloto2_ad_u...
Link to BeeSpotter:
The University of Illinois’ Tree Campus USA application has been approved at the state level! From there, the Arbor Day Foundation will receive our application for review and for final approval. Each year, the Campus Tree Advisory Committee submits a Tree Care Plan to the foundation to uphold our Tree Campus USA status.
Below are some kind words from Mike Brunk, from the Illinois DNR, after reviewing the Tree Care Plan that included the various projects on the horizon and the progress made throughout 2021.
“Excellent Plan and some challenging and productive Service Learning projects. The south Arboretum is a big project, and the LA internships for creating greenspace designs and selecting tree locations sounds like it is fun especially knowing that there is funding support for the installation of their plans.
…And the new canopy study looks like it will create some interesting information for you to plan with.”
SSC received a semesterly report for Fall 2021 for the vermiCUlture project on 12/12/2021. Please see attached.
From: cs-author@wiley.com <cs-author@wiley.com>
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2021 6:15 PM
To: Lin, Yu-Feng <yflin at illinois.edu>
Subject: In Production: Your article accepted in Groundwater
Dear YU-FENG F. LIN,
Article ID: GWAT13159
Article DOI: 10.1111/gwat.13159
Internal Article ID: 17279842
Article: Coupling a borehole thermal model and MT3DMS to simulate dynamic ground source heat pump efficiency
Journal: Groundwater
Congratulations on the acceptance of your article for publication in Groundwater.
Your article has been received and the production process is now underway. We look forward to working with you and publishing your article. Using Wiley Author Services, you can track your article’s progress.
Please click below to login - if you are using a different email address than this one, you will need to manually assign this article to your Dashboard (see How do I assign a missing article to My Dashboard?):
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John Zhao, PhD. Candidate, reached out to Dr. Stumpf with a question regarding the CIF's geothermal capacity. Specifically, the question was, "The description of this project https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/geothermal-campus-instructional-facility-cif says:'The optimized geothermal exchange system will supply the CIF building with approximately 135 tons of heating and cooling capacity, equivalent to almost 65% of the total building energy demand.' I am checking if the GSHP only covers the 65% of the building space conditioning, or the heating/cooling account for 65% of the total electricity consumption (considering lighting, and etc.)?"
Dr Stumpf replied explaining that the 135 tons is 65% of the building's energy demand and the GSHPS (ground source heat pump) covers this portion. The GSHPS is primarily used to offset energy for making chilled water since the building is cooling dominated. The other 35% is for electricity (making hot water, running HVAC system, geothermal and water pumps, etc.)
Zhao met with Eric Vetter (in charge of the CIF) and got the following heat pump capacity information:
Manufacturer: ClimaCool Corporation
Cooling Capacity: 141 Ton / 1,692 MBH
Heating Capacity: 2,222 MBH
Electricity Input: At full capacity rated 100.4 - 144.3 kW.
From: Hayek, Jay C <jhayek at illinois.edu>
To: White, Morgan <mbwhite at illinois.edu>; Lewis, Brent C <bcl at illinois.edu>; McSweeney, Kevin <mcsween at illinois.edu>; Soltis, Sinead (FandS) <fandsssolti2 at mx.uillinois.edu>
Subject: A Visual Story of Illinois' New Champion Carolina Silverbell (Not for Public Consumption Yet)
Morning Everyone:
Below is an ArcGIS StoryMap project that I’ve been working on recently. I haven’t made it totally “public” yet as I’m asking for feedback on how it loads and looks on your computers/devices.
Title: A Visual Story of Illinois' New Champion Carolina Silverbell
URL: https://go.illinois.edu/presidents-silverbell
Best regards,
Jay C. Hayek, Extension Forestry Specialist
SAWW Certified Chainsaw Safety Trainer
Chairman; IL Forestry Development Council
Dept. of Natural Resources & Env. Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Office: (217) 244-0534
Email: jhayek at illinois.edu
Web: https://extension.illinois.edu/forestry
Standard US Mailing Address
W-521 Turner Hall (MC-047)
1102 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
Packages: UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL
W-512A Turner Hall (MC-047)
1102 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
On Tuesday, November 30th, the Resilience iCAP Team had their final meeting of the semester. The team discussed updates on projects such as the Green Jobs Certification Inventory and potential plans for Carbon Offsets. Meeting minutes are attached.
All, The Kid’s Bike Giveaway event was held on Saturday afternoon. We gave away 60 bikes and still have 20 left. Ideally, we would’ve given them all away, but no one left disappointed, which is very much worth the extra time and effort of moving 20 bikes back into the shop. We had 7 people volunteering, so it was quick work. We’ll put the word out this week that anyone who didn’t get a bike is welcome to stop by the Urbana Bike Project during open hours (Wed/Thurs 6:30 – 9; Sat/Sun by appointment) to pick out a bike from our leftovers. Depending on volunteer availability off-hours pick-ups might be doable, too.
Thanks to everyone who helped with the event and helped spread the word! We were able to give away 15 more bikes than we did last year.
Last week I was finally able to fully rebuild the outdoor bike pump with new and heavier duty parts that should last the winter. So far no one’s tried to drive their car up to the pump and air their car tires like they did when the station was by the curb on Pennsylvania.
This week I’ll turn our attentions to refurbishing. We should have a half dozen bikes on the sales floor by Friday. We’ve worked through the easy fixes and are left with the fun stuff: dusty, old 3 speeds, 10 speed Schwinns and the like. Now we can start in earnest building up our stock for the spring rush—although, with the unseasonably warm temps this week, we may be too busy to make much headway. A good problem to have.
We’re closing for Winter Break after Friday. Reopening date is TBD.
The numbers:
Visitors:
Sales: $71*
Memberships: 1 for $30
Tires/tubes: 3 for $13
*We’ve reinstated the First Visit Free policy which deflates our sales numbers compared to our mandated memberships for the summer/fall.
Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator
Team D15 submitted the attached files for the RainWorks Campus Competition on December 3, 2021.
Here is a link to the team's video: https://youtu.be/9O3RS6tq_rs.
From: Guest, Jeremy S <jsguest at illinois.edu>
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2021 8:07 AM
To: Verma, Vishal <vverma at illinois.edu>; Cusick, Roland <rcusick at illinois.edu>; Geiger, Sarah Dee <smurphy7 at illinois.edu>
Cc: Rosenbery, Amy Nichole <husted at illinois.edu>; Khanna, Madhu <khanna1 at illinois.edu>; Cai, Ximing <xmcai at illinois.edu>; White, Morgan <mbwhite at illinois.edu>; Kokini, Eugenie Jenny <jkokini at illinois.edu>
Subject: iSEE Campus as a Living Lab Proposal - Request for Meeting
Vishal, Roland, and Sarah,
Thank you for submitting a proposal for Campus as a Living Lab funding from the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE). I am pleased to share with you that your proposal was well reviewed. In particular, it was noted that the focus engaging with the 5th and Hill neighborhood is directly in-line with campus goals to address local sustainability challenges, as highlighted in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/files/project/5293/iCAP-2020-FINAL-WEB.pdf; https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/).
At this time, we would like to move to the next step the proposal review process and meet with you and your team to learn more about your plans, discuss iSEE expectations for funded teams, and answer any questions you may have. I am copying Amy Rosenbery, who will help coordinate scheduling for a meeting some time between November 29-December 3 or December 6-10. For the meeting we will try to include (if possible) your full team, Madhu Khanna, Jenny Kokini, and me, as well as Ximing Cai and Morgan White who lead our Campus as a Living Lab efforts.
One additional items is that we noted that CVs and Current & Pending documents were not included in the original submittal. Please submit these documents in advance of our meeting. Templates (if you require them) can be found on the seed funding website: https://sustainability.illinois.edu/research/campus-as-a-living-laboratory-research-campus-sustainability-working-together/. Any similar format is acceptable, however.
We look forward to discussing your proposed project in more detail. Amy will be in touch in the coming week to help find a time for us to meet.
Have a wonderful weekend!
- Jeremy
-------------------------------------------------
Jeremy S. Guest, Ph.D.
Pronouns: he, him, his
Associate Professor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Acting Associate Director for Research
Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
3221 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, MC-250
205 North Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801-2352
Phone: (217) 244-9247
E-Mail: jsguest at illinois.edu
Guest Group Website: http://engineeringforsustainability.com/
iSEE Website: https://sustainability.illinois.edu/
IBM-Illinois DAI Website: https://discoveryacceleratorinstitute.grainger.illinois.edu/
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Eugenie Kokini replied saying that there is approved funding available and is expecting the budget to be released.
Anthony Spurlock wants to discuss the buyout options after 7 or 10 years, the determination of fair market value, and the ongoing maintenance requirements for Solar Farm 1.0 by the end of the year with Rockwell Finance.
Allen Wilson from Rockwell Finance sent an Acknowledgement and Confirmation with respect to Solar Farm 1.0 for the University's Board of Trustees' review and signature. The original financial partner (MB Bank) was acquired by Fifth Third Bank. The asset is being discussed with Fifth Third and being moved to Fifth Third's solar financing program and Wilmington Trust is being incorporated as a trustee for the project.
Attached is a project by Abdelrahman Gemeiye, Bruce Moore, Will Moore, and Jocelyn Pytel. This project was detailed the replacement of metal-halide street lights with solar powered LED lights.
Team M38 submitted the attached files for the RainWorks Campus Competition on December 3, 2021.
Here is a link to the team's video: https://youtu.be/3AJZI00uBaw.
A letter of support from Brent Lewis is also attached below.
Jay Hayek reached out to request access to funds to purchase some replacement trees for the NRES Oak-Hickory Arboretum at the southwest corner of Race & Windsor. Specifically, Hayek is looking to purchase 37 3 gallon & 3 gallon CG (conservation grade) oak and hickory trees. Price range $13-20/each for the desired size and species. He is wondering if he would be able to buy the trees online using his P-card and then do an internal funds transfer, or if the purchase order route is preferable.
