The following email was sent by Sterling Laylock to Dhruvaraj Gambhire & Ali Feroz Khan.

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We greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet with you today. Please find below the list of information we'll need to establish a detailed framework
for our pilot project and pricing for full approval.

We've also agreed to meet each Thursday at 4:00pm central time which will serve as our weekly meeting. There will be an exception
to next week's meeting which will be held on Wednesday Nov 10th at 4:00pm.

Building Site: Astronomy Building #0300

Weekly Meeting Time: Thursday's 4:00-5:00pm Central

Tasks Prior to Test Date:

1. Test Site Floor Plan Analysis
2. Determine Test Site Design
3. Develop Project Protocols
4. Establish Sampling Method
5. Select Sampling Types, Origin Points + Intervals

Tasks Post Test Date:

• Lab Testing
• Data Reporting
• Recommendations
• Business Case Analysis

DATA and QUESTIONS: 

Required items are highlighted in BLUE**) [note the color is not displayed on the icap portal, instead the items are starred (**)]

Additional items are necessary, however they can be addressed later in the project timeline.

1.     Please provide PDFs of the full floor plan layout drawings for the entire building. Be sure to include 
square footage for each room and common areas. It is also very important to identify operable windows, if any? ** 
(current/anticipated occupancy assumptions would be helpful)

2.     What are the Astronomy Building's normal hours of operation? **

3.     What is the air filtration rating for the spaces? MERV :: HEPA

4.     Make/Model, age, specs and replacement/upgrade history of the existing HVAC system?

5.     Make/Model and full specifications of the portable air purifiers expected to be used or are
being used in the building.

6.     Please identify all HVAC zones in drawings.

7.     How many air-changes per hour is the HVAC system currently providing?

8.     What are the basic assumptions for outside air intake to aid in dilution/ventilation for all interior spaces.

9.     Please include weather assumptions for heating and cooling the interior spaces along with outdoor temperature and humidity estimates.

The ICECF Final Report and related documents can be found attached:

Each month, the Red Oak Rain Garden (RORG) Team produces an e-newsletter to keep supporters updated on everything that is happening in the garden. In the October 2021 e-newsletter, the team highlighted RORG's seasonal plants to keep an eye out for, social media highlights, volunteer opportunities, and more!

To read their October 2021 newsletter, please see the attached file below.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, according to the U of I Master Plan, measures more than a whopping 8,000 acres of land in the Master Plan Area. On that land grows too many trees to count… or so you thought.

F&S helps count and maintain all 16,534 trees on U of I grounds. All are viewable through the U of I’s “TreeKeeper” database: https://illinoisedu.treekeepersoftware.com/index.cfm?deviceWidth=1280.

That includes more than one “State Champion” tree – meaning it is the largest of its species in Illinois.

“These trees, and all of them on campus, are valuable and a privilege to take care of,” said Brent Lewis, F&S landscape architect. “Having champions on campus shows the ability of our grounds professionals to carefully tend to their needs over many decades of time, ultimately allowing them to grow into the great specimens that we often take for granted.”

The Carolina Silverbell in the backyard of the President’s House is the latest state champion tree on campus, joining the yellowwood found in the green space north of Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall, which attained champion status on Arbor Day 2019.

In April, UIUC experts and students visited and measured the tree, confirming its status as the largest tree of its kind in the state.

“The two multi-stemmed specimens behind the President’s House are the two largest specimens of this species I’ve personally seen. Granted, I don’t come across this species very often,” said Jay Hayek, extension forestry specialist with the department of natural sciences and environmental sciences. “Carolina Silverbell is considered a state-listed endangered species here in Illinois. Its natural range is limited to just two southern Illinois counties: Massac and Pulaski. It’s not that Carolina silverbell is necessarily so ‘rare,’ it’s just that this species is simply at the extreme edge of its natural range by extending ever so slightly into the southern tip of Illinois. Even in its more natural habitat, this species is relatively uncommon.”

Since 2015, Illinois has been recognized as a Tree Campus USA, meaning the colleges and universities that most effectively manage their campus trees in an academic atmosphere. The F&S executive director charges the Campus Tree Advisory Committee, a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency outreach effort to plan forestry efforts. The Illinois Tree Campus plan is available at http://go.fs.illinois.edu/treecampus. All aid in the effort to promote healthy trees on campus and engagement with students, faculty, staff, and community members in the spirit of conservation.

Three key measurements are taken: the trunk’s circumference 4.5 feet above the ground, total height, and the average “crown spread,” which is how far the branches grow out. The tree’s “total score” is equivalent to the circumference (in inches) + height (in feet) + the average crown spread (in feet) multiplied by 0.25.

The new champion tree measurements:

Circumference = 5.57 feet or 66.8 inches • Total Height = 60 feet • Crown Spread: 54.8 feet

Total Score = 140.5 points

Via F&S Insider,

website: https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2021/07/06/what-it-takes-to-be-a-cha...