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Project Updates for collection: Living Lab Facilities / Programs

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  1. Bee Campus USA in F&S quarterly report

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA

    BEE CAMPUS USA
    F&S collaborated with students in the Bee Campus committee to complete the renewal of our Bee Campus USA designation in February; Illinois originally earned recognition in 2018 becoming the first B1G school to do so. This process includes using integrated pest management, installation of native plantings, student living lab projects, and outreach.

  2. SOLAR FARM LANDSCAPE BUFFER

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Bee Campus USA
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan

    SOLAR FARM LANDSCAPE BUFFER
    F&S representatives shared detailed designs for the pollinator supportive landscape buffer along the future Solar Farm 2.0 site to the Village of Savoy. Village leaders were pleased with the design plans and thanked us for being responsive to their neighborly request. When completed, this site will serve as a demonstration for pollinator-friendly solar arrays, following the requirements of the Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act (Illinois Pub. Act 100-1022). Solar Farm 2.0 will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, and will generate the equivalent electricity use of more than 2,000 average American homes.

  3. FY19 Green Power Partnership renewal submitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    EPA Green Power Partner
    Use Clean Power
    Solar Farm 1.0
    BIF Rooftop Solar PVs
    Wassaja Hall Rooftop Solar PVs
    ECE Rooftop Solar PVs
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    Apply for Recognition

    F&S completed the renewal of our recognition as a Green Power Partner through the US Environmental Protection Agency. Green Power Partners of our scale now have to use renewable power for seven percent of their annual consumption, an increase from the previous requirement of three percent. Fortunately, the FY19 green power supply for FY19 was 7.28%.  See attached file.

    Overview submitted: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is proud of its sustainability initiatives, as documented in the Illinois Climate Action Plan. The first project was a 32.76 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the Business Instructional Facility in 2009. The 14.7 kW PV array, ground mounted at the Building Research Council, is a research platform for the Information Trust Institute. The most significant on-campus renewable energy generation project to date went into operation in December 2015, with the completion of the 5.87 megawatt (MW) Solar Farm, producing approximately 7,200 MWh/year. In December 2015 another solar array was installed on the new Wassaja Residence Hall roof with a capacity of 33 kW. In September 2016, campus signed a ten-year Wind Power Purchase Agreement for 25 million kWh/year. Most recently, the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building had 970 rooftop panels installed. Since production began in April 2019, 11% of all power supplied to the ECE Building has been from the rooftop panels, not including the panels that are used for student-oriented research. The University will soon be home to Solar Farm 2.0, which is projected to produce 20,000 MWh/year, nearly tripling on-site production.

    Attached Files: 

  5. Check out the I-Pollinate citizen science research initiative

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach
    Support Regional Sustainability

    I-Pollinate is a citizen science research initiative, through the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, designed to collect state-wide pollinator data. I-Pollinate enlists citizen scientists to participate in three research projects and collect data on monarch egg and caterpillar abundance, pollinator visitation to ornamental flowers, and state bee demographics. If you are interested in participating and want more information, visit the website site at https://ipollinate.illinois.edu/.

  7. Arbor Day Celebration to be alternate format

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tree Campus Higher Education

    Hello Tree Campus USA Committee,

    Thanks to those of us who were able to join the web-call this morning.  Here are brief notes about our discussion and next steps:

    • I shared that the Arbor Day Foundation has removed the requirement for a proclamation and celebration this year.  We discussed options and decided to still do something online for Arbor Day.
      • Andrew is going to talk with Mike Brunk about the process he had gone through for the proclamation, and let us know if he thinks we should proceed this time with trying to get a proclamation signed by the mayors and chancellor.
      • I am going to take the lead on identifying something that we can do online this spring.  Please send me any suggestions you have. Here are some we discussed this morning:
        • Jay suggested an infographic
        • Meredith suggested a connection to the Earth Month Bingo event that iSEE is hosting
        • I suggested sharing information about how to plant a tree
        • Kevin suggested including information about how to trim trees for private property
        • The Arbor Day Foundation sent the note below after our call, and they intend to provide some resources for ideas
    • Kevin and Ryan shared that their staff are not at work now, with the exception of a few employees watching the trees for safety purposes.

    Our next group meeting is April 27 at 9am, but we will be in touch during the next few weeks to finalize plans for April 24th.

    Thank you,
    Morgan

    Message from the Arbor Day Foundation: http://adestra.arborday.org/q/120OBVMvRZTmL6qMkonn/wv

  8. Spring 2020 collection cancelled

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    Due to concerns about volunteer safety, the stay-at-home order for Illinois, and anticipated continuation of the COVID-19 social distancing, we are officially cancelling the Dump and Run collection from University Housing this spring.  

    I am very sorry that this is the case, and I hope that all of you are safe and staying calm during this crisis.

    We intend to still hold our next group meeting on April 14 at 1pm, via telephone.  We will discuss options at that time for providing some of the benefits from the fall sale to our future incoming students.  We will also include an update from Shantanu about the preparatory work that can occur this spring and summer.

    Please let me know if you have any suggestions or concerns which we should also address during our next group meeting.

    Thank you and best wishes,
    Morgan
     

  9. Archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    The University YMCA has coordinated a waste reduction program called "Dump and Run" since the early 2000's.  At student move-out, hundreds of volunteers help collect the reusable materials for resale after summer break.  Then the weekend before school starts, the YMCA's staff and volunteers sell the materials at a massive "garage sale" in the Stock Pavillion.  The University YMCA is a local non-profit, and they work with the International Student and Scholar Services department on campus, as well as University Housing.

  13. Dump and Run Scope Change (2020)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    "Shantanu Pai with Facilities and Services is serving as the point person to coordinate the Dump and Run event. Although University Housing submitted the request for funding and is currently holding the grant money awarded by the Student Sustainability committee, we would like to transfer the funds from University Housing to Facilities and Services. This will allow Shantanu more control and better tracking of the expenses as he plans and executes the event." -Bryan Johnson (2020)

     

    A file containing information on the Dump and Run scope change is attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  15. Planning underway, amidst COVID-19 changes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    Hello all,
     
    Shantanu and I have held a few planning meetings with Marc and Kasey from the YMCA for Dump & Run.  We’ve talked with F&S communicators and the staff who will be clearing out of the space we intend to use.  Shantanu has put together a draft communications plan, and he identified an improved collection container which we can purchase with the Student Sustainability Committee funds.  We also began planning for a community drop off location that would not be at the F&S building.
     
    On Friday, Bryan Johnson arranged a quick phone call with Shantanu, Bryan, me, and Joe Glass at Housing.  We discussed the changes in campus and the anticipated student behavior, related to living in the residence halls.  We talked about the potential for several students leaving at random dates throughout the remainder of the semester, and how we could potentially still collect materials.  We also talked about the possibility of needing to cancel entirely for this year.  Ultimately, that decision will need more clarity about who is here in May.  Because we will not know which students choose to come back to campus after spring break until at least March 23, we are going to have a follow up discussion on 3/25.  
     
    In the meantime, I am cancelling the meeting we had scheduled for tomorrow.  Our next group meeting will be on April 14 at 1pm, and it will be a Skype call.
     
    Thank you,
    Morgan
     

  16. Meeting minutes from the March 16th meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Crowd Management for Quad Day: Living Lab Project

    Please see attached the meeting minutes from the meeting on March 16th. Also attached are the slides from this meeting.

    Attended by: Yanfeng Ouyang, Shelly Zhang, Morgan White, Stacey DeLorenzo, Sarthak Prasad, Weichen Li, Rui Feng She, Barb Robbins, Paul Jensen, Gina Lee-Olukoya, Dementro Powell.

    Attached Files: 

  17. Status update from WEF Design Team Co-Captain

    Associated Project(s): 
    Independent Student Projects
    Green Infrastructure
    Water Environment Federation (WEF)

    Justin Chen, from the University of Illinois joint student chapter of the Water Enviroment Federation-American Water Works, and the rest of his design team have been hard at work this school year!

    Some project updates via the co-captian:

    • Chose project topic: Green Infrastructure Solutions for Veterinary Medicine Facility Flooding
    • Made team site visit to Vet Med, surveyed areas for potential green infrastructure applications
    • Came up with preliminary ideas on solutions and locations for implementation
    • Conducted research on past green infrastructure projects to establish a base understanding of the options available

    Click here to find out more and how you can become involved with WEF!

     

     

  18. Weekly Update - Bicycle Safety, Social Hack

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Truncated week for me as I was out of the shop on Wed – Fri recuperating. On Tuesday night I was hit by a car on my bike ride home. No injuries beyond some scrapes and sore muscles. I was very lucky it wasn’t much worse.
    Ultimately, we  have a long way to go when someone who rides as defensively and as safely as I do can get hit by a car on a quiet residential street.
    This week I’ll be meeting with my newly-hired Program Assistant to work out his schedule and responsibilities. I’ll be picking up more bikes from the warehouse, meeting with a student design group for transportation/climate issues (Design For America’s “Social Hack”), and building/scrapping bikes as needed.

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 63
    Sales: $32

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  20. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0

    In order to reach the iCAP objective of 25,000 MWh/year of solar energy by FY25, additional panels will need to be installed.  Large scale, ground mounted panels appear to be the least expensive route towards achieving the FY25 objective.

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