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  1. ACES Approval

    Associated Project(s): 
    Methane Capture on Campus
    Anaerobic Digester at Beef and Sheep Study

    David Rivera-Kohr shared this great news today: 

    ACES has decided to support the biogas initiative! This is a huge step in the right direction. I’ve made decent progress on the presentation (though I need more information before it’s complete) and deciding which options to write the recommendation for is an important future step. An anaerobic digester is best in terms of energy production and waste disposal, but it ultimately comes down to what the University will fund. The Zero Waste SWATeam is very supportive of this idea and if I can collect evidence that a digester alleviates the burden on agricultural land and water consumption, the Land & Water team will also be on board. Thank you all for your help thus far, let’s make this happen! Communication with our Associated Dean for Research Germàn Bollero and the College of ACES is supportive of this proposal.  As it moves forward, we will need to work together to determine the level of involvement that ACES faculty/staff are willing and able to provide.

  2. Weekly Update - Bike Month discussion, Fix-a-Flat, Working Bikes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last week was uneventful. Without traffic during hours we were afforded a lot of quality sorting/scrapping time.
    On Wednesday I met with F&S, Urbana/Champaign, and CCB to discuss Bike Month/BTWD planning and to reflect on this year’s Light The Night. We’ve set the date for Bike To Work Day as Friday, May 1st.
    Thursday was our Fix-a-Flat class that was a no-show unfortunately. However, it’s pretty much winter so attendance was expected to be low.
    Big news for this week is that we’ll be hosting Working Bikes again this year to help us alleviate our abandoned bikes problem. They’ll be down this Friday from about 11am – 2pm packing up bikes to take back with them to Chicago. TBP and I will be there on Wednesday to clear out the good ones. I’ve got a couple staffers who said they’re available to help but I’ll put the word out with TBP to see if we can stir up some more volunteers. The more the merrier!
    The numbers:
    Visitors: 67
    Sales: 171.50
    Bike (B-a-B): 2 for $65
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Tire/tubes: 1 for $5

     

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  4. Energy Conservation Incentive Program - Program Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)

    Hello ECIP winners,

     

    When the Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) was launched in 2013, it included financial awards that distributed some of the centrally managed campus utility funds back to the winning buildings. The calculation system was based on placement (first place to fourth place) in the awards program and the award category (occupant action or energy advancement).  You can see the calculation in the attached fact sheet from 2016, if you are interested.  With the Integrated and Value-Centered Budget (IVCB) reform, we transitioned this year, and we are closing out the initial phase one of the ECIP.

     

    Some of the original award funding has not yet been allocated to an associated facility improvement project.  If you have remaining funds and have not yet committed to a specific project, please do so as soon as possible.  All ECIP award funds must be committed by the end of this fiscal year, so please let us know your plans.

     

    Now in phase two, the ECIP awards include a plaque and the associated prestige, and no additional monetary awards (see attached revised fact sheet).  Instead, your colleges will benefit directly from the energy savings.  Additionally, to increase the visibility of the great progress all of you have made, we are collaborating with the Illinois Solar Decathlon’s Concept Team (incoming freshmen, learning about building systems and sustainability).  They will be completing a simple Building-Level Energy Report card for the 50+ ECIP winners this fall.  In the spring, I will send those reports to you with an opportunity to connect with the Concept Team members.

     

    Later this week, I will send a follow up email to the FY19 winners with images to help you spread awareness of this award.  Congratulations again to all of you, and thank you very much for your past and ongoing contributions to the campus sustainability and energy efficiency efforts.

     

    Sincerely,

    Morgan

    Attached Files: 

  5. Weekly Update - Working Bikes, Fix-a-Flat. Bicycle Food Drive

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last week was productive! We continued counting everything and made some real progress cleaning up here at the shop. I’ll be doing a walk-through this week with TBP on what to keep and not keep. I went to the bike barn and counted bikes: We’ve got 277 to donate to Working Bikes and 56 to keep. Those numbers are rough counts and not exact. Things are relatively organized over there now. Once we set a date for them coming down I’ll move all the bikes we want to keep out of there. Fingers crossed for an easier go of it this time around!
    This Thursday we have our Fix-a-Flat class at 11am. Doubtful turnout will be great. It is November, after all.
    On Saturday the Bike Project is hosting a bicycle food drive. All donations go to Eastern Illinois Foodbank, and we’ll be promoting that over here at the Bike Center. It’s a fun event I’ve participated in for years. 

    This week we’ll keep paring down our stock and keep cleaning up in advance of our TBD move!
    The numbers:
    Visitors: 61
    Sales: $527
    Bike (refurb): 1 for $170
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Tires/tubes: 10 for $53

     

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  6. Weekly Update - Working Bikes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Steady week, surprisingly. We even had a waiting list one day. Generally, though, things have slowed down. We’re still getting our inventory tallied up. We’ve got 6 bikes for sale with a few more to come.

    Last week I counted and moved bikes around at the warehouse. I’ll be doing more of that this week with the help of some of my student staff. I have reached out to Working Bikes about coming down to collect our unusable bikes. I’ll have a better idea of just how many bikes that’ll be after this week.
    This week we’ll be keeping on with the inventory/pitching junk, organizing the parts we keep, building up the good bikes, and the aforementioned warehouse bike fun.

    The numbers:

    Sales: $318
    Memberships: 5 for $150
    Tires/tubes:  8 for $30

     

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  7. UI Energy Conservation Winners Saved $189K in FY19

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)

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    UI Energy Conservation Winners Saved $189K in FY19

     

     

    CHAMPAIGN, IL – Facilities & Services (F&S) is recognizing the efforts of eight campus facilities for their energy conservation successes during the Campus Sustainability Celebration on Wednesday, October 23, 4–6 p.m. at the Levis Faculty Center. The event is open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend and learn more about the university's sustainability progress and initiatives.

    The Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) recognizes buildings on campus that showed the greatest percentage of energy reduction from fiscal year 2018 to 2019.

    In the "Occupant Action Category," the four winners are "auxiliary" buildings: F-29 Parking Deck won first prize, showing a 44.1% improvement, saving $9,084.79. Campus Recreation Center - East (25.4%, $47,746.73), McKinley Health Center (21.2%, $37,949.77), and North Campus Parking Deck (15.6%, $16,992.74) were the other winners.

    This was the first year auxiliary buildings – that is, buildings that financially support themselves – were allowed to participate in the ECIP competition.

    In the "Energy Advancement Category," Harker Hall showed the greatest improvement, with a 34.9% reduction, saving $14,739.62. English Building (26.6%, $21,918.88), Admin Information Technology Building (26.5%, $7,820.66), and Loomis Laboratory of Physics (15.1%, $32,697.59) also won.

    The ECIP started seven years ago as a way to encourage and reward energy conservation achievements in support of the Climate Leadership Commitments. State-supported and auxiliary buildings of 10,000 gross square feet or more are eligible for the awards program. Buildings compete in two categories: Occupant Action, which recognizes building users' efforts, and Energy Advancement, which recognizes facilities that partnered with F&S to complete a large-scale energy conservation project.

    For more information, visit https://www.fs.illinois.edu/services/utilities-energy/energy-conservation/ecip.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  8. Weekly Update - BFU status, What to Wear, Build-a-Bike

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Despite the cooler weather the shop was still relatively busy all week. On Thursday or Friday we even had a waiting list.
    In other news, we achieved Silver status for our Bicycle Friendly University! Congrats to all those involved.

    Last Thursday night we had our What To Wear class at ARC. It went well. 3 people stopped by and we covered all there is to riding in colder weather. Thankfully the people who came already had well-equipped bikes for the muck and suck of the winter elements so it was mostly talking details of clothing choice and how much salt/snow/ice can impair the function of your bike. Fun times!
    Also of note was our 3(!) Build-a-Bikes completed last week, two of which were done on Thursday. When that program works, it is empowering like none other. Unfortunately, it’s a big hill to climb.

    Elsewhere, I’ve been having Staff and volunteers count our used and new parts to compile a master list of inventory. It’s tedious but important to be able to figure how much stuff we’ll be moving the new CBC.

    Thanks to Todd for grabbing scrap over the weekend.

    This week we’ll continue to purge and pare down our inventory, build bikes, and keep plugging away at prep for our move.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 96
    Sales: $616.25
    Memberships: 8 for $240
    Bikes (refurb): 0
    Bikes (B-a-B):  3 for $266
    Tires/tubes: 17 for $76


    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  10. Weekly Update - Bike Maintenance 101, First visit free

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, We’ve slowed down enough to offer the First Visit Free option again, which has its plusses and minuses but is at least consistent with our website/literature on the topic.

    Last week we had our Bike Maintenance 101 class. Three attendees came, despite the cold and rain, so that was awesome. I think all of them had issues with their own bikes that precipitated their interest in the class and two of them said they’d be back to fix their bikes. A success!
    One bike was on the donation rack this morning. Another small bike but of good quality that’ll hopefully fix up quickly.
    I got in touch with someone from the Fine and Applied Arts to see if there’s any interest in using some of our scrap metal to keep it out of the dump but that was a dead end. I’ll still try to think of ways to keep our scrap pile a little smaller since we’re frequently at-or-beyond capacity. I think overall, we don’t have enough venues through which to repurpose a bicycle beyond B-a-B and Shop Builds. Something to think about.
    This week if we’re slow I’ll have the student staff do a deep dive on our used parts inventory to get a better picture of just how many bike parts we’re storing here. Additionally, we have our What to Wear info session at ARC on Thursday evening from 7 – 8p.

     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 82
    Sales: $677.75
    Memberships: 14 for $420
    Tire/tubes: 14 for $79

     

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  12. Planning to revise web presence

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

    Sara Mason, Chantelle Hicks, and Morgan White discussed revisions to the Bee Campus USA web presence. For ease of maintenance, the iCAP Portal seems to be a more friendly process for providing updates and keeping the web content current and active.  Sara could do the entries this year, and future students could do entries in the future years.  The updates can also be shared on other websites, when requested.  Sara will bring this idea back to the student committee, for a decision.

  13. Committee meeting tomorrow

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    CEE Project Based Learning (PBL)

    This meeting is open to anyone on campus interested in supporting local pollinators.

     

    We are meeting tomorrow from 1:30-2:30 at F&S with both advisors and students from the Bee Campus USA committee.  Chantelle sent the invite, but there are more people than can fit in the room she sent, so please join us in the Garage and Car Pool building conference room.  This is in the building at the southwest corner of Oak and Kirby. 

     

    Our agenda is as follows:

    • Overview of the Bee Campus USA 2018 submitted plan (attached)
    • review the draft signage for small Bee Campus USA signs and proposed placement (attached)
    • discuss a student project related to future expansion of the Pollinatarium, with guest Namita Johri
    • review annual renewal requirements (see attached)

     

    Attached Files: 

  15. Weekly Update - Light the Night, Fix-a-Flat, Bike Maintenance 101

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Much like the weather, we’ve been starting off cold and slow most days and heating up by the end. We’ve been weaving in and out of our FVF policy as I’ve felt bad turning people away when the shop is empty. But then, of course, in a blink of an eye we’re All Stands Full and members are waiting for stand time, which seems unfair.
     

    We had Light The Night on Thursday and that was a success from what I saw of it. Two CBC staffers helped out with the event in my absence as the shop was too busy for me to be able to get away for the whole event.
     

    We also had our Fix-a-Flat class on Friday. We had one participant. He was eager, engaged and said he’d be back for the next class, which was great.
    This week we have our Bike Maintenance 101 class on Friday and I’ll be doing a training with a new hire.
     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 80
    Sales: $2,108
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $640
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $400
    Tires/tubes: 15 for $59

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  18. Weekly Update - Light the Night, Fix-a-Flat, Free Visits

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Light the Night

    All, Abbreviated week for me as I was out of town Thursday and Friday. I’ll check in with my staff this week and see how things went in my absence.

    There are 6 bikes on the outside rack from this weekend but unfortunately one or two are locked up as if it’s a regular bike rack. Whoops!

    This week will be busy as we have Light The Night on Thursday and our second Fix-a-Flat class on Friday. I’ll be talking up the F-a-F class incessantly this week in hopes of increasing participation numbers. For LTN I’ll be splitting my staff up between the shop and the event for the time that they overlap.


    We have been oscillating back and forth between allowing for Free Visits and not depending on how busy we are and how well-staffed we are at that time. So that points to things getting a little calmer (thankfully). Addressing the burnout my staff and I feel during these very busy beginning months will be a task for the winter.


    Moving all the kids bikes over to Salt & Light didn’t end up happening last week so I’ll shoot for getting those out this week. It’ll help with clearing everything out for our move. Exciting times!
     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 96
    Sales: $1,242.50
    Memberships: 16 for $480
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $225
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $57
    Tires/tubes: 20 for $92

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  20. Weekly Update - Earn-a-Bike, Light the Night

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last week was busy, per usual this time of year. TBP and I met with Circle Cycle to discuss their Earn-a-Bike program using abandoned bikes on campus. I interviewed two applicants and will be hiring them. The light sets for the LTN event arrived on Wednesday and were expeditiously moved to the Urbana shop, saving some space over here. Two bike donations were on the rack when I pulled in this morning.

    This week I’ll be taking the large pile of kids bikes over to Salt & Light to donate. I’ll also be meeting with F&S Sustainability and VeoRide to discuss bike share on campus. I’ll be out of town Thursday and Friday. I’ll arrange for the student staff to cover for me.

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 101
    Sales: $1,463.00

    Memberships: 19 for $570
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $400
    Bikes (B-a-B): 2 or $120
    Tires/tubes: 28 for $107

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

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