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Project Updates for collection: Living Lab Facilities / Programs

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  1. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was exceedingly quiet. I closed up shop on Tuesday due to the wonky heating and the extreme cold. Since then, the heat has been operating at about 30% but that’s enough to get by. Fingers crossed it gets fixed this week.

    This week I will, weather permitting, be able to give final test rides and checks to the bikes I built up last week. I’ll also be building a shelving unit next to the bench grinder in an attempt to maximize some of the vertical space the shop allows for but is currently going unused. Beyond that it is business as usual.

    Visitors: 10
    Sales: $105

    No bike sales (refurb nor b-a-b) last week.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  3. Seeking SSLC Co-Presidents

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC)

    SSLC took a hiatus for the fall semester and will return this spring with new programming, more support, and a greater opportunity for sustainable impact. iSEE will offer course credit for two students to co-president SSLC in the spring. This is a three to four hour weekly commitment and requires strong communication, coordination, and organization skills combined with an interest in campus sustainability. The co-presidents will facilitate meetings, manage a student listserv, coordinate biweekly educational opportunities (ex. solar farm tour), and biweekly informal gatherings.

  6. ECBS SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)

    On November 14, the ECBS SWATeam had their fifth meeting, where they revised their recommendation draft for energy conservation funds as a team. They also reflected on the presentation Doris and Brad gave at the previous meeting, and the team plans to contact them in regards to projects for energy savings. Energy report cards for campus buildings will be released soon. Certified Green Office Program 2.0 has been launched and currently 31% of campus buildings have been certified. A SWATeam member, Yun Kyu Yi, is also starting a personal project where he plans to look at the large-scale energy usage of each building and compare the methods for doing so.

    Attached Files: 

  7. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Happy New Year! Before the holiday break I only worked a 2 day week. Nothing of note occurred. Although the records show we had 25 people in, so that’s cool.

    On to the numbers!

    Sales: $309.50
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
    Bikes (B-a-B): 0 for $0
    Tubes: 2 for $8

    Stay warm!

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  9. WPP receives SSC funding

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP) Research Site

    This project seeks to strengthen student understanding of the farm-to-fork food system. This project's main goal is to upkeep, collection, and summarization data from the Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP). The WPP was a student-initiated effort that was established on the Student Sustainable Farm in 2012 with support from the SSC and other campus entities. By completing this analysis, WPP will expand its educational outreach, increase student engagement, and better connect with campus Dining Services. This funding provides student and staff time so that WPP can expand its efforts after a detailed analysis.

    Attached Files: 

  11. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was slow and I did not need the assistance of the student staff. Thankfully, a couple of them were flexible enough to agree to an on-call situation if I needed them. That was a great help to know they were available if needed.

    Volunteer presence last week was surprisingly high. On Thursday we had five people in, all to volunteer. Accordingly, a lot of much-needed organizing and deep cleaning happened. For example: all used tubes have been accounted for: good ones sorted and marked, bad ones in their own pile.

    On Tuesday of last week I closed the shop for CPR-certification class. This week I will set up my other certification class for BBP.

    Last Monday I called in a service order as two of the three heater fans wouldn’t turn on. Thankfully, it has been warm enough and the one still operational fan has been putting out enough heat to keep it comfortable in here.

    I’ll be working today and tomorrow and then back at it January 2nd, 2018. (Weird to type!) Hope everyone has a lovely holiday and a happy new year!

    Visitors: 28

    Sales: $141.80
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Misc. small parts: 26 for $26

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  12. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week I was sick and missed work on Wednesday. Other than that, it was uneventful. I’ve kept one student worker on per day to help, as it’s been busy enough to warrant it. That has been a pleasant turn of events—being this busy—but will likely end this week with finals happening and all.

    This week projects to be slow and I should be able to make some real headway with building up bikes for the Spring rush. I’ve got 14 for sale right now but will hopefully have about 20 by end of week.

    I have staff training from 11-4 tomorrow, so the shop will be closed as I cannot guarantee that I’ll be done in a timely manner. I’ll post on the website about it.

    The numbers:
    Sales: 281.25
    Memberships: 6 for $180

    Tubes: 3 for $14

    visitors: 41 for the week

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

     

  15. iWG meeting agenda November 30, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Topical iCAP Teams
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm
    Incorporate Sustainability Principles into Campus Master Plan [ARCHIVED]
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Green Lab Program

    see file

    Attached Files: 

  16. SSC Supports Red Oak Rain Garden 2.0

    Associated Project(s): 
    Red Oak Rain Garden
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    Red Oak Rain Garden 2.0 restores the original Red Oak Rain Garden that was established 10 years ago to address the flooding issue between McKinley Health Center and Allen Hall. Students will work alongside faculty, staff, and community members to plant specific plants that provide multi-season flooding protection. This project aims to increase awareness surrounding horticulture and natural flooding management while addressing an infrastructural issue on campus.

    The Student Sustainability Committee provides financial support to purchase plants, signage, training materials, and hardscape. The plant species are specifically chosen for maximum efficiency and learning. Likewise, the signage will allow the passerby to identify native species. University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners will support the garden while students are on academic breaks and provide Red Bison, a student-led organization, with rain garden training.

    Attached Files: 

  17. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was predictably slow. I cut back almost entirely on student staff since long stretches of open hours were completely vacant of visitors. Thankfully a few student staffers wanted to work on their own bicycle projects and were able to jump in and help out when it got too busy for me to handle everyone on my own. Those instances were rare and brief, presenting a problem from a staffing prospective: not busy enough to keep someone there the whole day but busy enough that a second person is needed. Something to consider for the future is having something like an on-call staffer for the winter months to pitch in the very few times it gets busy.

    Last week we had a TBP/UIUC/CBC meeting that went well. We discussed the forthcoming Bike@illinois website and brainstormed other participants for their research/interviews. Barry and I talked afterwards about potentially implementing some better inventory-tracking ideas to get a better handle on sales/stock.

    This week I only work today (Monday) and then the shop will be closed until Tuesday, Nov. 28th.  I’ll post on the door and on the Bike Project website (and social media pages).

    Numbers:

    Visitors: 55
    Sales: $396.49
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $70
    Bikes (B-a-B): 2 for $105
    Memberships: 1 for $30

    Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  18. ECS Bike Share Completed

    Associated Project(s): 
    Departmental Bike Sharing
    Campus Bike Center
    Provide Working Bikes for University Employees

    Facilities and Services division Engineering and Construction Services (ECS) has three bikes for employees to share for campus business. Check out is easy and the same as checking out a department car or truck. Two helmets are available for borrowing and lock keys are color coded to the bike they go to.

    Two of the three bikes were purchased through the Campus Bike Center, with locks and front baskets. The helmets came from Neutral Cycle. The whole project cost less than $750 and will have minimum maintenance each year.

    For questions about use please contact Lily Wilcock, lwilco2@illinois.edu.

     

  19. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was surprisingly busy. On Friday we had all the stands full and it was something like 35° outside. That’s encouraging! We even had one person in here in shorts! Our number of for-sale bikes is slowly creeping upward as demand wanes and we have time to build during open hours. From Wednesday to Friday Michael Merriman from Campus Rec borrowed the Bluebird cargo bike for trips between ARC and CRCE (due to construction, there is a lack of car/truck parking) and reported back that he loves it.

    This week I’ll continue to reduce hours for the student workers as well as cull a number of decrepit bikes and pull out the abandoned B-a-Bs. I’ll also begin looking at which student workers are graduating and how many positions I’ll have to fill come spring/summer when it gets busy again. Additionally, I’ll begin designing some new storage and stock solutions to help facilitate ease-of-use for newcomers. More and more I am tucking things away and stacking things upon other things and soon enough I am the only person who knows where anything is. That is bad and quite problematic to the mission and usability of the Campus Bike Center. If people can’t find anything they can’t use the space effectively. I’ll work on labeling/organizing and making things visible this week.

    On to the numbers!

    Visitors: 74
    Overall sales: $493.80
    Memberships: 3 for $90
    Refurb/B-a-B’s: 0 for $0
    Tubes/Wheels/Small Parts: 30 for $179.40

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

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