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Project Updates for collection: Campus Sustainability Tour

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  1. Weekly Update: Summer operations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Getting steadily busier! Sold some bikes, helped some people. A anecdotal metric for busyness: last week was the first time I had to repeatedly and firmly ask someone to leave after we’d closed up for the evening.

    Got the bike trailer fixed up so parts runs are easier. Had a planning meeting for LTN and BTWD last week. Looking forward to those events in the fall. Last week was a hot one, so I was especially appreciative of the A/C in the new bike center.

    Former student worker Eric brought in a trash bag stuffed full of old clothes to use for rags. We’ve been short on rags since the pandemic hit so this was much needed and much appreciated.

    Still short staffed but patrons have been very understanding and in a way that functions like pulling off the training wheels of learning bike repair. Silver linings!

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 14
    Sales: $677.50
    Bikes: 3 for $490
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Misc: $56

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  5. Article: Pollinator Conservation on Solar Farms

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Bee Campus USA
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

    Entomology Today released an article highlighting the strategy and benefits behind pairing solar energy with pollinator habitats. Supporting its claims with UIUC and Iowa State initiatives, the article discusses content such as the scorecard approach, efficiency of the positioning of planted vegetation, and restrictions from geographic locations.

    Read the article on Entomology Today. Or, refer to the PDF of the article in the attached files.

    Attached Files: 

  6. iSEE Newsletter: Plantings Complete Solar Farm 2.0!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)
    Energy iCAP Team

    The final stage of the Solar Farm 2.0 project is wrapping up this month with the planting of a native pollinator habitat. The farm will serve as a major demonstration and research site for pollinator-friendly solar arrays, with more than 6.5 million flowering plants and native grasses around the 54 acres of panels creating a natural habitat for birds and beneficial insects. With this second solar farm, the campus has achieved clean energy goals outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) nearly four years ahead of schedule. Clean energy production will now support roughly 12 percent of annual campus electricity demand. Congratulations to Facilities & Services for all of the hard work on this important project; iSEE and its SWATeam members were proud to provide key support for Solar Farm 2.0 by pushing for an increased renewable portfolio in the iCAP. Students in iSEE's sustainability minor also helped assess the new array's carbon footprint!

  7. NSRC Pollinator Garden Build

    Associated Project(s): 
    Compost at National Soybean Research Center (NSRC)
    Student Groups with Sustainability Focus
    Red Oak Rain Garden
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Bee Campus USA

    The 350 square-foot pollinator garden at the National Soybean Research Center is planted! The weather was beautiful and we had a fun time hearing plant stories and learning about our very own native species from Layne Knoche. Check out our Facebook post here. 

    Huge thank you to Layne Knoche, Eliana Brown, and the whole Red Oak Rain Garden team, Eric Green, Michael Dzianott and the Red Bison team, Joey Kreiling, Blake Cedergren, and the From the Ground Up team, and all friends who helped out with the planting. 

    Stay tuned for more fun! 

  8. Article: An Earth Month to Remember

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tree Campus Higher Education
    Champaign County Sustainability Network (CCNet)
    TED Talk: Eco Edition Series
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    Earth Month
    Illinois Solar Decathlon
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Solar Farm 2.0

    The Spring 2021 iSEE Quarterly Update (iQ) highlighted a diverse array of campus initiatives that made this year's Earth Month one to remember. Ranging from hosted events to sustainable energy, the article discusses the launch of the "TED Talk: Eco Edition" series, Solar Farm 2.0, community trash pickup, and more!

    Read the article in the attached files below. 

    Attached Files: 

  9. Spring 2021: iSEE Quarterly Update (iQ)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certificate in Environmental Writing (CEW)
    Environmental Leadership Program (ELP)
    iSEE Congress
    iSEE Scholars
    Earth Month
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    Illinois Solar Decathlon
    Solar Farm 1.0

    The Spring 2021 iSEE Quarterly Update (iQ) was released with the following message from Madhu Khanna, the Interim Director of iSEE:

     

    Dear Colleagues,

    Attached, please find the Spring 2021 “iQ” – the quarterly update from the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).

    It has remained a busy time here on our campus, as we bolstered our outstanding Congress and Critical Conversation events with the addition of two experts — activist Catherine Coleman Flowers and nuclear expert Denia Djokić — who are serving as Levenick iSEE virtual resident scholars.

    Thanks to the support of experts Eban Goodstein, Tami Craig Schilling, and Harriet Hentges, our new Environmental Leadership Program workshops for undergraduates were a rousing success.

    And we were so pleased to have a mix of virtual and in-person Earth Month events to engage students, faculty, and staff from across our campus!

    Please take a quick look at those updates and more in this six-page “iQ.” For more regular news, please sign up for our E-newsletter at https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/5031776.

    Best wishes for the summer,

    Madhu

    Attached Files: 

  10. Weekly Update: Summer hours, bike donations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Our first week of summer hours was successful! We were steadily busy and able to sell some bikes, accept some donations, and only had one person bemoan our new hours. Yoshi, who volunteered a couple weeks back was able to come lend a hand, which was super helpful.

    This week I’m hiring a new employee who’ll start ASAP. They have loads of experience and will be able to hit the ground running, which will be great. Since the E-week/newsletter blast that Sarthak sent out, we’ve received 12 donations here, so we’re working our way through that stock of bikes; we’ll continue that for this week if it’s slow.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 44 (?)
    Sales: $918
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $455
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    U locks: 4 for $84
    Tire/tube: 16 for $73

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  12. TED Talk: Eco Edition Series - Bikes

    Associated Project(s): 
    TED Talk: Eco Edition Series
    Campus Bike Center

    Thank you for attending another excellent TED Talk: Eco-Edition series discussion all about bikes on 5/26! Sarthak Prasad led a great discussion on Wednesday evening after watching Adam Stone’s TED Talk, “How cycling transforms people and places.” Sarthak’s presentation is attached. Be sure to check out the Bike @ Illinois website for more information about the Bike Center, bike routes, safety, and other helpful resources! You are welcome to contact bike@illinois.edu at any time with questions or feedback.

    Thank you again for attending on Wednesday, and we look forward to seeing you at our next TED Talk discussion in June on the topic of water! Stay tuned for more details by checking out the iSEE Sustainability Calendar and signing up for the newsletter. Have a nice and safe Memorial Day weekend!

    Attached Files: 

  13. Weekly Update: Summer hours, Donations, iSEE Ted Talk

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    TED Talk: Eco Edition Series

    All, This week’s report is delayed as I was off last week.

    From the 10th – 14th we had some volunteer interest, slightly busier times, and some more donations. Just today we received another batch of donations: tires/tubes, a wheel, and whole lot of jerseys/clothing that we likely will not be able to even give away. I’ll reach out to some cycling clubs and see if they’re interested.

    This week we’ll be debuting our new hours of M/W/F 2 – 6p. These will be our hours all summer, effective immediately. iSEE is hosting a Zoom TedTalk thing on Wednesday and tonight is TBPs member meeting.

    I’ll be understaffed to start the summer as one of my summer workers got an internship and won’t be available after all. I’ll work on drumming up some more help this week.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 24 (I-card only)
    Sales: $565
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $340
    Membership: 1 for $30

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  15. New Innovative Classroom Space

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal at the Campus Instructional Facility (CIF)

    The Campus Instructional Facility is substantially completed and will be open and ready for use in the fall semester. The new building at the southeast corner of Springfield Avenue and Wright Street offers state-of-theart spaces, including classrooms in the round and a “test kitchen” for instructional innovation, as well as cuttingedge technology, including smart glass technology to control incoming light and the largest geothermal energy system implemented so far at the university. Dr. Mohamed Attalla and others from F&S recently toured the new 122,000 square foot building that was constructed under the public-private partnership financing model. Aiming to inspire innovations and promote teamwork, the building will initially host engineering, math, and statistics classes; student career fairs; hack-a-thons; and other collaborations.

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