Here are some useful references on Native Plants, Pollinators, and related topics.

The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on March 30th, 2016, to discuss the recommendation EGen003 PPA Term and started the assessment. iWG's official recommendation was:

"We understand that the University is currently advocating for state legislative relief from a number of procurement-related restrictions, and we recommend that the University include in this effort a request to eliminate the 10-year limit on Power Purchase Agreements. If successful, this would allow (but not require) our campus and Prairieland Energy, Inc. to enter into long-term Power Purchase Agreements for renewable energy (including electricity and other renewable fuels) which may offer more favorable terms, perhaps even being less expensive than traditional energy options."

See the attached file for the complete assessment of this recommendation with comments from all the iWG members.

See SWATeam recommendation EGen003 PPA Term here.

Campus Bicycle Center now has had a cargo bicycle for several months and the bicycle has completed its residency at the Main Library.

Upon return from the Library, the Cargo Bicycle received very positive feedback and the Campus Bicycle Center and Transportation Demand Management is now working with the Main Library contact, Eric Mosher, to purchase their very own cargo bicycle.

This bicycle willreplace a truck or van delivery of transferred books between libraries on campus.

Attached and embedded below is a request to utilize the remaining funds in the Paxton grant for campus sustainable landscapes which is now under the purview of ISEE.  The persons on the CC are all familiar with some of the work in this area done over the past few years and can likely speak to the wisdom of using the funds to supplement the ongoing efforts. 

TO: Dr. Evan DeLucia and Dr. Ben McCall

From:  John C. Marlin

RE:  Use of “Support for Sustainable Landscapes” funds

Date:  March 21, 2016

Several efforts are underway on the University of Illinois campus to promote the use and reestablishment of native plant species.  The intent is to integrate native plants into the main campus landscaping and establish larger more diverse plantings in areas farther from the main campus in conjunction with the removal of invasive plants such as bush honeysuckle.  The plantings will be especially valuable to insect pollinators and birds and will provide significant educational opportunities.  To date much of the funding has come from the Student Sustainability Committee.  

Work at the moment is concentrated on the 2.3 acre prairie at Florida and Orchard in Urbana, the wooded area at the southern end of the Arboretum known as SAW (South Arboretum Woods) including the Pollinatarium, and the Forestry Plantation along Race Street.  Other active sites include Burrill Hall, the Natural Resources Building, and the Florida Orchard Prairie.  Another small project is about to begin at Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall, which will be largely supported by LAR funds and student volunteers.

In addition to the SSC, several campus and community groups have made substantial contributions to the effort primarily through volunteer labor.  The Master Naturalists and Grand Prairie Friends have provided hundreds of volunteer hours as have local citizens who attend work days.  Individual students, faculty, and staff as well as Red Bison, Students for Environmental Concerns, and other student service organizations put in additional hours. 

NRES purchased a $30,000 chipper and hired a contractor to remove honeysuckle with a forestry mower at the forestry plantation.  The machine was also used on a limited basis at the Arboretum.  Additional staff and in kind support was provided by the Arboretum, Pollinatarium, Prairie Research Institute, and Illinois Natural History Survey. 

Recent SSC funding received by the Arboretum makes it possible for the forestry mower to return and remove large stands of honeysuckle.   Workers will then remove by hand the honeysuckle too close to trees for the machine to cut.  The area will then be replanted with native understory species as the invasive plants are brought under control.  This will take several years.  Various research projects focused on native plantings and their usefulness to other species are also envisioned. 

Considerable additional funding beyond that provided by SSC is required to complete this effort.   It is anticipated that the Arboretum and others will seek grants for future work and research.  It is, therefore, requested that the remaining funds in the $10,000 donation “Support for Sustainable Landscapes” Dr. Jack Paxton made several years ago be made available to further this work.   The funds would be used to supplement and match SSC and other funding.   Specifically the funds would be available for the following purposes as needed: supplies and equipment, removal of invasive plants by contractors or hourly workers in campus areas, and purchase and planting of native plant material at appropriate campus locations. 

Dr. John C. Marlin, a research affiliate at ISTC and INHS and Adjunct Professor in NRES, has lead much of this effort since 2011 as a volunteer.  He continues to coordinate considerable activity by students, staff and community volunteers on these projects.  He is also available to coordinate the proposed project.

Primary collaborators include Dr. Marlin; Arboretum Director, Dr. Kevin McSweeney; and Jay Hayek the Extension Forester within NRES. 

This use of the Paxton grant is supported by Dr. Paxton (who has contributed numerous volunteer hours) and campus Facilities and Services.   If a committee is needed to consider this matter, the SWAT team that deals with land and agriculture could probably be involved. 

If there are any questions or a need for discussion, please contact Dr. Marlin at marlin@illinois.edu 217-649-4591

CC:

Dr. Jack Paxton

Brent Lewis

Morgan Johnston

Jay Hayek

Dr. Kevin McSweeney

Micah Kenfield

John C. Marlin PhD.

Research Affiliate

Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and

Adjunct Professor

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences

University of Illinois

One Hazelwood Dr.

Champaign, IL 61820

marlin@Illinois.edu

217-333-8956

Hello all, This past week was great.  We weren't too busy, and we got some cool stuff done.  We sold 5 bikes for $640, 1 build-a-bike for $60, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $1161.10.  We had a lot of volunteers come in and we were able to clean up the shop.  It looks great and is more functional.  I was also able to sort and organize a lot of the parts and we are much better for it.  We scrapped a lot of damaged frames, and low quality parts.  I added a couple of new tools to make things go faster and easier.  I worked on the cargo bike demo program, and am lining up a new department to lend the bike to.  We built several bikes and have about 40 for sale.  I was able to start ordering from the new supplier accounts I setup it was cool and we got some deals on parts.  We scrapped a lot of damaged frames, and low quality parts making some space.  We started using the new registration database.  The database is fully functional and awesome.  I meet with Stacey and Lily we did some pre Bike To Work Day planning.  I had a volunteer get all the advocacy materials organized and setup to be handed over to Lily. 

This coming week I plan on getting more bikes from the parking warehouse, building more bikes for the spring rush, and continuing to clean and organize.  I'm going to work on setting up more classes for the spring.

From the Campus Outpost,
James Roedl

$1.9M Available for Campus Utility Conservation Projects from the Revolving Loan Fund

CHAMPAIGN, IL – More than $1.9M will be available for campus projects through the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) this semester. Departments and units interested in submitting utility conservation work for consideration are encouraged to download and complete the RLF application available at: http://go.fs.illinois.edu/rlf. The RLF Committee will evaluate proposals beginning in mid-April with project selection occurring this summer. 

The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) collaborated with Facilities & Services (F&S) to allocate $500K from Chevrolet Bonneville Environmental Foundation funding into the RLF. The amount was matched by an additional $250K from the Office of the Chancellor with the goal of further reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on campus and achieving targets outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP).  

Through the carbon credit agreement with Chevrolet, acquisition of grant funding, and campus commitments the RLF has grown to a record $3.9M.

Engineer specialist for F&S Josh Whitson said, “Through both centrally-funded programs and user-based initiatives there is a proven track record of significant cost avoidance and energy reduction at the university. The RLF builds on these successful conservation efforts.”

Chevrolet retired an estimated 150K metric tons of carbon credits from the university on behalf of the environment in May 2014. The carbon credits were earned through the work of the campus to reduce GHG.

“By increasing the size of the RLF, our campus has reinforced its commitment to conserving energy and resources — a commitment that will allow the excellent work done by F&S to continue and increase,” said Ben McCall, associate director for campus sustainability at iSEE. “Decreasing our carbon footprint through this cost-effective approach will help Illinois remain a leader among green campuses.”

The RLF was established in 2011 as a financing source for utility conservation projects with a less than 10-year payback period. The savings from steam, electricity, and chilled or potable water costs are paid back annually, based on initially calculated savings.

To date, more than $2M has been allocated from the RLF for energy-efficient lighting retrofits, including LED upgrades, and the installation of occupancy sensors.

BILLION DOLLAR GREEN CHALLENGE:
The RLF is a recognized part of the Billion Dollar Green Challenge where 57 universities have committed more than $116M for energy conservation efforts: http://greenbillion.org/. The Challenge encourages colleges, universities, and other nonprofit institutions to invest a combined total of $1 Billion in self-managed revolving funds that finance energy efficiency improvements.

RLF ONLINE:
More information on the RLF is available on the iCAP Portal: http://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/revolving-loan-fund

RLF Project Application ​