Search tips:
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Wednesday, February 9 to discuss the several recommendations in the works, including: Plastic Reduction in vending machines, Composting Commitee, Adopt a Highway/Drain, Food Literacy Project, and Sustainable Receipt options. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Engagement Team met on Friday, February 4 to discuss the three main recommendations underway: the iCAP Portal website, the Sustainability Champions committee, and the Social Media Marketing sustainability campaign. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Thursday, January 27 to finalize the recommendations drafted at the end of last semester, the Water Drinking Behavior Survey and the Water Filter System Tracking. The team also discussed several recommendations they intend to pursue this semester, including: Adopt-a-Highway program, Food Literacy Project, Composting Committee, P Card Training and Sustainable Receipt options. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Landscape Recycling Center tests for temperature, oxygen, and moisture monthly. They test for ph, metals, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and infectious bacteria in finished compost product annually. As food scrap makes its way through the process and we continue to test the final product, we will be able to observe any changes to these parameters.
The Engagement iCAP Team met on Wednesday, January 12 to discuss and assign the four major recommendations to be drafted before the team's next meeting, including: updating the iCAP Portal, creating a departmental committee for sustainability, creating a social media marketing campaign, and integrating sustainability into the Career Center. Meeting minutes are attached.
SSC received semesterly report for Fall 2021 for Joint Pollinator Garden and Composting Systems to Offset Environmental Impact and Reinforce Responsible Stewardship in Research on 12/17/2021. Please see attached.
Ehab Kamarah and Madhu Khanna approved $135,000 of funding from the Carbon Credit Sales Fund for the Grind2Energy system.
"This project will install the Grind2Energy system for food waste at the Lincoln Avenue
Dining Hall on campus... Housing has successfully installed the Grind2Enery system as a sustainable solution for dining hall pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste in four of the five dining halls. This funding would allow them to complete the final installation before the student body returns in fall 2022." -Morgan White (12/14/2021)
An email of approval is attached below.
USGBC offers information on LEED Certification Fees. This includes information on the initial flat registration fee, rates for certification fees, member discounts, policies, and more.
Visit the USGBC website to read more about LEED Certification Fees.
The following sustainability topics will be added to the new student campus tours!
The following message was sent to Morgan White to share with Carbon Credit Fund Administrators by Thurman Etchison, the Assistant Director of Dining - Facilities and Equipment, on November 18, 2021. The email & attachments contain important information regarding the potential installation of a Grind2Energy system at LAR:
Carbon Credit Fund Administrators,
Housing Dining Services is seeking funds to add a Grind 2 Energy system to our Lincoln Avenue Dining Hall. Grind 2 Energy is a system that allows us to put our food waste into a pumpable slurry so that it may be taken to an anerobic digester at the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District. These systems replace the aerobic digesters we previously had in our dining units. The aerobic digesters had issues with the effluent not meeting EPA standards.
This system would be our fifth and likely final system as we would have one at every residential dining location. These are operational at Ikenberry, PAR, FAR and ISR. Currently, University Housing does not have resources to fund this project due to the impact of COVID on our budget. We would reach out to the Student Sustainability Committee for funding but for us to do the infrastructure work and have the unit installed prior to the next school year, we need to start before the next round of submissions.
The use of Grind 2 Energy has been a very successful program for us. It meets our needs, keeps us in compliance with regulatory bodies, is comparable in costs to other methods of disposal. It is very sustainable in terms of the environment. To date, we have diverted 289 tons of food waste even though there was limited use until this school year.
The amount we are requesting is $133,538.00. A simple breakdown of our expected costs is below. As our tradespeople have installed the 4 previous units, we believe this number to be very accurate. Our last unit came in within $1000 of our estimate.
LAR Grind 2 Energy – Preliminary Budget Cost
I would like to add that these units are highly visible on campus and it is our intention to start highlighting the metrics in our dining units via electronic messaging. This may include digital displays, The Housing Insider and social media platforms. There is also great deal of interest in biogas impact from these units. I have met with 2 groups of students from the CEE 190 class about these units in the past month.
In short, this program reduces carbon emissions, produces fertilizer and creates energy. The systems are highly reliable and have had almost no issues to date. Please see the attachments for additional info.
Thank you for your consideration,
THURMAN ETCHISON
Assistant Director of Dining - Facilities and Equipment
Attached is the link to the UIUC's participation and the Illinois e-News Release.
https://pathways.mste.illinois.edu/curriculum/energy
Illinois e-News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2021 Contact: Kim Biggs
217-558-1536
Kim.Biggs@illinois.gov
Annual Poster, Poetry, and Prose Contest to Follow Unit
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (MSTE) have again partnered to create a new online science curriculum unit for fifth and sixth grade educators: How does a bulb light? The unit helps students explore energy, electricity use, and power sources and how they relate to climate change. The Illinois EPA’s Annual Poster, Poetry, and Prose Contest theme “Get Energized About Slowing Down Climate Change!” will follow the new curriculum.
Educators, parents, and caregivers are asked to introduce these topics using the newly developed free, online curriculum. The unit is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Following the unit, students are asked to create posters or written works for the Poster, Poetry, and Prose Contest related to the theme’s focus. Entries must be submitted to the Illinois EPA by February 1, 2022. Additional information on the Contest can be found at: https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/education/contest/Pages/default.aspx.
“Educators and students have faced numerous challenges as they have adapted to hybrid, remote, and in-classroom learning. It is our hope these virtual opportunities allow students to continue to grow their knowledge of the environment and the importance of protecting it,” said Illinois EPA Director John Kim. “This year’s unit is especially relevant to current events related to climate change, and we are excited to see it translated to pieces of art and written work for the upcoming Contest.”
How does a bulb light? will help students investigate the everyday phenomenon of an electric light turning on. Students will observe two strings of LED lights turn on, one being powered by battery and the other by plugging into a wall outlet. Students will record their observations and “wonderings,” which will drive the flow of the unit as students plan and carry out their own investigations to answer their questions. This will include investigating electricity production and delivery, when and how to conserve, and recent and future changes in the energy system, including changes in transportation energy demands. The curriculum is available online to teachers and parents at https://pathways.mste.illinois.edu/curriculum/energy.
Illinois EPA is proud to again partner with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education to expand the Environmental Pathways curriculum. Earlier units developed through this partnership include “Where does my food go?” and “Why is the pond green?,” which can be found at: https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/education/Pages/pathways.aspx.
Information about all of Illinois EPA’s environmental education programs can be found at: https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/education/Pages/default.aspx, or by contacting Kristi Morris, Environmental Education Coordinator for the Illinois EPA by email at Kristi.Morris@illinois.gov.
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Thursday, November 11 to review some data related to vending machine quantities and pouring operations, analyze the initiatives of some other universities, and begin discussing our campaign strategy. As some initial steps, the team devised some questions for a campuswide survey on drinking water behavior and discussed a recommendation to begin tracking drinking water filter stations on campus. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Engagement iCAP Team met on Tuesday, November 9 to ideate recommendations on each of the team's four themes: awareness & purpose, technology & visibility, culture & practicality, and inclusivity & relationships. The committee broke out into groups to generate lists of recommendations the team intends to pursue. Meeting minutes attached.
Do you want to ensure that your spending is ethical and making a positive impact on the world? Is being mindful about where your money goes important to you? This webinar provides the tools you need to think critically about your own consumption. Learn how you can align your own behaviors with your personal values and goals. Registration required.
Student Money Management Center • University of Illinois System Student Money Management Center
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Wednesday, November 3 to prioritize recommendations for this semester and plans for next semester. The team has decided to move forward with a drinking water campaign to recommend by the end of this semester, and the committee will break out into sub-teams for the upcoming semester based on several other working recommendations. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Energy iCAP team met on Friday, October 29th to discuss the proposed plan to construct a micro-modular nuclear reacter on campus. Several guests were invited to speak about the pros and cons of the issue.
Helpful Links
Plant care facilities coordinator Rosale Metallo reached out to F&S in order to get the small garden outside of the RIPE greenhouse renovated.
On Monday, October 25, the Engagement iCAP Team met to synthesize the themes of sustainability engagement discussed at the team's previous meeting. The four major working themes include: Awareness & Purpose, Technology & Visibility, Culture & Practicality, and Connection & Relationships. Moving forward, the team will break into sub-committees to pursue each of these themes. Meeting minutes attached.
https://www.constellation.com/community/e2-energy-to-educate.html
Through the E2 Energy to EducateSM grant program, Constellation offers students in grades 6-12 and college opportunities to experience problem-solving today’s and tomorrow’s energy challenges. Grant funds support projects designed to enhance students’ understanding of science and technology, and inspire them to think differently about energy.
