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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  1. SECS Re_home landscaping

    Associated Project(s): 
    Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS)
    Illinois Solar Decathlon
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    In 2011, students at faculty from the University of Illinois develop the Re_Home for the Solar Decathlon Competition. As a result of a new landscaping and beautification plan, the Re_Home has found a permanent place on campus. In maintaining a “sustainability ideology”, the landscaping plans for this project are geared toward sustainability with the use of native, low maintenance plants as well as vegetables, edible herbs, and fruit trees. The Re_Home is an exemplary embodiment of sustainability and its permanent home will serve as a showcase in sustainability education.

    Attached Files: 

  2. Sheltered Bicycle Parking

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sheltered Bike Parking at CLSL
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    Providing safe and convenient locations for bicycle parking is one of the key ways the University can support increased bicycle ridership and greener commuting. The goal of this project is to construct a secure, sheltered bicycle parking area for students, faculty, and staff at the Chemical and Life Sciences Building and the Roger Adams Laboratory. These parking structures are modeled after the sheltered bicycle parking currently located at the Ikenberry Commons.

    Attached Files: 

  3. Composites in Aviation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Emissions from Transportation
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    Student Aircraft Builders (SAB) is an organization dedicated to teaching students from all across campus how to work together as a team to successfully construct a flyable airplane. The goal of the Composites in Aviation project has two phases. The first phase constructs a quarter scale glider powered by alternative energy. The second phase graduates from a model to a full-sized glider. Through the use of composite materials and an innovate design from an aerospace engineer, the finished glider will exemplify the future of more fuel-efficient long-range flight.

    Attached Files: 

  4. Sustainable Agriculture Food System Tomato Processing

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainable Agricultural Food System
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Attached Files: 

  5. Solar Powered Cookstoves Funding Letter

    Associated Project(s): 
    Allerton Climate Action Plan (apCAP)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    The Solar Powered Cook Stoves project is an innovative effort to implement cook stoves powered by solar energy. The stoves associated with this project will utilize innovative new technology to overcome some of the key limitations of current solar cooking. Specifically, they will offer high-temperature cooking and grilling while in use while also storing energy for cooking at night or during other periods of reduced sunlight. Once completed, these stoves will provide a clean source for cooking and grilling that does not use fire, gas, wood, or charcoal.

    Attached Files: 

  6. Game Day Recycling Challenge

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste Gameday Challenge Fall 2014
    Increase Recycling Rates
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Reduce Foodwaste

    The University is participating in its first Game Day Recycling Challenge at the October 25th homecoming game against the University of Minnesota.  For the event the usual landfill bins will be replaced with 3-bin stations to separate landfill, recycling, and compost.  The materials collected will be weighed, the diversion rate calculated, and then entered into a friendly national competition.  To volunteer for this event, please email Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.  

  9. Shantanu is adding two Lab buildings for glove recycling

    Associated Project(s): 
    Glove Recycling

    Blake Ashley from Kimberley Clark spoke with Shantanu Pai.  Blake said they thought we are doing Labs, and Shantanu is going to work on implementing it at RAL, CLSL, and Housing.  Tanya from Fisher is working with Shantanu on this project.  RAL has a meeting being scheduled on June 23.

  10. Update from Shantanu Pai

    Associated Project(s): 
    Glove Recycling

    Shantanu Pai and Madeline (an ISTC intern) are taking over the implementation of the Nitrile Glove Recycling program at Housing Dining Services, after Seth Reints left the university.  Shantanu has 24 containers that can hang on the edge of Dining's slim containers.  Dawn Aubrey also needs containers that hang on the edge of the larger brute containers.  Madeline has created a 3-D printed prototype, which will be sent to Shantanu's contact in Canada for replication.

    Morgan provided Shantanu with the information that Seth had received or provided to SSC. 

  11. Archived web info - CSE Prairie Project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Teaching Sustainability Workshop aka Prairie Project [ARCHIVED]

    Design & Assessment

    The Center for Teaching Excellence has been actively involved in developing and executing the Prairie Project curriculum workshop.  Their expertise in course design and the assessment of student learning has proven valuable to the workshop participants.  Below, you will find resources shared by the CTE.

    A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning

    Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP)Essential Learning Outcomes

    AACU High-Impact Educational Practices

    Second Nature fact sheet on a framework for sustainability curriculum (download as pdf)

  12. Archived web info - CSE Prairie Project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Teaching Sustainability Workshop aka Prairie Project [ARCHIVED]

    Courses and Syllabi

    Participants in the Prairie Project were inspired to include sustainability in their courses.  Below you will find revised syllabi and some example assignments with clear linkages to the Sustainability Learning Outcomes.  In addition, there are resources from other universities that offer similar curriculum workshops and national organizations.  We encourage you to integrate sustainability into your course.

    BADM 532 Sustainable Product and Market Development for Subsistence Marketplaces

    BADM 533 Sustainable Product Design and Business Plan Development

     

    Example Syllabi for Sustainability-Infused Courses:

    Courses of the 2010 Prairie Project Resource People and Participants

    NRES 285: Wetland Delineation and Classification (PDF)

    NRES 287 ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY – SPRING 2010 (PDF)

    Conservation and Ecosystem Health (PDF)

    Ecotoxicology of the Northern Hemisphere (PDF)

    IB 105: Environmental Biology Fall 2010(PDF) 
    IB 105: Environmental Biology Spring 2010 (PDF)

    Political Science - Learning Outcomes - Introduction to International Relations (PDF)
    Political Science 280 Fall 2010 (PDF)
    Political Science 280 Fall 2009 (PDF)

    LAS 101 Fall 2010: Environmental Sustainability & World Citizenship (PDF)
    LAS 101: Homework 5 on ecological footprinting and environmental sustainability (PDF)

    CEE 498: Multilateral Environmental Agreements Fall 2010 (PDF)
    CEE 498: Multilateral Environmental Agreements (PDF)

    CEE 535: Environmental Systems Analysis II Sustainable & Resilient Environmental & Water Resource Systems (PDF)
    CEE 535: Spring 2011 Upper Embarras Project Terms (PDF)

    UP 204, Chicago: Planning and Urban Life, Spring 2011 (PDF)
    UP 204, Chicago: Planning and Urban Life: Course Description (PDF)
    UP 204, Chicago: Planning and Urban Life: Overview (PDF)

     

    External Examples:

    Association for the Advanceemnt of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) examples of courses on campus sustainability (PDF)

    AASHE course inventories*

    AASHE list of Web sites with example syllabi*

    Ponderosa Project Web site, containing course syllabi and other resources

    Piedmont Project syllabi and course modules

    * These sites require a members-only login to the AASHE site. The University of Illinois is an institutional member and you can create an account for free with a uiuc.edu (and hopefully Illinois.edu) e-mail address.

  13. Archived web info - CSE Prairie Project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Teaching Sustainability Workshop aka Prairie Project [ARCHIVED]

    Readings

    Below you will find readings collected from experts associated with the Prairie Project workshop.  The suggestions are intended to provide an introduction to the topic of sustainability, however, some provide greater detail. 

    Is there a suggested reading or other resource you would like to share?  Please let us know.


    Building the Sustainable Community:Is Social Capital the Answer? (PDF)


    Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s Synthesis report


    Understanding the Social Dimension of Sustainability


    Beyond Fences: Seeking Social Sustainability in Conservation


    The Sustainability Seminar reading list from Spring 2010.

    The Sustainability Seminar reading list from Spring 2011. 


    A very short primer on ecosystem services by the Ecological Society of America (professional organization of ecologists): 


    Ecology of infectious diseases and influences of climate change

  14. Archived web info - CSE Prairie Project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Teaching Sustainability Workshop aka Prairie Project [ARCHIVED]

    Teaching Sustainability Workshop 2013

    Providing skills, knowledge, and resources for infusing environmental sustainability into your courses

    Sustainability is one of the great global challenges of the twenty-first century. Whether you teach accounting or aerospace engineering, Portuguese or pathobiology, you likely have something to contribute toward addressing this challenge.The Center for a Sustainable Environment will be hosting the Teaching Sustainability Workshop on April 12-13, 2013. Apply here.

    Friday, April 12 - Reception
    4:00pm
    Temple Buell Art Gallery, 111 Architecture Building
    Guest speaker David Schejbal, print flyer

    Saturday, April 13 - Workshop
    Allerton Park & Retreat Center, Monticello 

    The workshop will bring together a group of University of Illinois instructors who want to learn more about adding sustainability to the courses they already teach. Participants in the workshop are typically professors and instructors who are curious about sustainability and want to engage it, but who also have too much to do to become experts in sustainability. After participating in the workshop, you will have a:
     

    • Working definition of sustainability.

    • Framework for understanding the components of sustainability and how each relates to your expertise.

    • List of readings and short videos that you can use to prepare your class or use in your class.

    • Draft of exercises you might use in your classes and examples of how other instructors have incorporated sustainability into their courses.

    • Set of opportunities for exploring sustainability on campus through the landscape, buildings, operations, and transportation.

    • Cohort of colleagues who have similar goals about infusing sustainability into their teaching and on-going support as you test your ideas in the classroom.

    • Stipend of $500 that you can use however you see fit. 
       

    Our goal is to provide you with a set of ideas, concepts, models, and examples that you can modify to fit your courses. You’ll get a list of readings and short videos that you might want to use in your classes. And we will work to craft some initial ideas for exercises that you might use as you teach. 

    The workshop consists of five components that are designed to make it as easy as possible for you to add sustainability to your teaching.

    1. Teaching Sustainability Reception. There will be a reception on Friday, April 12, 2013 at the School of Architecture, Art Gallery from 4:00-6:30pm. The 2012 participants will receive their certificate for completing the workshop, followed by guest speaker, David Schejbal. This reception will give you an opportunity to network with last year’s participants. 

    2. Teaching Sustainability Retreat. We will meet on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at Allerton Park (http://allerton.illinois.edu) from 8:30 to 5:00. This is the main event of the Workshop. We will learn from experts who have the capacity to explain concepts about sustainability in a way that is accessible to those of us who are not experts. During the day, you will develop some initial ideas, lesson plans, and exercises that you can use in your courses. We will serve you a continental breakfast, lunch, and snacks. 

    3. Feedback and Revision. During the summer of 2013, we will get together with sustainability experts to provide feedback on your initial plans and course revisions.

    4. Fall Check-In. Near the end of the fall 2013 semester, we will get together for lunch to learn from the members of the group who taught their revised courses and discuss the lessons they learned and what they might have done differently.

    5. Debriefing. During the spring 2014 semester, we will get together to share experiences, assess results, and make recommendations for how this process might evolve. We’ll get together with next year’s cohort.

    Faculty and instructors will receive a stipend for participating in these five aspects of the Workshop. Graduate students and post-docs who will be assisting with modifications of existing courses or development of new courses are also welcome to attend. 

    By applying for this exciting and interactive opportunity, Teaching Sustainability Workshop participants agree to:

    • Participate in the events above.

    • Commit to preparing and submitting a description of the course modification or creation by the end of the retreat, and revising as needed over the summer.

    • Provide a final syllabus, course modifications, and brief summary of outcomes from the experience.


    Please follow up with Amy Rosenbery (husted@illinois.edu) if you have questions about this opportunity. Based on current plans, we anticipate that 20 instructors will be accommodated. Applicants will be notified by mid-March if they have been selected to participate.

    Participant Agenda
    Teaching Sustainability Workshop Reception
    Friday, April 12, 2013, 4:00-6:30pm, Temple Buell Hall Art Gallery, 111 Architecture Building
    4:00pm - "The Changing Nature of Higher Education and the Role of Sustainability Education in the Process" presented by David Schejbal. Print flyer

    Sustainability Curriculum Retreat,
    Saturday, April 13, 2013 
    8:30am-5:00pm, Allerton Park & Retreat Center
    More details to come!

    This event is supported by the Center for a Sustainable Environment and the Office of the Provost.

    Attached Files: 

  15. Archived web info - CSE Prairie Project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Prairie Project Instructional Workshop [ARCHIVED]

    Faculty Resources

    FacultyResources.jpgThe Office of Sustainability has collected information from a variety of sources that are useful to faculty who are considering adding sustainability to courses.  The OS has co-sponsored the Prairie Project in 2010 and 2011 with surprising results.  Combined statistics indicate participation by more than 30 faculty, instructors, lecturers from nearly every college.  This translates into teaching some facet of sustainability to 6,500 students per year!  The suggested readings are primarily those recommended to participants of the curriculum workshop.  The courses and syllabi page provides examples from our campus as well as from external sources.  The last section on design and assessment includes valuable resources shared by the Center for Teaching Excellence.

     

  16. Archived web info - ECI Energy Dashboard

    Associated Project(s): 
    Environmental Change Institute [ARCHIVED]
    Energy Dashboard Project

    Independent Projects

    Illini Energy Dashboard
    The Illini Energy Dashboard provides clearly visible understandable information data and information to students and staff of selected University buildings describing energy consumption rate (electrical, chilled water and steam) so that users can make educated choices about the way they can affect energy consumption and conservation.What is Displayed? The gauges on the each building page displays real-time energy use data by building for heating, cooling and electricity.

  18. Request for scope/schedule change to SSC

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    F&S requested that SSC funding from FY14 and FY13 for the Campus Bike Center be allowed to be used for the Campus Bike Center in FY15. 

    1. There is $2,224.50 remaining of the funding allocation for the “Campus Bike Project” from FY13.  I am requesting permission from the SSC to use these funds during FY15, for staff and student employee costs.  This is not a change in scope, just a schedule change to permit FY15 use of funds.
    2. The current funding allocation for the “Campus Bicycle Shop” in FY14 included specific items for the funding in support of the Bike Center.  I am requesting permission to use any remaining funds from this year’s allocation during FY15, for staff and student employee costs.

    ~Morgan Johnston

    Attached Files: 

  20. Allerton pursuing a bike sharing system

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bike Sharing

    The attached Manual was developed with students and Amelia Neptune over the last few years.  The most helpful part of this document is the liability Q&A that Tina helped create.  I cleaned the file up a bit this morning to fix broken links and check for any glaring errors. 

    To bring you and those copied here up to speed, I’ll share a few points that are happening with bike sharing now. 

    • The successfully implemented bike sharing on campus is at Kinesiology and Community Health.  They have six bikes for employee use, and wrote a research report about the usage (attached).  They simply have the keys at a desk with a sign-out list, and they send the bikes for maintenance once a year.  The contact person is Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko at Kinesiology.
    • This summer, the MTD is planning to start working with campus and the cities to investigate a public bike sharing system, and that conversation is just beginning.  The contact person is Rebecca Nathanson at MTD.
    • AITS is planning to set up a departmental bike sharing program, in cooperation with the Campus Bike Center and iSEE.  The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) is planning to contribute funds towards administrative support for maintaining the bikes.  It is likely that 10-20 bikes will be purchased from “On Bikes,” which comes with a locking and tracking system. 
    • Grace Kyung has had numerous conversations with Zagster, which was formed by former staff at Zipcar.  Their system is an all-inclusive turn-key approach, where you pay a set-up fee, then pay a recurring monthly fee for maintenance and oversight.  The set up fee is around $2000 per bike and the monthly fee is about $100 per bike.  The bikes then continue to belong to Zagster.  I did not support the Zagster model for campus employee use, but it may be reasonable for Allerton’s intended use.  If you are interested, their CEO is visiting town on Thursday. 

    Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with to get this set up.

    Thanks,

    Morgan


    On May 23, 2014, at 4:07 PM, "McEllin, Tina D" wrote:

    Hi Derek,

    To start I’m going to refer you to Morgan Johnston, Assoc. Director of Sustainability.    I believe Morgan has a draft manual for depts. to use when setting up programs for employees.   I don’t know if it will address offering this service to the public so you may have to add language to that effect.     

    Since you will have the public liability issue I would like to review your draft manual to make sure exposure to the University is controlled as much as possible.  Please feel free to call me with any questions. 

    Thank you.

    Tina McEllin,  Assoc. Dir.

    University Office of Risk Management

    247 Henry Admin. Bldg.   M-C 337

    506 S. Wright St., Urbana IL 61801

    PH 217-333-3113

    FX 217-239-6744

    Check out our website!   www.uirisk.uillinois.edu

    Please note: Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), any written communication to or from University employees regarding University business is a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.

    From: Peterson, Derek Eli
    Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 3:51 PM
    To: Kale, PJ; McEllin, Tina D
    Cc: Kevin Donovan
    Subject: Allerton Park and Retreat Center

    Good Afternoon PJ and Tina-

    Joe Vitosky said the two of you might be a good start for me, I need some advice. Allerton Park is going to start a Bike Rental, or Bike Share program. I am interested to know if any other units, or if there is any standard documentation that might assist me through this process. We have researched other local entities that do bike share and rental and so we have some standard language, but we will be offering this to the public, so we need to make sure the University if legally covered. As I type I feel underprepared to ask this question, but I thought you might have some advice for me to help get me started.

    Thank you for your time-

    -- 

    Derek Peterson

    Associate Director

    Allerton Park & Retreat Center

    University of Illinois

    515 Old Timber Road

    Monticello, IL  61856

    O 217.333.3287, ext. 203

    M 217-778-9111

    www.allerton.illinois.edu

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