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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  2. Zero Waste iCAP Team Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste Recommendations Summary
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Achieve Zero Waste

    The Zero Waste iCAP Team met for their final meeting of the semester on Thursday, April 28. The team finalized drafting a recommendation on updating the Campus Administrative Manual's Waste Minimization Policy and set potential objectives for the upcoming academic year. Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  3. Zero Waste iCAP Team Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste Recommendations Summary
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Achieve Zero Waste

    The Zero Waste iCAP Team met for their final meeting of the semester on Thursday, April 28. The team finalized drafting a recommendation on updating the Campus Administrative Manual's Waste Minimization Policy and set potential objectives for the upcoming academic year. Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  4. Eco-Counter set installed and activated at Armory and Sixth

    Associated Project(s): 
    Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts
    Multimodal Corridor Enhancement Project (MCORE)
    Bicycle Counts

    A set of Eco-Counters were installed at the intersection of Armory Ave and Sixth St on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. This is the last set of old counters that were purchased in 2019. These counters were activated on April 27, 2022, and they are now collecting and transmitting data. See attached to see the pictures of these counters.

    Attached Files: 

  5. EPA Waste Management Webinar Presentation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan

    Meredith Moore (iSEE) and Sydney Trimble (F&S) presented at the EPA Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar: University Best Practices in Waste Stream Management on 4-28-22. The presentation is attached. 

    Click here for more information.

    "This webinar session will highlight best practices in university materials and waste stream management, including reduce, reuse, and recycle principles. Participants will learn about the excellent waste reduction programs at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Colorado State University, and The Ohio State University. Our speakers will share proven practices that help colleges and universities minimize waste generation and promote materials reuse. Attendees will also learn about ongoing university case studies and projects involving waste characterization as well as other programs assisting campuses in achieving sustainability goals."

    Attached Files: 

  6. Weekly Resiliency Team Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Build Resilience with Our Local Community

    Stacy Gloss and Meredith Moore met on 4/27 to discuss the following:

    1. DFA Student project on E-waste recycling poster was added to portal on 4/27/2022.
    2. Environmental Justice Next Steps by August 2022:
      1. Make 1 – 2 page fact sheet about EJ Planning
      2. Define plan for outreach this summer
      3. Implement the plan
    3. Capstone project on carbon offsets
      1. Obtain final deliverables on carbon offset project to include in iCAP portal
    4. Sustainability Clinic (Leading on Sustainability Issues)
      1. Socializing sustainability clinic to faculty; identify potentially interested faculty
    5. Community Conversations on Sustainability (Leading on Sustainability Issues)
      1. This is a newish idea that Meredith will socialize to iSEE and others and we can start working on it this summer. 

  7. Cell Phone and Electronic Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Build Resilience with Our Local Community
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Local Sustainability Issues

    A team of Design for America students worked on a year-long project diving into cell phone and electronic waste. The attached poster is the culmination of their work across the '21/'22 school year. We wish the DFA student team luck in all their future endeavors.

    DFA Team: Koshal Raghavarapu, Ananya Barman, Pooja Tetali, & Aashi Tyagi

    Attached Files: 

  8. Introductory meeting with Robert O'Daniell

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase use of EVs and other Alternative Service Vehicles
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

    I met with Robert O'Daniell on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. We covered several topics, including the electrification trend, Federal and State tax credits for EVs, but majority of the time was dedicated to learn about the EV charging stations in Champaign County as compared to other cities.

    Robert also shared his own experience as an EV owner and the survey he is currently conducting to gauge interest in increasing the number of public-use EV charging and possibility of introducing DC Fast Charging to the campus and Champaign County.

    I will create the survey on Google Forms, and then help deploy it on-campus. We also discussed where to promote this survey.

    See attached the documents that we covered during this meeting.

    Attached Files: 

  9. Illinois Sustainable Technology Center Contact

    Associated Project(s): 
    Diversion of Non-Recyclable Plastic using Pyrolysis Process to Produce Fuels for Campus

    From: Prasad, Sarthak <sprasad9 at illinois.edu>
    To: Brinkworth, Jessica F <jfbrinkw at illinois.edu>
    Cc: White, Morgan <mbwhite at illinois.edu>
    Subject: Plastic to fuel: Sriraam Chandrasekaran at ISTC

     

    Hi Jessica,

     

    Sriraam Chandrasekaran (schandr at illinois.edu) works at Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) and his research is in plastic to fuel. Here is his profile: https://directory.illinois.edu/detail?userId=schandr@illinois.edu&widgetId=32

     

    I think he would be a good resource. Thank you,
    Sarthak

     

    Sarthak Prasad

    Sustainable Transportation Assistant

    Facilities & Services

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    Phone: 217-300-9575

    Email: sprasad9@illinois.edu

  10. Tree Map Partnership

    Associated Project(s): 
    Build Resilience with Our Local Community
    Campus Tree Inventory
    Tree Campus Higher Education

    From: Heidi Leuszler <HLeuszler at parkland.edu>
    Subject: Tree Map partnership

     

    Hello all, I hope this finds you and yours well!

     

    I am on the Sustainable Campus Committee at Parkland College and we are discussing updating our campus tree map and digitizing it. I am including all of you in this email because I am wondering if we do not have to recreate the wheel and can join an existing tree map in our community.

     

    I have worked with https://www.opentreemap.org/ in the past, but the $3000 price tag per year is rather steep for us. Do any of you use this program?

     

    In a quick search, I found the following local Tree Inventory maps (all of which Parkland campus is missing from):

    City of Urbana https://urbanail.treekeepersoftware.com/index.cfm?deviceWidth=1920

    UIUC campus https://illinoisedu.treekeepersoftware.com/index.cfm?deviceWidth=1920

    City of Champaign ROW Trees https://cityofchampaign.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=7e979451571143abbf5befb6eeb9b01b

    City of Champaign  https://gis-cityofchampaign.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/cityofchampaign::city-owned-trees/explore?location=40.130930%2C-88.279305%2C13.85 

    Champaign Park District https://cparkdistirct.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=88afa8b642a1464585eaad55a999dd5a

    Urbana Park District https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aaX3IOinNA&t=23s (but I could not find public access to the inventory)

     

    Is it possible we can add our campus data to an existing map? Perhaps we all partner and can add city, park, and campus data to make a more comprehensive community map.

     

    If you are interested in this, have thoughts, know a better person to contact, etc., let me know and we can get a meeting together to discuss possibilities.

     

    Thank you!

    My best,

    Heidi

  11. Weekly Update: Friday Ride, New staff

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Pretty quiet last week. Friday picked up along with the weather. And nicer weather meant our first successful Friday Ride of the season!

    This week a couple new staffers will be starting. As the weather has warmed, we’re seeing an uptick in volunteer interest as well, which is welcomed.

    Tonight is the Bike Project Member Meeting, which I’ll attend.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 39
    Sales: $862
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $550
    Memberships: $3 for $90
    Tire/tube: 3 for $6.25 (used/new)

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  12. New iSEE Green Event Certifications

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Green Event Program
    Certified Greener Campus Programs

    Congratulations to the newest recipient of our Green Event Certification Program!

     

    Chancellor's Office for Special Events Illinois Promise Welcome Lunch, Certified April 2022

    Chancellor's Office for Special Events University-wide Commencement ceremony, Certified April 2022

    Chancellor's Office for Special Events Commencement Dinner, Certified April 2022

    Chancellor's Office for Special Events Bronze Tablet Reception, Certified April 2022

     

    Keep up the great work!

     

     

  13. Invitation to HCL and NCEB event on 05/25/22

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Solar Decathlon

    Below is an email invitation to an event at the Hydrosystems Laboratory:

    Hello all,

     

    On behalf of Illinois Solar Decathlon, I would like to invite you to our event, Reimagining HSL and NCEB, where our Concept Team will be presenting their semester-long projects to UofI Facilities and Services. Feel free to invite other faculty as well. More details below.

     

    Title of the event: Reimagining HSL & NCEB

    Venue: Hydrosystems laboratory, Room 1017

    Time : Monday, 25th from 5:00 pm

    Everyone is invited.

     

    Schedule 
    5:05 - 5:25 PM: Photovoltaics and Green Roof Team
    5:25 - 5: 45 PM: Building Automation Systems Team
    5:45- 6:05 PM: Sustainable Landscapes Team

    *15 mins for each team's presentation and 5 mins for Q&A*

     

    We hope to see you there!

    Attached Files: 

  14. Trash Clean up

    Associated Project(s): 
    Prairie Restoration at Florida & Orchard

    From: Alice Berkson

    To: John Marlin; James Ellis; White, Morgan

    Recipients: jcmarlin@sbcglobal.net; james.ellis72@gmail.com; mbwhite at illinois.edu 

     

    Hello -- Now that the Florida/Orchard Prairie Zone has had a spring haircut, would traversing the area to pick up trash be a

     

    good idea

    irrelevant

    harmful to plants

     

    Just let me know, I can get to it possibly before the weekend, definitely early next week.

     

    Also at least one of the Prairie Zone signs (on a single metal pole) are listing to one side. I straightened out the one adjoining the driveway so I think they are not set in concrete? Should I drop a few stones next to it in an effort to keep it straight? -- Alice


    --

    Alice Berkson
    904 Mayfair Rd.     
    Champaign, IL  61821-4437
    voice 217.356.4829
    SpectroClick, Inc:
    www.SpectroClick.com 
    https://www.facebook.com/spectroclick/    
    Public Service Archaeology & Architecture Program, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    https://psaap.anthro.illinois.edu/
    Illinois Assn. for Advancement of Archaeology:
    www.museum.state.il.us/iaaa
    East Central IL Master Naturalist Program:
    http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/champaign/mn/index.html

  15. Illinois Green Infrastructure Inventory Update 5/9/2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Build Resilience with Our Local Community
    Rainwater Management Plans

    Stacy Gloss attended the Urban Stormwater Working Group meeting on 4/19/22 led by Lisa Merrifield.

    Agenda item 1) An Illinois Green Infrastructure Inventory Update was provided.

    Key points:

    • Tracking Best Management Practices:  need to know: where, what, how much, and when
    • Detailed information allows for comparison between practices
    • Practices include projects like:  vegetated filter strips, grass swale, infiltration devices, permeable pavement, porous pavement, wetland detention, dry detention, settling basin, bio-swale, grass swale, wet pond, constructed wetland, green roof, weekly street sweeping, native landscaping, stormwater tree, sand filters, settling basin, WQ inlets, wet ponds, infiltration devices, concrete grid  pavement, sand filter/infiltration basin, oil/grit separator etc. Also new construction and retrofit.
    • Next steps: testing data-sets with NCSA

    Agenda item 2) meeting participants described their work and current projects.

    Update: May 9, 2022

    Stacy Gloss and Eliana Brown will attend the September MS4 meeting to describe projects related to capturing green infrastructure project locations and project information to share best practices with the local community. Campus maintains data about about green infrastructure projects on campus. A pilot project is underway to share green infrastructure project data with communities across Illinois.  Eliana Brown is involved in this effort and NCSA is developing a database platform for information sharing.

    Stacy Gloss will attend the next MS4 meeting in June also.

  16. Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) spring 2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC)
    Bike at Illinois Website and Campaign
    Bicycle Registration
    Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts
    Walkability Study
    Reduce Driving on Campus
    Support Zipcar in Champaign-Urbana
    Bike Share with Veo
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)

    Please see attached the final presentation for the CTAC spring 2022. We also talked about abandoned bicycles and Campus Landscape Master Plan during this meeting. Also watch the meeting recording and read the chat from during the meeting: https://uofi.box.com/s/lv1xbqlcevdp6f2dfmiep2fpx3cq2zde

    Attached Files: 

  17. Two 100% all electric 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning trucks purchased for F&S fleet

    Associated Project(s): 
    F&S Sustainable Fleet Plan
    Decrease Emissions from UI Fleet
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)
    Increase use of EVs and other Alternative Service Vehicles

    From: Varney, Peter W
    Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2022 12:38 PM
    To: FandS Executive Management Team ; Gordon, Malikah Asrayyah ; Breitwieser, Steven
    Cc: Patterson, Shawn L ; Franzen, Neil
    Subject: Ford Lightnings for F&S

    As mentioned this morning, I have been able to secure two of the brand new 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning for F&S. These are all-electric crew cab pickup trucks with a ~200 mile range. The vehicles are equipped with a 9.6kW power system including multiple 120V and a single 240V outlet. Cargo payload is only about 1,600# or 2/3 of a standard F-150.

    These vehicles should allow for my team to gain familiarity with all-electric vehicles in our fleet as well as campus visibility regarding F&S’ commitment to sustainable fleet technology. I believe one of the vehicles would be a good fit in my Transportation Shop but I’m open to suggestions for the second truck. ETA will be in the June/July timeframe.

    Malikah – I want your team to be aware for any story/messaging opportunities. I also think we can use some special signage or wrap on the vehicle exterior.

    Pete W Varney
    DIRECTOR
    Transportation & Building Services
    Facilities & Services
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  18. Weekly Update: Bicycle Donations; Collaborations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Had some intense weather mid-week that kept folks away from visiting us. A new student staffer started this week and hit the ground running. We got two quality bikes donated last week that are in-progress and one very nice near-new bike that is already on the sales floor.

    TBP prices bumped up slightly last week to no Ill effect here at CBC. In fact, the first mention of the higher prices was met with “A used tire for $8? That’s a great deal!”

    On Thursday, I consulted with a student from University of Connecticut about starting a bicycle cooperative space at his school. He’d heard good things about our operations from a former TBP member. Small world, too, since I grew up 20 minutes from UConn.

    This week is the Campus Transportation Advisory Committee meeting and the last week for one of my student staffers.

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 26
    Sales: $912.50
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50
    Tires/tubes: 2 for $21

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

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