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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  1. Carbon Offset Technology Review Project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Build Resilience with Our Local Community
    Develop Local Carbon Offset Program [ARCHIVED]

    iSEE Carbon Offset Program: Technology Research and Options
    Authors: Jane Williams, Rachel Pu, Fina Healy, Natalia Ptaszek, and Angela Andrada

    Students from the ABE469 Capstone Course taught by professor Ann Witmer met over the course of the Spring 2022 semester to research renewable energy technologies and carbon sink projects appropriate for campus and communtiy in our surrounding county-vicinity. The purpose is to provide technology options for the Local Carbon Offset Program described in the iCAP objectives.  A local carbon offset program would be designed to offset staff & faculty travel, and the offset funds generated can be used in local projects that reduce or sequester carbon on campus and in the community. The technologies reviewed by the student engineering team include:

    • solar photovoltaics
    • biodigestor
    • planting trees
    • prairie restoration
    • geothermal heating and cooling

    The final deliverables report and presentation are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  3. older explanation of the RLF

    Associated Project(s): 
    Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)

    The Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) was set up as a funding source for utility conservation projects with less than ten-year payback periods.  These can include steam, electricity, chilled water, or water reduction projects, and the savings from utility costs are paid back annually to replenish the fund. 

    This fund was originally called for in the 2010 iCAP, as the “clean energy fund.”  It was established in 2012, with funding from the SSC and the Provost.  Within the first year, the President’s Office committed additional funds.  According to the RLF Agreement, any grant funds received for RLF projects in campus-funded utility buildings will be allocated entirely to the RLF.  Thus, the fund can grow over time.  Additionally, the campus agreed to match any additional commitments from the SSC, in the future.

  4. Dump and Run for Spring 2022 is Cancelled

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

     

    Below is an email from Morgan White describing that the University YMCA plans to only conduct Dump and Run in the fall.

    This led Morgan, F&S, & Housing leadership to decide to delay their version of spring collections until the full-time Zero Waste Coordinator has been hired.

     

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    From: White, Morgan

    Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2022 8:24 AM

    To: Johnson, Bryan Lloyd; Kuehl, Mark A; Hiser, Daniel William; Patterson, Shawn L 

    Cc: Boehm, David ; McKay, James; Sealine, Alma R; Varney, Peter W; Kamarah, Ehab 

    Subject: RE: Dump and Run - arranging a meeting

     

    Hello everyone,

     

    Thank you for your patience and willingness regarding the UIUC collaboration with the University YMCA on the Dump and Run. 

     

    This year, the Board and Leadership of the University Y made the decision to only do Dump and Run in the fall.  In 2021, they had arranged a fall-only collection, followed immediately by a sale in August at the Stock Pavilion.  As they reviewed the impacts of that fall-only sale compared to the collection efforts and impacts for the spring collection and fall sale, they decided to focus solely on the fall sale from now on. 

     

    Following that news, I spoke with F&S and Housing leadership, and we agreed that it would be best to delay our own version of spring collections until the full time Zero Waste Coordinator has been hired.  This search is approved, and we hope to have a new employee who will report to Pete Varney (and try to fill Shantanu Pai’s shoes) in the next few months.  That person will then work with us to develop an appropriate solution for keeping gently used materials (clothes, books, etc.) out of the landfill during move-out week.

     

    Thank you all very much, and we will be in touch as plans develop for a spring 2023 collection.

     

    All my best,

    Morgan

    ======================================

    MORGAN B. WHITE

    Acting Director of Capital Programs

    Associate Director of F&S for Sustainability

    Facilities & Services | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  5. Weekly Update: New staffer, Friday Rides

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Friday—warm weather and a Friday—meant a busy day. Rest of the week was slower. A new staffer started last week, which was a great help.

    This week looks warmer so we’ll be busier, likely. Will get some bikes finished and do some more onboarding with new staff. We have a weather radio and a regular radio here now to communicate with DCR staff as needed.

    Our Friday Ride events concluded last Friday with a decent showing and a ride to Meadowbrook and back. I’ll gauge staff interest in keeping them going this summer and we’ll definitely look to restart them in Aug/Sept when students are back full-time.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 53
    Sales: $866
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $340
    Memberships: 7 for $210
    Tubes/tires: 23 for $141

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

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

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

  11. EPA Waste Management Webinar Presentation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    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: 

  12. 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. 

  13. 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: 

  14. 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: 

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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

  18. 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!

     

     

  19. 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: 

  20. 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

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