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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  1. Weekly Update: Sold out most bikes; Short-staffed; LCI training in September!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, No mistaking it now. We’re busy, busy, busy. We’ve sold out of all our regular-sized bikes and only have 3 left that fill out the extreme ends of the size-spectrum:  two very small and one very large bike.

    We’ve been very vocal about hiring here while we’re open and have had some verbal interest but nothing that has actually translated to applications—yet. I did interview and am in the hiring process for one new employee, so that’s a start.

    On Friday, Jeff Yockey stopped by and grabbed a handful of Grand Opening flyers to hand out at the Habitat Bicycle Sale. Habitat sells some of their bikes in As Is condition meaning folks might need somewhere or some parts to get their bikes rolling a little better and we’d be just the place. Always nice to get our name out to the larger community.

    On Saturday,  I participated in LAB’s Traffic Skills 101 course. Despite 13 years of regular commuting, not all of the maneuvers and handling came naturally to me. Always more to learn. Up next is the official LCI training seminar in September.

    This week I’ll be fielding more applications and building bikes to attempt to meet demand.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 141
    Sales: $2,100.50

    Memberships: 17 for $510
    Bikes: 8 for $1,190
    Tires/tubes: 12 for $39
    U-locks: 6 for $136

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  2. Real-time energy dashboards now available

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECE Net-Zero Energy Building
    Energy Dashboard Project
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    After discussions with Michael McKelvey at MSTE and Aaron Mason and Ian Bonadeo at Hawkeye Energy Solutions, since Morgan White put them in contact back in April, the ECE building’s energy dashboards are now available without requiring a login and via domain name rather than IP address! Here are the dashboards:

    ECE Building – Energy Dashboard

    ECE Building – Net Zero Energy Dashboard

    You can view the listing of dashboards currently available at the U of I Building Energy Dashboard Home Page.

     

  3. ECE energy dashboard refinement in discussion

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project
    ECE Net-Zero Energy Building
    Solar Farm 2.0

    Joyce Mast is working with Patricia Franke to refine the ECE energy displays to include the effect of local weather on the solar panels. F&S Utilities and Energy Services is connecting Joyce with the contact people at Hawkeye Energy Solutions, who incorporated real-time energy data in the ECE energy dashboard, using campus data provided by F&S.

  4. Recycling on Campus? Use the Bin!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    On our campus, we recycle five major commodities: paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, plastic bottles #1 and #2, and scrap metal.  F&S Waste Management coordinates recycling at the campus level, and for the whole system to work, we need everyone to use the recycling bins.  Please pledge now to Use the Bin and support the Illinois Climate Action Plan! 

    Morgan White • F&S and iSEE

    Recycling on Campus? Use the Bin!

  5. Proposed presentation for AASHE

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS)
    Issue Press Releases and Sustainability Reports

    Sol Systems is looking to present at the AASHE’s Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (GCSHE) sometime from October 12-14 through their request for abstracts on Emerging Issues in the field.

    Sol Systems is looking to present on our work expanding the impact of renewable energy projects that would certainly focus on things we did for the U of I project, namely the inclusion of pollinator habitats, zero waste construction and the work with students for their Sustainability Minor Capstone projects.

  6. Fall iSEE Congress: Circular Food Systems.

    Associated Project(s): 
    iSEE Congress
    Achieve Zero Waste

    The eighth iSEE Congress will return to the topic of feeding the world: providing a safe, secure supply of food and fuel to an ever-increasing human population using agricultural practices that are ecologically sustainable and adaptable to climate change. Influential speakers and panelists will offer cutting-edge thinking about advancing the sustainability of our agriculture and food systems. Visit the webpage for the latest details! Register now>>>

    Fall iSEE Congress: Circular Food Systems
    Oct. 26-27 | Illini Rooms A-C | Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana

  8. Update on CEE Project Based Learning Course

    Associated Project(s): 
    CEE Project Based Learning (PBL)
    Independent Student Projects

    The attached project list is being considered by the nearly 200 CEE first year students for the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Project Based Learning class this year. The project idea list had been formed over several years and was last updated on August 23, 2021.

    This year, the CEE project based learning course transitioned to a requirement for all incoming CEE students and a permanent part of the curriculum.  It has 188 students, meets 4-6 on Mondays and Wednesdays in 0035 CIF, and is still team-taught by CEE faculty with F&S assistance. There are also some online students and a mirrored course that Dr. Art Schmidt is teaching for a partner school in China via Zoom.

    Attached Files: 

  9. 2021 Freezer Challenge Results

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    For the second year in a row, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign won the "Winning Streak Award" for earning the most points and saving the most kWh/year of any academic institution. This is the fourth year in a row we have topped the academic sector list! UIUC estimated annual energy savings was at 383,615 kWh's or approximately $32,262.

    All of the freezer challenge winners can be found here.

  10. Weekly Update: Very busy; Short Staffed

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last week was absolutely bonkers busy. We sold out of most of our bikes, handed out bike registration stickers, and taken in some drop-off repairs. We were closed on Friday for a staff training so we did all that in two days. We’re really getting to see how our new space handles the crush of people this time of year. Only downside is we’re only able to be open M/W/F since we’re critically low on staffing. Once we hire and onboard more folks, we’ll be able to bump up our hours some more.

    Over the weekend we had the Illini Frenzy event which was a great outreach opportunity. We handed out lots of Bike Center stickers, slap bracelets and flyers.

    This week will likely be as busy or busier than last. Buckle up!

    The numbers:

    Sales: $1,848
    Bikes: 9 for $1,410
    Memberships: 6 for $180
    Tire/tubes: 17 for $66

    U-locks: 10 for $215

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  11. Outage Request Form

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 1.0

    Allen E. Wilson from Rockwell Financial Group reached out to inform F&S that there has been a complete outage request form filed by Jeff Isaacs to shut down Solar Farm 1.0 on 8/23/2021 at 7:30 AM CDT for preventative maintenance on the site's switchgear. This is a dedicated line going from Solar Farm 1.0 to distribution center 10 directly so costumers will not be affected by this outage.

  13. Finalized Bee Campus USA Sign Design

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    A 24" by 36" Bee Campus USA sign will be installed at the corner of Florida Avenue and Orchard Street, by the Florida-Orchard prairie, near Orchard Downs and the Presidents’ House.

    The sign includes information about Bee Campus USA, local pollinators, the creation of the prairie zone, and more!

    See the attached file to view a digital rendition of the signage.

    Attached Files: 

  16. Weekly Update: Increased bicycle registration; Getting very busy!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration

    All, We’re getting legitimately busy nowadays! We’ll be keeping an eye on overall capacity and having to limit some visitors soon.

    I’m scrambling to finish more bikes to capitalize on the surging demand but we’ll likely sell out this week or next.

    Over the weekend we’ve gotten over 50 bike registration notifications so it’s likely we’ll see an uptick in registration pick-ups here.

    We had a patron come in on Friday who’s an RA at LAR and took all of our rack card flyers to hand out to his students—hopefully that’ll bump up our applications.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 41
    Sales: $1,362.60
    Bikes (refurb): 6 for $940
    Memberships: 6 for $180
    Tires/tubes: 8 for $42
    U-locks: 6 or $126

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  17. 2021 Freezer Challenge Recap & Summary

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    In the 2021 Freezer Challenge, 222 labs participated from over 100 different research institutions across 17 countries. The combined efforts of the scientists and labs saved 4.6 million kWh of electricity over the past year, which is the equivalent of reducing carbon emissions by 3,260 metric tons. 

    Based on the U of I's submitted scoresheets (33 in total), the combined actions of the university saved a total of 1051 kWh/day across multiple labs throughout campus. 

  19. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, This update is a day late as I was out of the office on Monday.
    Last week I was out on Thursday and Friday as well. Student staff covered Bike Center hours in my absence. On Monday last week we received a bike from Housing which we were able to quickly fix up and put out for sale.  
    This week we have a couple drop off repairs to catch up on, a few more bikes to fix up for sale, and some donations to process.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 26
    Sales: $1,167

    Memberships: 6 for $180
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $500
    U-locks: 5 for $105

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  20. Final bicycle registration sign and work order details

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Registration
    ENG 177 GFX Global Sustainability Scholars
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    Please see attached the final bicycle registration sign design in JPEG and PDF formats. We have received approvals from Housing to put up these signs in the major high traffic bicycle parking locations, mainly in the SDRP, LAR, FAR/PAR, and Busey Evans bicycle parking areas. We are also looking at Illini Union and ARC for these signs in this cycle, but dependent on funding.

    Sarthak Prasad has submitted a work order to fabricate and install the bike registration signs at these locations (as mentioned in previous project updates). The Work Order number is 10885468.

    Attached Files: 

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