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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  2. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Here are my zero-waste coordination updates from this past week: 

    • I met with two students from Business in Environmental Responsibility, a campus RSO. They are interested in volunteering to help with the glove recycling program. Not many of their members have cars, so they are not in a good position to assist with transporting gloves from collection sites to the trailer at PPSB, so we talked about help they might give with identifying locations on campus that use disposable gloves. I will consult with Morgan on whether we might use that information to promote the program more broadly across campus.
    • A lab in RAL is working on becoming a participating location. They are very interested but would like assistance with transporting gloves to PPSB. I will consult with Morgan on whether we have any options for them.
    • I contacted Rebecca Seymour, who manages the campus Starbuck’s locations. She is moving forward with providing used coffee grounds to John McNally, a local farmer who can use them for fertilizer. He had inquired about payment for providing transportation to pick them up, but we don’t have any funds for it. Nonetheless, he and Rebecca are moving forward with the arrangement, starting with the Starbuck’s located in the Illini Union. My contacts with the Sustainable Student Farm and a few other local farmers and the Urbana Park District’s gardening program did not result in any additional interest in the program. One or two contacts indicated that they could use the grounds but would need them to be delivered.
    • I updated the glove recycling page in the iCAP Portal to show that Krannert Art Museum is participating. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  3. Pollinator pocket maps

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

    Sustainability staff asked Lesley Deem at the Pollinatarium if the proposed pollinator pockets should be within a specific distance of each other, such as every half mile. Ms. Deem replied, “I think if we put them in the best spots available there will be enough coverage. For example, honey bees can fly for a few miles to find food. They use up less of their energy if it is closer but they should be able to find it even it is a mile or two away.”

  5. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was uneventful. Monday was the Bike Project Members’ Meeting which went well. The shop is still predictably slow. I’ve had good, consistent volunteer help this week. Cleaning and organizing is going very well because of them. Tubes are almost completely organized and sized, storage for new parts is coming along as well. Currently for sale are 19 bikes and should be 21 by the end of today.

    Business as usual this week as far as building bikes and organizing.

    Visitors: 30
    Sales: $155
    Memberships: 1 for $30

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  8. Final project reports for Fall 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    CEE Project Based Learning (PBL)
    Sustainability Minor
    Independent Student Projects
    Energy Dashboard Project
    Develop Local Foods Network
    Biomass use on Campus
    Smart Grid for Campus
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)
    Rain Gardens on Campus
    Solar Power on Campus
    Green Roofs on Campus
    Methane Capture on Campus
    Reduce Foodwaste

    The CEE 398 Project Based Learning and the Sustainability Minor's ENVS 492 Capstone students completed their nine fall 2017 reports.

    There were five projects completed for capstone partners:

    1. Energy Dashboards for Accenture
    2. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Johnson Controls
    3. Food Hub Study for The Land Connection
    4. Sensors and Green Buildings for CERL
    5. Biomass Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) for Chip Energy

    There were four other projects completed by CEE students:

    1. Rain Garden Design
    2. Solar and Green Roofs Analysis
    3. Food Waste to Energy
    4. ADA Sidewalk Repair Cost Analysis

  9. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Here’s what I have from this past week for zero-waste coordination activities: 

    • Drafted a glove recycling participant form and forwarded it to Morgan and Anna for comment
    • Drafted a glove recycling informational flyer and forwarded it to Morgan and Anna for comment, for information on permissions for using Google satellite images, and for information on F&S/UIUC templates to use for the final format
    • Updated the iCAP Portal map of glove recycling locations to include Krannert Art Museum; posted a project update on the site to document the addition
    • Continued communication with Rebecca Seymour at the campus Starbuck’s
    • Sent Morgan notes from my Jan. 24 call with Carly Rizor at UIC about their experience with Big Belly trash/recycling bins 
    • I replied to a request for a meeting with a student organization (Business in Environmental Responsibility) that would like to help with the glove recycling program. I told them I can have a phone call with them during the week or meet in person over the weekend. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  12. Ad Hoc Advisory Committee charged

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0

    F&S Interim Executive Director Helen Coleman charged the Solar Farm 2.0 Ad Hoc Advisory Committee today to assist with an evaluation of the opportunity by soliciting proposals for a second solar farm.  See attached letter.

  14. Team Meetings

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA

    The Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall Sustainability Living Learning Community Intern, Rachel Daughtridge, called a team meeting with various stakeholders to discuss the process for becoming an official Bee Campus USA.

  15. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was pleasantly busy. Visitor numbers were at 55 for the week. A few warm days in there certainly helped.

    This past week I went to the warehouse and picked up bikes and in preparation for that consolidated the bikes we have at Campus. I picked up about 10 from the warehouse. Almost all are really durable, dependable 90s mountain bikes that make really great commuters. A few of them even already had fenders installed.

    The organization and shelving situation is coming along. I hope to have that completed this week. I had volunteers sort and dissemble bad wheels, which should help free up some space so random wheels aren’t floating around as much here.

    We currently have 19 bikes for sale, if anyone asks. But we did sell one last week (yay!).

    Numbers:

    Sales: $734.90
    Memberships: 4 for $155 (3 reg; 1 family)
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $155
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $138

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  17. continuing work

    Associated Project(s): 
    Native Plants at Arboretum

    Red Bison currently works in this area about twice a month when weather permits. A small amount of honeysuckle remains from the beginning of restoration, and herbicide is applied to stumps after cutting. Nearby, along Lincoln Avenue, much of the persimmon has been removed.

  18. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program [ARCHIVED]

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Morgan and I spent a chunk of time together this afternoon so she could catch me up on our latest efforts with the baler feasibility study, styrofoam recycling, glass recycling, and glove recycling. Activity from the past week is as follows: 

    • Morgan showed me some web tool resources that will enable me to finish out the glove recycling section of the iCAP portal.
    • I reached out to the Sustainable Student Farm and another local farmer to see if they can use the coffee grounds that the campus Starbuck’s is making available. Morgan and I speculated on whether some of the other coffee shop vendors might be interested in a similar setup. If we have some success with Starbuck’s I will follow up with Illini Union Vending. 
    • I talked to Carly Rizor at UIC about their experience with the Big Belly bins—and the costs. I shared information verbally with Morgan today. She had a few more questions for me to follow up on, so I will write up notes once I get the additional information. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  19. PWR SWATeam Meeting - 11/30/17

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Battery Recycling
    Rechargeable Battery Recycling

    The PWR SWATeam reviewed the progress made over the course of the semester on various projects and discussed next steps for each. These projects included battery recycling, the rearrangement of outdoor trash and recycling bins, guidelines for the optimal arrangement of indoor bins, expanding SmartWay, and encouraging the use of EPEAT certified products.

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