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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  1. New Shop Manager Hired for Campus Bicycle Shop

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    James Roedl has been hired as the new Campus Bicycle Shop Manager, replacing Ken Sutto.  James' first day of work is May 28, 2013. Ken's last day is June 14, 2013, giving the two managers roughly 3 weeks of overlap for training and orientation. The shop will remain open during regular hours, Monday-Thursday, 2-6pm and Friday, 2-5:30pm. The Campus Bicycle Shop Manager reports to the Sustainability Coordinator in Facilities & Services (Morgan Johnston), and is funded jointly by the University and The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign. James can be contacted at jmroedl@illinois.edu. 

  2. No-Mow Signage

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan

    The University campus has designated several different areas as No-Mow Zones. There is signage at these locations that explains that the area is a no-mow zone and the benefits of no-mow zones.

  3. Bike fix-it station update

    Associated Project(s): 
    FY12 SSC Bike Parking Upgrades

    From: Neptune, Amelia
    Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 12:27 PM
    To: Ortiz, Benita Vonne
    Cc: Johnston, Morgan B
    Subject: Bicycle Repair Station outside of Allen Hall

    Hi Vonne,

    As you may recall, earlier in the school year we had discussed that there is some funding for a new bicycle repair station near Allen Hall/CRCE. The original location we proposed near Gregory Drive in front of CRCE was rejected by the Architecture Review Committee, and they have proposed a better location near the bike parking area in front of Allen Hall. I would like to get your OK on this location before we move forward.

    The first attached PDF shows the location proposed by the Architecture Review Committee. As you’ll see in the photos on pages 2 and 3, it is on existing pavement, close to the bike parking, but not blocking a walkway, which I think is ideal.

    The second PDF shows the specifications of the newly designed repair stations so you know what it would look like. The new design is much smaller and (in my opinion) more attractive than the existing repair stations we have elsewhere on campus. The blue color of the existing stations is no longer available, so our plan is to match the color of the adjacent bike parking, in this case black.

    Please let me know if Housing has any objections to this location, or would like to meet there in person to discuss it further. Once I have your approval, we’ll move forward placing the order and installing this summer.  Please let me know if there are any questions.

    Thank you,

    Amelia  

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

    Amelia Neptune

    Campus Bicycle Coordinator

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    1501 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820

    aneptune@illinois.edu

    217-300-1316

    Attached Files: 

  4. herbicide to be sprayed

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

    From: Marlin, John C
    Sent: Monday, May 13, 2013 4:37 PM
    To: Welch, Ryan B
    Cc: Johnston, Morgan B
    Subject: Grass herbicide for Florida Orchard

    A container of Assure II is now at the S. Lincoln grounds Barn.  I left it with Eric who put it in the location with the chemicals.  There is a note taped to the top with my name on it and saying it is for Ryan Welch for Florida—Orchard.

    I am supposed to mention that the herbicide needs to have a little crop oil mixed in as per the label.  Also the person who sprayed last time said to make sure your guy knows there are a couple ground hog holes in the field.

    The targeted grass is quackgrass.   The prime target areas are fairly obvious and need the most attention.  The worst area is just south of the mulched area and extends quite a way up the hill.  It should probably be done first in case we run out of mix.   Then there is a large swath just to the west of the trees going most of the way up the field. 

    Attached is a copy of the Assure II label. 

    I will need a little warning in order to remove some marker flags from the field.   Use my cell as well as email, as I do not always see my email in a timely manner.   We can be ready about any time you can schedule it.    

    The spray can come a couple feet  into the edge of the mulched area.   I will put pink flags along the edge.  If possible use a machine with some extended spray arms to minimize the number of prairie plants that will be ridden over by wheels.   The bar on the sprayer that did the roundup last year had wide wheels and the spray bar was only as wide as the machine.

    The weather channel predicts next Tue and Wed as 10% chance of rain.

    Thanks,

    John

    Attached Files: 

  5. Art and Design bike racks funded

    Associated Project(s): 
    FY12 SSC Bike Parking Upgrades

    To Davie Akins, Please proceed with the bike parking upgrade on the west side of Art and Design, per the previous discussions we have had.  The SSC funding will contribute $11,849.50 from CFOP: 1-629514-814006-xxxxxx-191200-814BIK. - from Morgan Johnston

  6. Funding request submitted to SSC for FY14

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    F&S requested $30,266 funding from the SSC for the Campus Bicycle Shop for fiscal year 2014.  The funding was awarded, contingent on not requesting additional funding in future years.

    According to the funding award letter, "Because SSC grants are intended as seed or bridge funding, this grant was approved with the understanding that this project will not seek SSC funding in future years."

    Attached Files: 

  8. suggestion for community gardens

    Associated Project(s): 
    Orchard Downs Community Gardens

    In 2013, the Student Sustainability Committee received this project suggestion: "Community gardens built on the farmlands at Orchard Downs would benefit direct participants, households, and the community. Main participants in the project would be university students, local residents, and children from an after-school program nearby. The participants would not only benefit from the food produced, but the agricultural knowledge, environmental consciousness, and community interaction associate with working on a community farm.

    The gardens will be designed in a biointensive way, meaning they will be organic agricultural plots that focus on yielding maximal produce on a small plot and maintaining the quality of the soil. The gardens may be implemented in greenhouses, hoop houses, or outdoors depending on the seasonal limitations decided upon in the final designs of the garden.

    Students can register to do volunteer work at the community garden that would be counted toward course credit. Students and their relatives can also request plot to farm on, from which they can use  the produce themselves or sell it to school organizer of the program."

    Housing Services has already established community gardens, which have been in effect since at least the 1990s.

  11. IBI team considering trailer for equipment location

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    Amanda Lietz met with Stephanie Lage and Morgan Johnston to discuss the next steps for the Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI).  They are looking into the possibility of purchasing an all-inclusive bioreactor trailer which would handle the entire reaction needed to change the waste vegetable oil into biodiesel and soap.  The IBI students are going to identify the exact trailer specifications they are looking for and work with F&S to identify an appropriate location for the trailer.

  12. Building Priorities

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    The ECI and SSC identified the following list as the building priorities for the metter upgrades.

    1)      Residence Halls: Allen/LAR, FAR/PAR, ISR, SDRP

    2)      Illini Union

    3)      ARC

    4)      CRCE

    5)      Siebel Center

    6)      BIF

    7)      Loomis Lab

    8)      English

    9)      Psychology

  13. InStep Licensing

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    We received the invoice for the software and license for the Energy Dashboard project through August 31. The next licensing period will be from September 1 through December 31. Beginning January 1, 2013 licensing will be on an annual track. The software for the Energy Dashboard from Instep will cost $40,000, with the discount given to the University. The annual support for the Dashboard will be $6,750.

  16. Racquetball Court Energy Reduction Project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Occupancy and Daylight Sensors

    Twelve racquetball and three squash courts at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) were retrofit with 193 fluorescent and 96 mercury vapor light fixtures. The project was funded by the Student Sustainability Committee through an interest-free loan of $75,000.

    Once the lighting retrofits were completed, occupancy sensors were installed in all 15 courts.

    The overall cost of the project ended up at $61,203.69 -- $13,796.31 less than the original quote. Campus Recreation requested that the remaining balance stay with the division and be used to further fund energy reduction projects within their facilities.

    The total average reduction in power consumption is 129,226 kWh. This is a 75.7 percent decrease in consumption, which translates to an annual savings of $9,020. The simple payback for this project is 6.78 years.

  17. RLF Occupancy Sensors FY12

    Associated Project(s): 
    Occupancy and Daylight Sensors

    Ten buildings on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus were selected to receive RLF funding for occupancy sensors in FY12. In order from top priority to lowest priority, the buildings that received funding are Gregory Hall, the Foreign Languages Building, the Agriculture Engineering Sciences Building, Newmark Laboratory, the Rehabilitation Education Center, the Education Building, the Law Building, the Water Survey Buildings, Noyes Laboratory, and Freer Hall. The University will now proceed to implementation of occupancy sensors in all of the above buildings.

    Gregory Hall, the Foreign Languages Building, Newmark Laboratory, the Rehabilitation Education Center, Noyes Laboratory, and Freer Hall have also been selected to receive HVAC occupancy sensors.

  19. Final Bike Sharing Feasibility Study Submitted to SSC

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bike Sharing Feasibility Study
    Bike Sharing

    The final report for the Bike Sharing Feasibility Study was submitted to SSC. The study recommends the following three tiered approach to bicycle sharing on the Urbana-Champaign campus: 

    1. Bikes available for employees – The small existing program at Kinesiology and Community Health should be replicated at departments throughout campus. The program needs to be approved by Legal Counsel, Risk Management, Purchasing, and interested Colleges.  Then it should be promoted to departments, to encourage them to invest in bicycles for their employees and provide them with a simple support system for maintenance and tracking.
       
    2. Bikes available for short-term rentals – As an interim solution until the campus can handle a large-scale bike sharing program, the small existing program at Campus Recreation should be expanded with support from the Student Sustainability Committee.  They should increase the number of bicycles available, make the program self-sufficient financially, and market the program to visitors, conference attendees, faculty, staff, and students. A similar program could be investigated for the Illini Union. 
       
    3. Bike solutions for students and the public – Before this campus is ready to pursue a public bike sharing system, we must first address the issues regarding degraded infrastructure and the need for more bike safety education. Once these issues have been resolved, the campus should renew consideration of several options for bike sharing, such as bicycle libraries, kiosk systems, and GPS-enabled community bikes.  

     

    Attached Files: 

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