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Project Updates for collection: 2015 iCAP Objectives
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Weekly Sustainable Transportation meeting with Sarthak and Hrushikesh
Associated Project(s):On 08/10/2023, Sarthak and Hrushikesh had a weekly meeting to discuss on Weekly Progress of the current projects that we are working on. Please refer to the file attached to view the Weekly Progress.
Weekly Sustainable Transportation meeting with Sarthak and Hrushikesh
Associated Project(s):On 08/03/2023, Sarthak and Hrushikesh had a weekly meeting to discuss on Weekly Progress of the current projects that we are working on. Please refer to the file attached to view the Weekly Progress.
Weekly Sustainable Transportation meeting with Hrushikesh and Nathaniel
Associated Project(s):On 07/24/2023, Sarthak, Nathaniel and Hrushikesh had a weekly meeting to discuss on Weekly Progress of the current projects that we are working on. Please refer to the file attached to view the Weekly Progress.
Nathaniel's Weekly Progress -
- Visited Round Barns for Bike Inventory
- Campus-wide survey to check for remaining abandoned bikes.
- In-Office Bike related accessories inventory.
Hrushikesh's Weekly Progress -
- Shared used Path Length demarcation ArcGIS for the Bike Friendly University Application (BFU)
- Work on Campus Bicycle Master Plan
- Champaign County Bike Month Planning Team Meeting
- Meeting with UIPD for Field Maps Training
- ICAP documentation
REMINDER- Urbana Stormwater Asset Management Plan - Technical Advisory Meeting #2
Associated Project(s):Good afternoon,
Please find attached an invitation for the Urbana Stormwater Asset Management Technical Advisory Committee Meeting # 2. The meeting will take place on August 3rd from 1:00- 2:30 pm.
Lisa Mentzer
Attached Files:Sustainable Swag Toolkit
Associated Project(s):LAS Dean Patton suggested that ISEE could develop a sustainable swag toolkit to give out to communicators and event coordinators throughout campus.
archived info - previous project description
Associated Project(s):The 2015 iCAP, chapter 8, objective 1 is, "By the end of FY16, conduct a Request for Proposals process for verified carbon offsets — and undertake the first campus purchase of offsets." iSEE is developing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for purchasing carbon credits, aka carbon offsets.
iSEE is developing the technical specifications for a Request for Bids (RFB) for purchasing carbon credits, aka carbon offsets in FY17. These will be used both to replace the carbon credits sold from calendar year 2016, and as a starting inventory for the Virtual Storeroom.
During this process, iSEE will develop detailed specifications for carbon offsets to ensure that all purchased offsets are additional (in the sense that they enable reductions beyond business-as-usual), measurable, conservative (to ensure reductions are not overstated), permanent, independently verified, trackable, and transparent. The 2015 iCAP intended to have an RFP done by the end of FY16, and the current schedule will have the purchase completed by the end of FY17.
Background
Because campus sells carbon credits through the Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) at Second Nature, we need to replace those boutique carbon credits with carbon offsets. By the end of FY17, we will buy 103,000 carbon offsets (equivalent to 103,000 tons of greenhouse gasses not being released into the atmosphere) to replace those sold from calendar year 2016.
Additionally, in the same RFB, we will purchase 10,000 additional carbon offsets which will be used to set up a new virtual storeroom to allow campus units to voluntarily offset their carbon emissions, for example from air travel to scholarly meetings.
Weekly Sustainable Transportation meeting with Hrushikesh and Nathaniel
Associated Project(s):On 07/20/2023, Sarthak, Nathaniel and Hrushikesh had a weekly meeting to discuss on Weekly Progress of the current projects that we are working on.
Meeting Notes:
- Campus Bike Plan 2024
- Abandoned Bikes Project Inventory Documentation Completion
- Bike Parking Rack Design
- Research on Permeable Pavers and Bike Shelter
- Discussion on the Next week's Tasks regarding Bike Audit
- Bike Census
follow up on potential VRO project
Associated Project(s):Dear Madhu,
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me and here is a follow up email to our zoom conversation. The committee on natural areas at UIUC oversees research on roughly a dozen university-owned properties that include about 1,000 acres of natural lands spanning east-central Illinois. The largest of these, the Vermilion River Observatory, located about 45 miles by road east of campus, was acquired by the Dept of ECE in the 1960s to construct a radio telescope. The ~495 acre property is now managed by the CNA for various environmental research projects and there are ~105 acres of agricultural land that are leased to a tenant farmer by ECE for cash revenue that at its peak generated ~20k/year but the value of the crop has been declining recently. Due to being in the drainage of the Vermilion river, the soils of the VRO are somewhat marginal in their production value and I think there is some chance the tenant farmer will decide to leave the lease. Or it may be possible given a suitable research project to take over the lease and use the lands for research.
The project I am interested in pursuing is a long-term, large-scale ecological and agricultural experiment evaluating trajectories of agricultural lands following agricultural abandonment. Considering the scale of the agricultural lands on the VRO, I think it could be possible to have large and well-replicated experimental treatments that include comparisons among passive revegetation, bioenergy production, and active reforestation. Potential study outcomes could include carbon sequestration/flow, biodiversity conservation, and economic and energy cost/benefit analyses comparing the costs of these different experimental treatments versus the returns on investment. By east-central Illinois standards, I think the productivity of the agricultural lands on the VRO could be considered marginal, but based on my read of the literature and our conversation, I get the impression that these marginal lands are more likely to experience agricultural abandonment in the coming years.
Assuming ECE would be open to a change in the management strategy for the agricultural lands on the VRO, which I would be happy to discuss with ECE and the OVCRI if we decide to proceed, the CNA could provide some logistical support for a large-scale research project on the VRO, including through the use of some of our farm equipment and out buildings on the property. We also have two full-time research/management staff whose time can be budgeted into proposals. And I am eager to undertake more long-term experiments on the CNA properties using former agricultural lands, since I see this as one of the most unique and important values of these properties that can be applied to a pressing environmental challenge.
This is something I would be excited to pursue through the support of iSEE and I would love it if it gave us a chance to collaborate, Madhu. Attached please find an aerial photo of the VRO and an older site description map. Please let me know if you think this could dovetail with other opportunities currently being pursued by iSEE and CABBI and let me know what I can do to help!
Best,
Brian
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This is the land that Brian Allan had mentioned to me
Madhu
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Attached Files:Free Native Plants!
Associated Project(s):Hi all –
I hope everyone is doing well!
I’m reaching out with an opportunity (not related to waste reduction 😊).
The National Wildlife Federation, alongside our new partner, Garden for Wildlife Inc., have launched an initiative to support our partners (k-12 schools, colleges/universities, churches, etc.) in their efforts to expand quality native habitats for people, pollinators, and wildlife. Garden for Wildlife Inc., sells “direct-to-consumer” native plants to 38 states in the eastern and central United States (western states are coming soon!)
Your campus can now apply for free native plants for your native plant and habitat projects . These plants will come pre-selected, be native to your area, and include at least one species of milkweed, an essential plant for supporting pollinators and monarch butterflies. These plants are slightly smaller than quart size, with at least 3 inches of new growth. They will begin to bloom within a couple of months of planting, depending on the season.
In order to request plants, you must meet the following requirements:
- Plant in the approved space within 3 days of receipt (i.e. – a school, community green space, park, etc.).
- Maintain the wildlife garden for at least 5 years and share and donate photos of the space or planting.
- Display provided signage noting that the plants were donated by Garden for Wildlife by the National Wildlife Federation.
- Cover the costs of plant delivery - $38 / 64 plants (i.e. – 192 plants = $114, 768 plants = $456, etc.)
To apply, please visit: https://gardenforwildlife.com/pages/donations
Please reach out with any questions. This is first come first serve, so if you are interested, please don’t hesitate to fill out the online form!
Thanks, take care,
Kristy
F&S Policy on Recycled Paper
Associated Project(s):F&S Policy on the purchase of paper states that, "When purchasing paper for copiers and printers, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified products with a minimum of 30 percent recycled content must be selected."
Attached is the policy document.
Attached Files:Weekly meeting with Hrushikesh and Nathaniel
Associated Project(s):Sarthak met with Hrushikesh and Nathaniel on 7/13/2023 together to discuss the weekly meetings. This was the first Sustainable Transportation weekly intern meeting.
Sarthak explained the layout for these meetings in the future. Hrushikesh and Nathaniel would lead these meetings going forward. They will report on the progress made in the previous week and go over their to-do list for the current week and the week after. They will send Sarthak their weekly progress report in form of Word or Excel or some other form and share it with the Sustainable Transportation team.
These meetings will be held weekly until the semester begins.
Weekly Meeting with Nathaniel and Hrushikesh
Associated Project(s):On 07/13/2023, Sarthak had a meeting with Nathaniel and Hrushikesh to get a Weekly progress report and to set next week's tasks.
- Set a structure for Weekly Meetings
- Discussion on Bike Friendly University (BFU), Bike Racks Locations and their design Plans, Campus Bike Plan 2024, and the Abandoned Bicycles Project.
- Gave an overview of the i-Cap Portal and Bike Friendly University (BFU) to Nathaniel.
- Potential Encouragement project on Social Media: Making a Rules of the Road Video.
Carbon Credit Sale Verifying Bank Information
Associated Project(s):On Jun 26, 2023 Karen Wheeler contacted Morgan White to verify that banking information was confirmed and payments would apply to the proper account on 6/28/2023.
Explained the Campus Bike Plan update project to students
Associated Project(s):Sarthak met with Hrushikesh Chavan (Master of Architecture student) and Nathaniel Nevins (Bachelors in Landscape Architecture) separately to explain the Campus Bike Plan 2024 update. These students will read up the 2014 Campus Bike Plan, the progress reports, and other documents shared with them to learn more and recommend suggestions for this new Plan.
4 new EVs and new EV charging stations installed
Associated Project(s):F&S has received 4 new Ford F-150 Lightnings all electric trucks, bringing the total to 6 Ford Lightnings and 1 Ford e-Transit cargo van for F&S fleet.
We have also installed another level-2 Ford dual point smart chargers on the south side of PPSB and we are working on the installation on another one. We have 2 more chargers to install. The Charging Stations installations are being done using the SSC funding.
Trees at Solar Farm 2.0 are beautiful
Associated Project(s):The trees look great!
Reverb
Associated Project(s):There is a sustainability program called "reverb" which is for music festivals.
Sarthak & I (Alec) met to discuss the 2023 Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) application
Associated Project(s):Sarthak & I met on 5/1/2023 and 5/15/2023 to work on the BFU application.
The current version of the log we are using is attached below.
Attached Files:Newest 100% electric vehicle - Ford E-Transit cargo van
Associated Project(s):This Ford E-Transit cargo van is being picked up now from Deans Graphics. It will be assigned to the 03-shop at F&S.
Attached Files: