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  1. 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.”

  3. Water and Stormwater SWATeam Meeting 2/6/2018

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Green Infrastructure
    Water Audit / Inventory

    Meeting topics included potential for the team to move forward with a water audit of campus buildings, ways that nitrogen runoff could be monitored, and incentives the Parking Department would have in following through with adding green infrastructure to parking projects.

    Attached Files: 

  4. 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

  7. 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
    Attached Files: 

  8. 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. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Virtual Storeroom for Carbon Offsets [ARCHIVED]

    The 2015 iCAP chapter 8, objective 2 is, "By the end of FY17, develop an administrative mechanism to enable campus units to voluntarily purchase carbon offsets." During FY17, iSEE is executing a campuswide purchase of offsets. A starting inventory of carbon offsets will be put into a Virtual Storeroom, for internal purchases by campus units.  Through this website, units can directly engage in emission reductions, with the benefit of the initial bulk purchase.

    The Carbon Credit sales funding has been approved by Director of iSEE Evan DeLucia and Interim Executive Director of F&S Helen Coleman for buying 10,000 additional carbon offsets, to provide the initial inventory for a new Virtual Storeroom for carbon offsets.

    Background

    If your department is interested in reducing your carbon footprint from air travel (or other things), you can go online to the Virtual Storeroom and purchase (using a CFOP) offsets from iSEE.  iSEE will collect the funds from these sales to replenish the Carbon Offset storeroom inventory when it gets low.

    Some campus units (or individual faculty or staff) may wish to voluntarily offset their carbon emissions, for example, from air travel to scholarly meetings. iSEE could work with the Office of Business and Financial Services (OBFS) to develop an administrative mechanism that would allow such units to “buy in” to periodic campuswide purchases of verified offsets.

    By the end of FY 17, iSEE helps develop the virtual storeroom which stocks the carbon offsets instead of tangible goods. The carbon offsets will be stored in a virtual storeroom, where units can buy offsets to reduce their carbon emissions for any reason. For example, you can buy them to reduce the carbon emissions of steam, electricity, even university cars, and air travel, which is the main carbon emission source that needs offsets rather than reduction, according to the iCAP. The money what we spend in the virtual storeroom will be collected in a fund that will be used for the purchase of more carbon offsets, when the inventory is low.

  15. 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.

  16. 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. IWG Meeting Minutes November 30, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Topical iCAP Teams
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm
    Incorporate Sustainability Principles into Campus Master Plan [ARCHIVED]
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Green Lab Program
    Attached Files: 

  18. 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.

  19. 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

  20. 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.

    Attached Files: 

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