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- Associated Project(s):
application planned for Dec. 2014
Associated Project(s):Al Stratman, Carl Wegel, Ryan Welch, and Morgan Johnston met to discuss the requirements for applying for Tree Campus USA recognition. Al directed Morgan and Ryan to pursue the application for this fall. Morgan will take the lead, with Ryan handling a lot of the needed writing effort.
There are five requirements to get recognized as a Tree Campus USA:
- Establish a “Campus Tree Advisory Committee”
- Membership must include a student, a Grounds representative, a faculty member, and a community member.
- We are hopeful that the Arboretum would organize this committee, chair it, staff it, and we would just need to attend and participate.
- The required responsibilities are unclear in the Tree Campus program, but we would not need to give them any authority over us.
- Campus Tree Care Plan
- must include
- Clearly stated purpose.
- Responsible authority/department - who enforces the Campus Tree Care Plan. – F&S
- Establishment of a Campus Tree Advisory Committee, terms of the representatives, and role committee plays. – see above
- Campus tree care policies for planting, landscaping, maintenance and removal including establishing and updating a list of recommended and prohibited species; managing for catastrophic events. – we would need to document the maintenance and removal policies
- Protection and Preservation policies and procedures - include process for implementing tree protection plan including step-by-step process that every project must follow including construction and trenching. – in the standards
- Goals and Targets - develop at least one goal and target for your Campus Tree Plan. These could include (but are not limited to) tree canopy target, development of a link between the Campus Tree Plan and other green initiatives on campus or in the community; completion of a campus-wide tree inventory, etc. Include how the goal will be measured. – the goal could be to update and maintain the tree inventory, currently at about 75% for tree locations
- Tree damage assessment - enforcement, penalties, and appeals. – we would need to complete and document this policy
- Prohibited practices. – in the standards
- Definitions of terminology related to campus trees.
- Communication strategy - how the campus tree care plan will be communicated to the college community and contractors to heighten awareness about policies and procedures as well as the goals of the institution. – in collaboration with Arboretum, CRC, and possibly iSEE
- F&S would take the lead on developing this plan. The advisory committee could be the primary reviewers. Morgan can help facilitate this.
- must include
- Campus Tree Program with Dedicated Annual Expenditures
- Grounds has a dedicated budget for trees. Ryan noted that right now we are at about $200K per year including replacements, 2 tree surgeons and 2 grounds workers
- Ryan would need to develop a regular process for summarizing this data to record as evidence of the funding.
- We could expand this effort to collect financial information from other units that handle trees on campus, such as the Arboretum
- Arbor Day Observance
- The Arboretum is the natural lead for an Arbor Day Observance event each year. They have indicated interest in helping with this program.
- We would definitely be involved, but we would prefer they take the lead for developing and organizing the event.
- Certain items would need to be tracked: activity program, news coverage, pictures, and I recommend tracking participation rates.
- Service Learning Project
- “This should provide an opportunity to engage the student population with projects related to trees and can be part of a campus of community initiative.”
- We agree that a student project could be to locate the campus trees and enter basic information (size?).
- The project must be completed within the course of the year the application is submitted.
- The Arboretum could help coordinate this effort. We could get a professor to do it in a class. Morgan can assist with the coordination of this project.
The application is due in December for the year completed, so we would need to complete this effort this fall in order to qualify for next year.
- Establish a “Campus Tree Advisory Committee”
Nitrile Glove Recycling at Ikenberry Commons
Associated Project(s):Today recycling containers were placed on the trash bin at Ikenberry Commons. The purpose is to collect and recycle all the nitrile gloves used by food service employees. The weight of the gloves will be recorded to measure environmental impact.
DCEO grant brings building closer to net-zero goal
Associated Project(s):The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has awarded a grant of about $250,000 to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building Solar Panels Project.
The DCEO grant brings the project’s funding to its goal of $900,000. “This award gives us the final piece that will let us do the solar panels on the building itself,” said Professor Philip Krein, chairman of the ECE Building Committee. ECE ILLINOIS is still seeking funding for the large photovoltaic array that will be placed on the nearby parking structure.
That array’s power generation, added to power generation from the panels on the building and energy savings from the building’s energy-efficient design, will bring the building’s net-zero energy goal in reach. You can donate a solar panel through the Buy a Bit building wish list.
- The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has awarded a grant of about $250,000 for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building photovoltaic array.
- The project for the panels on the ECE Building is now fully funded. Funding is still being sought for the large array on the nearby parking garage that will bring the building's net-zero energy goal in reach.
- The photovoltaic array on the ECE Building will be installed this fall.
- See the full ECE article for more information.
Bike rack made from recycled gloves on display at ISTC
Associated Project(s):ISTC now has a Bike Rack made out of recycled gloves on display in their atrium. This is an example of what can be created with the gloves recycled through the Kimberly-Clark glove recycling program.
construction status update
Associated Project(s):Construction is underway. The 3rd and 2nd floors are mostly complete. Unfortunately we’re finding that the sensor coverage is not quite as broad as the spec sheets say, so there’s been a change order for some additional devices.
teaching assistant update
Associated Project(s):Many thanks to Jeevaka Somaratna for his help as the teaching assistant for the first year of the CEE 398 Project Based Learning course! The new TAs for Fall 2014 are Paul Littleton and Alek Heilstedt.
Champaign County Greenways and Trails Plan completed
Associated Project(s):Active Choices: the Champaign County Greenways & Trails (GT) Plan has been finalized, and can be found on the CCRPC website here: http://www.ccrpc.org/greenways/documents.php.
Links are currently posted on the CCRPC and CUUATS Homepages, and can always be found on the GT Homepage.
WPP Update
Associated Project(s):New Update from the Woody Perennial Polyculture Research Site!
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WPP?
A Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP) is an assemblage of plant species that aims to mimic the structure and function of natural ecosystems to sustainably produce an agricultural yield while simultaneously restoring ecosystem services. Rather than perpetuating the separation of nature and humans, this system attempts to break down the dichotomy between ecological restoration and agriculture.
Recent News
Real-World Implementation of WPP Systems
First Research of the Year
Year three is here!
First Grape Harvest Processing
Fall Wrap UpNEWS UPDATE Got Currants?
Jun 29, 2014 04:56 pm
This past week, the WPP Research Site had its first harvest of the year! As always, the red currants on the site started fruiting early and were the first to ripen up. All of the red currant plants on the site are a single uniform variety, leading to an amazingly synchronous ripening and the opportunity for us to harvest all the berries in just one morning with the help of our new student harvest crew. Despite the harvesting crew’s limited experience, the harvest went off without a hitch, resulting in about 200 pounds of red currants off of the diverse 2 acres in only the project’s third year!
Most of the currants will be juiced and turned into a variety value added products. These products range from sorbet and gelato to wine and jam. All products are intended to help determine what new ways currants can be used in the Midwest.
The raspberries and the black currants are racing to see which fruit ripens next. The black currants only fruit once per year, while the multiple raspberries will be harvested several times throughout the growing season. Along with the summer- and fall- bearing varieties, the site also has ever bearing raspberries that will continue to fruit all year.
Research
The long-term research initiated here will study the agricultural and ecological characteristics of a WPP system in relation to the conventional corn-soybean rotation (CSR). Read more about how we're addressing this great need on our Research page.
Engage
How do you want to get engaged?
Visit? Read a related book? Volunteer? Start or convert your own farm? Donate?
Visit our Engagement page to learn more about all of these things!Department of Energy Program
Associated Project(s):The Parking Department may choose to utilize this Department of Energy Program for promoting public use EV charging stations.
Residential Facilities in EPA Portfolio Manager
Associated Project(s):Brian Yeung is planning to enter energy use data for some of the University Housing residence halls into the EPA Portfolio Manager. He is going to use the same username and password as Nishant is using for other campus buildings.
LEED Lab information for EBOM
Associated Project(s):This multidisciplinary immersion course which utilizes the built environment to educate and prepare students to become green building leaders. In the course students assess the performance of existing facilities on campus and chose one building where they will facilitate the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EB:O&M) process with the goal of certifying the facility. At the close of the semester the students are prepared to sit for the LEED EB:O&M professional credential exam. To learn more visit LEED Lab. Under “How” the Welcome Packet and LEED Lab Timing Chart are available for download. To express interest please complete this form.
The LEED Lab Timing Chart is organized in such a way to help with sequencing of the coursework. Faculty can choose to start with campus credits first before focusing on an individual building or go straight to the building level credits.
The LEED v4 O&M Candidate Handbook can be found here. Pages 12-14 outline the job tasks of a LEED AP and what type of information GBCI will be testing. Information in the candidate handbook could be used to establish student learning outcomes for the course.
Jaime Van Mourik
Director, Higher Education
U.S. Green Building CouncilZero Waste Event at State Farm Center
Associated Project(s):“Zero Waste” is a common term that refers to the desired outcome rather than any expectation. The goal of the Zero Waste Event at State Farm Center as stated to the SSC was to change to the habits of fans, starting with a single basketball game as part of the national Recyclemania competition. The desired outcome is for the State Farm Center to move from a single bin system to dual bin system. The new system will be accompanied with new signage for clarification.
Allerton Park Bike Share
Associated Project(s):Allerton Park is a valuable but underutilized property owned by the University of Illinois. The Allerton Park Bike Share project intends to improve Allerton Park and make it more attractive to the campus population and the community at large through the installation of a bike share system. In addition to providing an attractive service for visitors, this project will also help promote green transportation when traveling around the 1,517 acre estate.
Allerton Park Solar Array-Phase II
Associated Project(s):Allerton Park already has a solar array located near its Visitors’ Center. The second phase of the Allerton Park Solar Array project involves working with a Learning In Community (LINC) class to construct a second ground-mounted solar recharge array. This second phase builds on the success of the existing array with the adjacent construction of an additional 60 panels. The design of the Phase 2 array utilizes an innovative floating foundation system that allows for portability of the array if necessary. The total array provides 14.7kW of peak power, which translates to a projected annual output of 14,653 kWh(about 15-20% of total apCAP solar goals). Power at the panel and array level can be monitored remotely and be publicly viewable via an online dashboard which displays the impact of the solar power contribution in terms of energy equivalents: gallons of gasoline, light bills, tons of coal, barrels of crude oil, and planted trees.
Attached Files:Allerton Park Solar Array-Phase II signed letter.pdf
Allerton Park Solar Array-Phase II.docx
Allerton Park Solar Array-Phase II unsigned letter.docx
IMG_0757.jpg
IMG_0758.jpg
IMG_0759.jpg
IMG_20131217_0001[2][1].pdf
Letter of Support to SSC for Allerton Phase 2 Solar Array[2][1].docx
SSCAPPLICATIONSTEP_DEP.xlsx
Campus community Garden Fostering Sustainable Food
Associated Project(s):The Campus Community Garden (CCG) will be designed by students, built, and planted on the grounds of the University of Illinois Turf Farm. The CCG will look and feel like a typical allotment-style community garden, but the management of the garden will be focused on undergraduate learning opportunities. To this end, half of the individual garden plots (24 raised beds) will be made available to students for independent gardening activities and experimentation. The other 24 raised bed garden plots will be used for teaching, demonstration, and outreach on urban agriculture, and they will also serve as important examples of successful production methods for student gardeners.
Attached Files:Campus community Garden Fostering Sustainable Food signed letter.pdf
~$Campus Community Garden_SSC Step 2 Application_Fall 2013.xlsx
Campus Community Garden- Fostering Sustainable Food Production and Undergraduate Learning unsigned.docx
Campus Community Garden_SSC Step 2 Application_Fall 2013.xlsx
Letter of Support_Dining Services_SSC Proposal_Wortman_2014.pdf
Images for May 2015 SSC Report.pdf
Coffee Ground Repurposing
Associated Project(s):The Coffee Ground Repurposing Project, spearheaded by University Housing, seeks to create a coffee ground recycling network on the University of Illinois campus. Rather than discarding used coffee grounds and sending them to a landfill, University Housing will offer used coffee grounds from the dining halls to the public for composting and re-use. The project has two main goals. First, the project will further minimize the amount of food items being directed to the landfill from University Dining Halls. Second, and more importantly, the program will be an educational tool to demonstrate to UIUC students how nearly every item they dispose of has an alternative use as opposed to being sent to the landfill.
New ECE Building Project Solar Panels
Associated Project(s):The new Electrical and Computer Engineering building (New ECE building) will be operational starting the fall semester of 2014, and will be a unique green building on the University of Illinois campus. It is designed to be the most energy efficient engineering building in the world and is targeting LEED platinum certification, the highest rating for efficiency. With the full planned solar energy complement, the building is projected to achieve net zero energy status. The facility will be one of the two largest net-zero energy buildings in the United States. It will be a facility that supports all its own energy needs – on average over each year – leaving no carbon or fossil consumption footprint. Although the ECE building design itself is intended to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the energy objectives go far beyond this rating to true energy sustainability.
Attached Files:New ECE Building Project Solar Panels signed letter.pdf
New ECE Building Project Solar Panels unsigned letter.docx
New ECE Building Student Project Solar Panels SSC_Application_Step 2.xlsx
NewBldFrntDayCrp.pdf
Student_focusedProjectPVpanelsOnly.pdf
TargettingNetZero.pdf
D6355 - Grantee Report - 3-31-15.xlsx
D6355 - Transit Recap.xls
PV Array Order Placement Approval Email.pdf
PV Array Solar Panel Submittal Email.pdf
SSC-Project Status semesterly report-Spring 2015.docx
Element House at the Energy Farm
Associated Project(s):The 2007 Solar Decathlon house is coming home to Champaign Urbana to a permanent foundation at the University Energy Farm. Funds have been secured for its transportation, placement on a permanent foundation, utility hook ups, and inspection of current systems to ensure safe working order. Funding from the Student Sustainability Committee will defray the costs of upgrading the systems and bringing the house up to code. To meet these goals, the solar array will need to be redesigned and reconstructed; the electrical, lighting, and HVAC systems will need to be updated; and new monitoring equipment will need to be installed. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to have a fully functioning net negative energy residential model home. Student groups are assuming the responsibility for all design, construction, and monitoring tasks as they are able.
Energy Shade Curtains-Phase III
Associated Project(s):Energy shade curtains have many benefits for greenhouses including optimization of natural light reaching the crop canopy and reductions in heating inputs and electricity for cooling equipment and lighting. This is the 3rd phase of funding provided to the Plant Care Facility (Turner Hall Greenhouses) for curtain installation and programming, and 7 additional curtains were installed at a total cost of $71,000. Meters installed in rooms with and without curtains continue to track energy savings, and have shown an overall 50% heating use reduction, 30% electricity use reduction, and 30% water use reduction (for cooling) during fall and winter months.