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  2. Draft Solar Farm 3.0 report - with questions

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Power on Campus
    Off-campus Solar Farm 3.0 PPA

    Below is an email exchange between Morgan White and Tony Spurlock:

    Hi Ehab, Rob, and Tony,

     

    I’ve put the Solar Farm 3.0 slide show from Dec. 9 into the attached report. I referenced the slides with thumbnail images, and we could take some out and increase the size of some, depending on what we prefer to do.

     

    Tony, I would appreciate your assistance with filling in the UIC total contract costs.  I’ve included comments for each of the spaces where that info is needed.  Could you please also look at the other questions I commented.

     

    Rob, there are two questions that I hope you can help answer. 

    1. If we lease the land for the onsite solar option, can it still be "behind the meter"?
    2. We currently conclude with this statement: “We feel that the hybrid option meets several goals as it has great savings potential, adds renewable energy to the regional MISO network, which supports our local provider Ameren, and directly increases the capacity of the network we use to purchase the balance between what we consume and what we produce at UIUC.”  Is a MISO project somewhere other than in Illinois going to support Ameren and increase the capacity of the network we use?

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

    ---------------------------

    I added all of the UIC totals and attached the updated calculations.

     

    I do not think the hybrid option benefits Ameren (we are not taking additional delivery and it appears the new array would be outside the Ameren territory).

     

    Should we include a statement related to how this fits into our strategy?  Here is a thought to get the ball rolling.  “This hydrid option allows the University to continue its leadership in Sustainability by leveraging best practices and expanding its portfolio of renewable strategies that provide a more comprehensive approach to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.”  

     

    Regards,

     

    Tony

     

    Attached Files: 

  3. Campus Bike Plan update: information for the undergraduate student

    Associated Project(s): 
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    Hi Bumsoo, I had a call with Marc yesterday, and he mentioned that the MUP program can work on this project in the fall and spring semesters as a group project. I am still trying to figure out all that needs to be done for this project, and I think getting the help from your student might be beneficial.

    How many hours can your student set aside for this project? In this semester, your student could help identify the stakeholders to reach out for the Campus Bike Plan update. He can help with determining a timeline and the planning process for next academic year. (If time permits) I will also ask the student to present some preliminary suggestions for the 2024 Bike Plan update at the end of this semester.

    The first thing for your student would be to read the current 2014 Campus Bicycle Master Plan (https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/files/project/37/2014%20Campus%20Bicycle%20Plan.pdf). I have published two progress reports in the past few years. I am currently working on our progress report from the past year, which should be published in the next few weeks. Here is the 2022 report: Campus Bike Plan progress report FY22. Here is the 2019 report: 2019 Report for 2014 Campus Bicycle Plan

    I would like to have weekly meetings with student. In the next 2-3 weeks, I would schedule a meeting with Morgan and Stacey to present what we think we should accomplish at the end of this semester. At the end of the semester, he will present the findings to F&S, SPO, Transportation iCAP Team, and possibly to the Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC).

    Please let me know if this sounds good to you. I would be very happy to meet your student and get started on this project. Thank you,
    Sarthak

  4. New iSEE Green Certifications

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    Certified Green Chapter Program
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Certified Green Event Program

    Congratulations to the newest recipients of our Greener Campus Programs as we head into a new semester!

    Green Office: Visit Champaign County, Gold, Recertified January 2023

     

    Green Chapter: Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc., Delta Chapter, Silver, Certified January 2023

     

    Green Event:

    -SSC Sustainability Career Panel, Certified January 2023

    -University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Everyday Environment Webinar Series, Certified January 2023

    -Office of the Chancellor for Special Events and Commencement Illinois vs. Nebraska Men's Basketball, Certified January 2023

    -University of Illinois-Special Events-Chancellor's Office HOPE Chicago Luncheon, Certified January 2023

    Keep up the great work!

  5. Coordinating Community Stormwater Management with Extension and Student Assistance

    Associated Project(s): 
    Build Resilience with Our Local Community
    Green Infrastructure
    City of Champaign Plans
    Rainwater Management Plans
    Support Regional Sustainability

    January 11, 2023

     

    A University team consisting of Brodie Dunn and Lisa Merrifield (Extension), Linda Derhak (DURP student), and Stacy Gloss met with Lacey Rains Lowe and Jeff Marino from the City of Champaign to talk about working together to coordinate rainwater management efforts. Champaign sees a gap in resources for commercial developers related to innovative stormwater management applications. The team identified stormwater utility fee incentives as a possible leverage point for developers, but current incentives do not seem to be sufficient. Linda will begin to inventory cities with stormwater utility fees for innovative practices for engaging commercial developers. Brodie will propose revisions to the approved plant and tree list for Champaign to encourage use of native and more beneficial non-native plant species. Lisa will reach out to planners from Urbana and Savoy and will schedule a meeting for mid-February to discuss progress and identify next steps.

  6. 2024 Campus Bike Plan update: collaboration with Department of Urban Planning

    Associated Project(s): 
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    Sarthak Prasad met with Marc Doussard, the Master of Urban Planning (MUP) Director, to talk about MUP capstone and how their students can assist with this project. Marc said they can bring this project to the class int he fall 2023 and spring 2024 semesters and assist in the update.

    Bumsoo Lee also mentioned that he has an undergraduate student who is very interested in helping out with this project in the spring 2023 semester.

  7. Weekly Update: Shop re-open, Law school orientation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last two weeks we’ve been closed so no sales/visit numbers. TBP members and I moved bikes from the warehouse, and I’ve been checking over the 30 or so new bikes for damage. Sarthak and I tabled at the Law School’s orientation last Thursday.

    This week we reopen. We’ll be open M/W/F 2 – 6p for the winter months and bump back to 5 days a week after spring break when the weather warms up.

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  8. Nathaniel Nevins to help with the Campus Bike Plan update

    Associated Project(s): 
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    Sarthak Prasad met with Nathaniel Nevins, high school senior, on Tuesday January 17, 2023. Nathaniel is going to help with the Campus Bike Plan update. He is going to read the 2014 Campus Bike Plan by February 15, 2023, and read both the progress reports for Campus Bike Plan by February 28, 2023. He is also going to suggest ideas for the update. Nathaniel will be volunteering over the spring semester. Following information was shared with him:

    Here is the link to the iCAP Portal: https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/

    Here is the 2014 Campus Bike Plan: https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/files/project/37/2014%20Campus%20Bicycle%20Plan.pdf

    Here is the 2022 report: Campus Bike Plan progress report FY22

    Here is the 2019 report: 2019 Report for 2014 Campus Bicycle Plan

  9. Resilience iCAP Team January Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Resilience iCAP Team
    Urban Biodiversity Master Plan

    Resilience iCAP Team had its first virtual meeting of the Spring 2023 semester on Tuesday, January 10th, at 10:30 AM. Cheryl Bicknell is the new Facilities & Services representative of the team. At the meeting, the Biodiversity Master Plan project student intern Gabriel Harper-Hagen gave a brief overview of the biodiversity plan and shared his progress through an extensive update document. Afterward, the team discussed its goals for this semester. 

    The full recording of the meeting can be found here

    Meeting minutes are attached. 

    Attached Files: 

  10. planning for the next bike plan

    Associated Project(s): 
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    2024 Campus Bike Plan

    Morgan and Sarthak discussed the timeline for the next Campus Bike Plan.  The 2014 plan was completed in 2014 and formally approved in March 2015 by Chancellor Wise, with an end date of 2024.  We should have the new plan approved before the end of December 2024.  It would be great to have it available to present during Sustainability Month October 2024, and get formal approval through the Sustainability Council and/or CCRC in November/December 2024.  Thus, the goal is to have a plan ready for routing for approval in summer 2024.

  12. Meeting with U of Vienna

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach

    Madhu Khanna, Jennifer Fraterrigo, Meredith Moore, and Morgan White met with Christoph Kecht and his team from the University of Vienna, which was the first climate neutral university in Austria.  We shared information about our UIUC iCAP programs and they shared information about their efforts and the attached report.

    Attached Files: 

  13. F&S Zero Waste Coordinator succeeding as primary coordinator for Dump and Run

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    Daphne Hulse and Morgan White met on 1/9/23 to discuss the history of UIUC-University YMCA Dump and Run events. Daphne will succeed as the primary coordinator for these future events. Daphne will meet with Marc Alexander (YMCA's Dir of Development and Membership), one of the previous UIUC Dump and Run coordinators, on 1/19/23 to discuss best practices for event coordination.

  15. ISTC sends the revised proposal to F&S

    Associated Project(s): 
    Waste Stream Characterization Study Phase 3

    From: Scrogum, Joy Joann <jscrogum@illinois.edu>
    Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2023 5:39 PM
    To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
    Cc: Samaras, Zach <zsamaras@illinois.edu>; Feher, Savannah <sfeher@illinois.edu>; Jacobson, Debra F <djacobso@illinois.edu>
    Subject: Revised proposal for UIUC waste audit

     

    Daphne, as promised based on our conversation yesterday, attached is a revised version of the proposal for the campus waste audit. The attached is the same as the previous version of the proposal except for the following changes:

    • Mention of “tiers” has been removed from the text. What had previously been described as “Tier I,” along with its associated activity zones and buildings, is now the exclusive focus of the proposal. Estimated total project costs are those previously shown for the Tier I option ($37,958).
    • The timeline has been shifted so that the project starts in the Fall 2023 semester, as requested. We’ve preserved the same total number of months (seven) for the project, so the timeline now begins in August 2023 and ends in February 2024. If/when you’ve applied for and received matching funds from SSC, we can revisit the timeline if needed to address any reporting deadlines associated with SSC funding.
    • Kealie Vogel has been removed from the list of ISTC personnel and staff bios. A placeholder (“TBD, Senior Scientific Specialist”) has been included instead for her forthcoming replacement.

     

    Please let me know if you have any questions or if additional adjustments are needed. If we can provide a letter of support or any other assistance to you as you prepare your application for SSC funds, we’re happy to help!

     

    Best wishes,

    Joy

     

    Joy Scrogum
    Assistant Scientist, Sustainability
    LEED Green Associate | Sustainability Excellence Professional (SEP)
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    Prairie Research Institute
    Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC)
    Champaign, IL 61820
     

    Attached Files: 

  18. Zoom In on the Main Quad

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)

    An article on the Facilities and Services Insider highlighted the recommendations that the Campus Landscape Master Plan has for the Main Quad. The recommendations included enhancing Main Quad courtyards, turf restoration, Illini Union an Anniversary Plaza restoration, and Centennial Court restoration, all while also [reserving the integrity of these spaces. 

    Attached Files: 

  20. The survey is further refined

    Associated Project(s): 
    Big Ten & Friends Sustainability
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Daphne, great survey and I agree with Mary it is very comprehensive!  Patrick and I reviewed the document we came up with a few recommendations for your consideration:

    It might be beneficial to add another question after cell G3 that asks if there are secondary waste goals.

    Cell K3 was a little confusing trying to determine what was meant by ‘Benchmark Year’…. Is this supposed to say ‘Baseline Year’ instead? 

    For Cell AG3, we are recommending that a separate tab in the same spreadsheet where the answers can be put into its own grid and easier to compare school to school.  For instance, I found it very interesting to see UIUC include tires but not surplus material, and it would be interesting to see how many folks include tire recycling/repurposing.  Patrick is going to take a 1st stab at creating this for your review.  

    In the Waste Metric Tracking section, would it be possible to add a few questions around accounting for avoided waste?  Take-back programs would be a prime example of this… for instance, if a university handles furniture whether by diverting it or landfilling it, but then works with a manufacturer on a take-back program, do you get to count that material as diverted?  I am not sure of the best way to ask this question(s)… maybe it should be integrated with the matrix developed as part of bullet #2? 

    The organics section might benefit by clarification on what should be included.  We interpreted it as more than just food scraps and included animal bedding and landscape debris in our answer, but questioned if other items should be included here such as food grease recycling.

     

    Thank you again for putting this together.  Looking forward to seeing it once it is all filled out!

    Thanks,

     

    Tony Gillund 

     

    Director of Sustainability

    Campus Planning, Architecture, and Sustainability

     

    o: 765-494-3911 | agillund@purdue.edu

     

     

    From: Leciejewski, Mary <leciejewski.8@osu.edu>
    Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2023 8:26 AM
    To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>; alisonlr@umich.edu; Anthony Gillund <agillund@purdue.edu>; nberg@umich.edu; Patrick T Brown <brown471@purdue.edu>
    Cc: Szal, Dominika Patrycja <dszal2@illinois.edu>
    Subject: RE: Purdue/OSU/Michigan/UIUC Waste Survey

     

     

     

    Daphne,

     

    Thanks for reopening the conversation and putting this together. This survey looks comprehensive. We’re excited for the results!

     

    Here’s our quick feedback:

    For “Waste Reduction Goal” section, add question asking if school has formal, published waste plan and request link.

    For D5, we usually count interns as a 3:1 FTEs. Might be useful to make this clear or to have a separate column for number of FTE’s vs. number of interns.

    For the Surplus category, I’d be interested to learn if other schools have internal reuse or external donation programs to nonprofits. (Our Surplus group has mentioned some legal/logistical issues with donation…)

     

    We can make these edits directly in the survey but didn’t want to make changes without giving you a heads up/getting sign off from the group.

     

    Once the other folks on the chain provide feedback, we can help disseminate to the larger BTAF group. When the results are in, it’d be a perfect intern project to assemble results in a slide show and do some data visualization. Happy to donate our intern time towards that task.

     

    Best, Mary

     

    Mary Leciejewski
    Zero Waste Manager

    Pronouns: She/Her/Hers 

    Facilities Operations and Development, Sustainability & Strategic Services
    1130 Service Building Annex | 2578 Kenny Road, Columbus, OH 43210
    (O) 614.292.3637
    fod.osu.edu/sustainability

     

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