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  1. Get your office, chapter, and event certified green!

    Associated Project(s): 

    Reduce Energy Use on Campus By Going ‘Green’

    The start of the semester is the perfect time to "green" our campus environment! Visit the Certified Greener Campus Programs page to learn about simple steps students, faculty, and staff can take to improve the sustainability of their workspaces, activities, and living environments through the Certified Green Office, Certified Green Events, and Certified Green Chapter programs.

    Facilities & Services and iSEE have also developed a Greener Labs Inventory Toolkit to help analyze the energy used by lab equipment and identify opportunities for more sustainable lab practices. Together, all of these programs support the Illinois Climate Action Plan's goal of reducing energy consumption and promoting campus sustainability!

  2. EJ Plan Summer 2021 Summary

    Throughout the summer of 2021, I (Kimmy Chuang, iSEE intern, supervised by Meredith Moore) accomplished the following tasks to further the Environmental Justice Plan. Relevant documents documents attached. 

     

    1. Compile contact information for focus groups

    Number and type of contacts were organized into the following:

      1. Champaign Neighborhood Associations (16)
      2. Urbana Neighborhood Associations (8)
      3. Community Groups (10)
      4. Government Organizations (13)
      5. Social Justice Groups (8)
      6. Relevant UIUC Advisory Groups/Personnel (12)

     

    Contacts were primarily found through Internet searches. Many of the groups were identified as relevant during Environmental Justice Committee meetings. Where possible or necessary, I’ve included notes and additional links. 

     

    2. Research other EJ plans to draft focus group questions

    I drafted possible questions for focus group interviews through what I learned from the following EJ or similar Climate Justice Plans:

     

    City of Providence’s Climate Justice Plan

    • First, trained frontline community members in energy democracy through workshops by working with One Square World (equity and sustainability process consultancy). Then, conducted interviews of frontline community members along with citywide survey (survey results here)
    • Favorite takeaway: Must fundamentally change the way policies are created and prioritize historically excluded communities. “Zip codes shouldn’t determine your health or economic outcomes.”

     

    Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO)

    • Also hired consultant to conduct interviews and outreach
    • One of their goals was “Base Building” where they have a local base of families, school/community/youth/labor/business leaders as well as strengthening coalitions with other EJ groups in the region
    • Warren Lavey has worked with Kimberly Wasserman (LVEJO Director of Organizing)

     

    National City Health and Environmental Justice Element (San Diego County, CA)

    • First jurisdiction in California to adopt an EJ element and nationally recognized
    • Contains useful definitions of “healthy food supply” and “universal design”
    • Similar format to iCAP, ends every objective with “why is this important”
    • San Diego county is currently conducting outreach for their county-wide EJ plan with an online survey that can be found here

     

    3. Compile contact information of other municipalities with EJ plans

    For the plans I reviewed above, I collected contact information for each municipality into a spreadsheet. The EJ Committee suggested that we reach out to other municipalities that had successfully written EJ plans to inform our process. 

     

    4. Review local engagement efforts to identify salient local environmental issues

    Meredith and I’s original goal for the focus groups was to identify 4-5 of the most salient environmental issues in our community that our plan should address.These are issues that have been identified multiple times during EJ Committee discussions or through my research:

    1. Flooding (especially in the Garden Hills neighborhood)
    2. Toxic waste clean-up (mainly in the 5th and Hill neighborhood)
    3. Mahomet Aquifer contamination from Clinton landfill (allowing PCBs/toxic waste disposal)
    4. Heating/cooling centers (climate change preparedness)

     

    Through my research, I identified four local public engagement efforts that could be relevant for our EJ plan:

    Champaign County Community Health Plan 2021-2023

    • Champaign Public Health Department conducted 4 assessments, 2 of the following contained engagement with residents
      • Survey 634 community residents about strengths and weaknesses of the community – identified mental health, child abuse, gun violence, and infectious disease as top health concerns
      • 25 community leaders from different agencies brainstormed about major threats/opportunities that they perceived with various issues and filled out a survey. Some issues include climate change, Mahomet Aquifer threatened by Clinton landfill, toxic waste disposal, drought
    • Appendix includes all surveys used
    • Useful maps showcasing racial diversity and other important demographics

     

    Storm Water Management Plan

    • Identified their own EJ areas
    • Contains survey about storm-water specific issues

     

    Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District

    • Currently soliciting feedback through customer survey here
    • May be useful for phrasing questions about environmental services

     

    Urbana Comprehensive Plan

    • Ongoing engagement survey for Urbana’s new Comprehensive Plan, suggested for EJ by Scott Tess

     

     

    Here are ideas from the iCAP as it was listed in the Appendix “Acknowledgements for future considerations” that may be relevant for EJ:

      1. Reduce pollution in Boneyard Creek
      2. Identify places of heavy erosion, such as channel buffers and farms
      3. Implement curbside food and lawn waste pickup program for UC community to decrease per-household garbage volume
      4. Reduce mowing by 10% by 2022 to increase natural areas

     

    5. Start conversations with other community members about EJ

    Other than the Resilience iCAP Team and the EJ Committee, Meredith and I met with the following community members about EJ: 

     

    Gabe Lewis (Planner at CCRPC)

    • Reached out through email and made him aware of EJ Plan efforts

    Jessica Lehmkuhl, James Corbin II (Sustainability Advisory Commission)

    • Met over Zoom, SAC is open to collaboration and want to be a part of our plan

    Cassie Carroll 

    Met over Zoom about Cassie’s expertise in interviews/focus groups. The following are notes from our discussion:

    • Suggested for us to reach out to Dr. Robin Jarrett (rjarrett@illinois.edu) at UIC who has experience in Human Dimensions to develop training for interviewer and more
    • Told us that charettes (multi-day interviews/workshops) had been conducted in Washington Street Basin (possible follow-up item for us)
    • Start with organizations we’re friendly with who have a broach reach and start base building
    • Need to clarify how we will follow up with people after interviews and how much they want to be involved 
    • We should get buy-in from groups so they can actively participate in what we’re working on
    • Possibly incentivize focus group participation through offering lunch etc.
    • Recommended having person from community to lead focus groups, but they will need training
    • They had 7 people actively working at her job where they worked with Ameren to understand how people could be more connected to energy-efficiency jobs

     

     

    Moving Forward…

    In this section, I will summarize what I had hoped to accomplish this summer, why we weren’t able to do so, and questions to consider as the EJ Plan moves forward.

     

    Initially, I had planned to conduct focus groups this summer and analyze the results. However, after discussions with Meredith and the EJ Committee, we decided to delay the focus groups until we had more thorough knowledge about the best way to conduct them. The following are questions we have in mind, but aren’t sure how to proceed. 

     

    1. Scope of the EJ Plan

    1. What is the geographic range of the EJ plan? 
    2. The iCAP cites the urbanized areas of Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy. But since EJ goals may be different from the iCAP goals, how do we define which areas will be included/excluded in the EJ Plan? 

     

    2. Vulnerability Assessments

    1. Geography students working for Meredith in Spring 2021 submitted a report that used available data but did not identify specific EJ areas. 
    2. EJSCREEN, Solar for All, the previous Storm Water EJ Areas, and the Champaign GIS consortium can all be used. EJSCREEN may be sufficient for identifying vulnerable communities. All data and maps gathered can be found here.

     

    3. Possible funding

    1. I researched groups in Illinois that have received Environmental Justice Grants from the EPA. There weren’t very many, but it may be helpful to reach out in the future
      1. Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO) “Chicago Healthy Homes Inspection Collaborative” (2016)
      2. Legal Council for Health Justice “Building Community Capacity to Address Lead Poisoning: Creating a Blueprint for “kNOw LEAD” App Development” (2019)
      3. Center for Neighborhood Technology “Helping the Chatham Neighborhood of Chicago Become Rain Ready” (2015)

     

    4. Ownership of the EJ Committee

    1. Everybody on the committee is very passionate, but since they are all volunteering their time and have other commitments, it is sometimes difficult to determine ownership on initiatives. 

    This update is also attached as a report and was sent to Stacy Gloss, a member of the Resilience iCAP Team, who will be leading the EJ efforts this Fall. 

  3. Update on Registration and Advertising for the 2021 Sustainability Competition for Undergraduates

    Associated Project(s): 

     

    “... We have 12 registered teams so far.

    The registration deadline is Sept. 20...

    We have seen an uptick in visitors to the competition website. Last week we were up from around 50 visitors in the first week of the semester to 2000 visitors in week 3.

    But, those numbers have not translated to an increase in registrations.

    We also have ads in The Daily Illini and on digital advertisement boards around campus. The Daily Illini last week reported 600 visitors a day to our digital ad.

    Students will also be bombarded with social media messages this week. Illinois Public Affairs are doing that for us…”

    -Leon Liebenberg (09/12/2021)

    Teaching Associate Professor
    Fellow: Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
    Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  4. iCAP Team Charge Letters

  5. F&S Announcement about Bike Day events!

    Associated Project(s): 

    Celebrate CU Bike Day 2021
     
    Be a part of two great upcoming bicycle events on Tuesday, September 14. You can participate, volunteer, or do both! 

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign achieved the Silver-level Bicycle Friendly University status in October 2019 because of its ongoing commitment to improving bicycle education, infrastructure, and programs. Visit the Bike at Illinois website to learn more about the many efforts that support bicycling on campus.
     
    Bike to Work Day
    Champaign County Bike to Work Day returns this semester. There will be 17 welcoming stations open between 7 and 10 a.m., with nine on the Urbana campus. Grab a snack and get some free Bike at Illinois merchandise and a T-shirt! To get the free T-shirt, you must register and bring your bicycle! 
     
    Light the Night
    The 14th annual Light the Night, a free bike light giveaway, will be held that evening from 4 to 7 p.m. at three locations:

    • Alma Mater Plaza
    • Hallene Gateway (intersection of Illinois Street and Lincoln Avenue)
    • Campus Bike Center (51. E. Gregory Drive) 

    Participants must bring their bicycles to receive the free light sets; lights will only be installed on bicycles without lights. Volunteers are needed in the afternoon and evening for three shifts. Fill out the volunteer sign-up form to assist. All volunteers will be required to wear face coverings during the event.

  6. Weekly Update: Grand Re-opening on Sept. 16; New hires!

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Another busy week. Only managed to replenish our stock of For Sale Bikes by a few this week but sold them all within an hour of being open each day. Demand for bikes is still sky-high. Accordingly, most—if not all—of the Build-a-Bikes have been claimed. We did receive a couple of viable donations we’ll fix up this week.

    This week, I’ll also be promoting our Grand Re-Opening that’s happening Thursday, 9/16 from 4 – 7p. We’ve got flyers we’re handing out and talking it up to everyone who comes into the Bike Center. Here’s a blurb we can share out to relevant contacts:


    On Thursday, September 16th, from 4-7, Campus Bike Center is celebrating their Grand Re-Opening at their new location on 51 E. Gregory Dr., Champaign, IL 61820. Come enjoy fun activities, games, and a chance to win a free bike! UIPD will be doing an escorted ride around the block at 5:00 for riders who would like to join. There will be tabling from campus and community organizations, and on the basketball court side you will get a chance to make a basket and be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a refurbished bicycle. We plan to give away an adult bike and a child one. See you there!

    We’ve got a couple new hires in the pipeline that should be onboard in the next week or so—fingers crossed.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 105
    Sales: $1,732
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $675
    Build-a-Bike: 3 for $120
    Memberships: 17 for $510
    Tires/tubes: 17 for $82

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  7. University's first ever Bike Shelter installed!

    Associated Project(s): 

    A first of its kind at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a 14’x63’ covered Bike Shelter has been installed and is ready for use in the Ikenberry Commons area between Flagg Hall and Noble Hall. It can accommodate up to 96 bicycles at a time utilizing side stage (vertical) bike racks.

    See attached the pictures from first week of August!

  8. Funding Approval for Resilience Development Proposal

    Madhu Khanna and Ehab Kamarah approved $18,025 of funding from the Carbon Credit Sales Fund for a Resilience Development Proposal.

    "The Resilience Commitment, signed in 2016, was incorporated in the iCAP for the first time in the 2020 version, with a list of seven specific objectives. iSEE is the primary department responsible for helping campus achieve these ambitious goals. We request approval to fund a 20-hour/week contract with ARI to have Stacy Gloss work to develop the structure and plan for completing these objectives. The cost of a six-month agreement is $17,500" (the cost was updated with the new fiscal year due to a salary change) -Morgan White (08/13/2021)

    An email of the approval is attached below.

  9. Red Oak Rain Garden Expansion

    Associated Project(s): 

    The following information is from an email Elaina Brown sent to inform the Red Oak Rain Garden "neighbors" about the upcoming changes to the Red Oak Rain Garden. The full email is attached below.

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

    There will be some prep work near the garden and Dorner Drive Retention Pond. Vegetation will be treated to remove invasive/non-native species to make way for high-quality native plants.

    Starting Sep 13 volunteers will install more than a thousand plants west of the garden. Additionally, F&S Grounds will treat the pond's banks to prepare for prairie/woodland restoration but leave some areas as mowed grass for students to relax and gather in the future as they do now. Finally, at the end of the month, Country Arbors will plant new trees in the area between the garden and McKinley's parking lot.

    In time, these new landscapes will provide pollinator habitat, water quality benefits, and serve as a model for future restorations on campus and throughout the state. You can expect that by spring 2022, your experience of walking through this part of campus will be even better than it is now!

    Layne Knoche, Red Oak Rain Garden’s designer, worked with F&S Campus Landscape Architect Brent Lewis on the attached plans (see the attached images below).

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

  10. International Climate Action Challenge

    Associated Project(s): 

    Are you ready to go from passion to action in 90 days? 

    Be part of the 2nd Annual International Climate Action Challenge beginning August 18, 2021! 

    If you haven't been able to make a big impact yet, don't worry.

    We have a proven method for regular people to step up and make a difference fast! The 2021 International Climate Action Challenge offers a proven process, with video course, live trainings and a fun, supportive global community to keep you inspired and energized. 

    https://www.climateactionchallenge.net/challenge?r_done=1 

  11. Internships and Volunteer Opportunities to Protect the Environment

    From: Liv Clafford

    Hi Professor,

    My name is Liv and I’m with the University of Illinois Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Campus Action club. Illinois PIRG Campus Action is a student activist group working on important issues on campus like environmental protection, college affordability, non-partisan voter registration, and more!

    This semester, we have in-person and virtual, internship and volunteer opportunities for students to learn valuable organizing skills and make a real difference in our community. 

    Can we make a quick 5 minute announcement in your class next week? Please let us know if we are able to do this in person or virtually.

    For the past 40 years we have been working on college campuses to amplify the power of student activism. We know students want to make a difference on important issues like banning single use plastics or making college more affordable. 

    We’re looking for students who are passionate about these issues and want to put their knowledge into action.  We work with student interns and train them to run effective, strategic campaigns.  

    If we are not able to make an announcement, can you send the information below to your students? 

    Thanks so much for the help!


    Liv Clafford

    773-710-4089
    lclafford at illinoispirgstudents.org

  12. Updated list of sustainability projects that need YOU!!!

    This is a list of projects that need students to work on.  It will be updated periodically by sustainability staff members, the last update was 8/30/21:

    • The campus MS4 stormwater permit currently has 49 Best Management Practices (BMPs) that have to be completed annually https://fs.illinois.edu/services/safety-and-compliance/about-the-program . One of the 49 BMPs is a Public Education and Outreach requirement to broadcast or publish one stormwater Public Service Announcement (PSA) on social media, radio, television and/or internet. We currently have a couple on our website and would like to keep it up to date with new materials whenever possible.  https://fs.illinois.edu/services/safety-and-compliance/about-the-program/events-and-outreach. Another opportunity is for a Public Participation and Involvement BMP to discuss and provide opportunity for public input on the Storm Water Program (permit BMPs), climate change and environmental justice topics. This could be met by webinars, PSAs, posters, etc. Contact is Betsy Liggett.
    • Develop informational messaging about SmartWay, get more UIUC departments aware of the program, and coordinate a related student event.  Contact Morgan White at mbwhite at illinois.edu.
    • Support the Champaign County Design and Conservation Foundation (CCDCF) Board with their county-wide efforts for conservation and design.
    • Conduct a campus poll (fall semester 2021) regarding the Top 10 most iconic/significant/impressive trees on campus (including the arboretum). Develop an online survey tool (i.e., an online poll) whereby students and campus employees can nominate their favorite campus trees. Upon conclusion of the survey, work with Jay Hayek to tabulate and rank the results and create a publicly viewable ArcGIS Online StoryMap showcasing campuses Top Ten Trees. Prepare a presentation of results for the annual Arbor Day Celebration. Contact Jay Hayek at jhayek at illinois.edu.
    • Follow through with Facility Liaisons for implementation of recommendations from NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors class: Illini Union.
    • Follow through with Facility Liaisons for implementation of recommendations from NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors class: Huff Hall.
    • Follow through with Facility Liaisons for implementation of recommendations from NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors class: ECE Building.
    • Follow through with Facility Liaisons for implementation of recommendations from NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors class: Armory.
    • Follow through with Facility Liaisons for implementation of recommendations from NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors class: Bevier Hall.
    • CCNet Website: Work with the Champaign County Sustainability Network (CCNet) leadership team to redesign and publish the CCNet website (old version is online at http://www.champaigncountynet.org/). There is a monthly brown bag sustainability networking event on the Third Thursday of each month, but the website hasn't been updated since 2016. Contact Morgan White at mbwhite at illinois.edu.
    • We are seeking a student volunteer who can do tree identification for a series of trees in the Arboretum, and work with the University Landscape Architect, Brent Lewis, and the Superintendent of Grounds, Ryan Welch, to compare the tree identification to the draft tree inventory. Contact Morgan White at mbwhite at illinois.edu.
    • Work on outlining sustainable initiatives that DIA can take in support of the Green Sports Alliance. Contact Meredith Moore, mkm0078 at llinois.edu.
    • Help iSEE develop a Sustainability Literacy Assessment. Contact Meredith Moore, mkm007 at illinois.edu. 
    • Help identify and develop opportunities for intersecting sustainability and the arts (sustainability murals, utility box artwork, etc.). Contact Meredith Moore, mkm0078 at illinois.edu. 
    • Develop permanent posters for the Solar Farm 2.0, to guide tour participants at the site. Contact Morgan White at mbwhite at illinois.edu.
    • Help iSEE work with Student Sustainability Committee grant to expand small scale campus composting. Contact Meredith Moore at mkm0078 at illinois.edu.
    • If you have a project idea, please contact us at sustainability@illinois.edu, or submit it through the iCAP Portal Suggestions page.

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