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Projects Updates for key objective: No name

  1. protecting the low mow zone by Univ. Primary School

    Associated Project(s): 
    Low Mow Zones
    Bee Campus USA

    Hi Ali,

     

    Great to hear you are seeing milkweed emerging!  I walked the field a couple of weeks ago and at that time they were not coming up yet.  I was also looking to see if any of the milkweed seeds dispersed in January were coming up but again, I think I was too early.  I plan to get out there again soon to check those areas to see if any of the seeds are germinating.  Attached is the map, areas highlighted in red are where the milkweed seeds were added.

     

    My direction to the Grounds mowing crew is not to mow the low mow field until late Nov-December at the earliest or in late February, early March of 2026.  If we happen to have a breakthrough of noxious weeds between now and then we will strategically spot treat or spot mow the outbreak area.  Moving forward, I instructed that before any such action is taken, I must approve it.  If I agree action needs to be taken, I will reach out to you to discuss what we are seeing and what measures we feel need to be taken.

     

    I like the idea of registering the field as a Monarch Waystation but I will have to check to see if that is something we/you can pursue and let you know.

     

    Thanks,

    Ryan

     

     

     

    From: Lewis, Ali 
    Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2025 11:47 AM
    Subject: Low Mow Zone Field by CRC: Monarch Waystation

     

    Dear Ryan and Grounds Crew,

     

    There is milkweed emerging in the field south of the Children’s Research Field. Last summer, this low mow zone field was mowed twice, removing most of the milkweed for which the migrating Monarch Butterfly population relies. Of course, we study the monarch population and field each year and are eager to have the field grow over the summer and through the fall. We know you have noxious weeds/invasive species to contend with on your end.

     

    What can we do to help the field grow over the summer/fall? How can we best communicate about it being mowed after the fall  Monarch Migration comes through?

     

    Is it possible to pursue the field area as a registered Monarch Waystation? If so, we could take the lead on that, pending agreement from whomever we need to ask including Ryan? https://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/

     

    Thanks for thinking with the children/teachers at Uni Primary about this special area adjacent to the school. The field is a true source of delight and freedom for our small school, and we appreciate being in communication with you all about its care.

     

    Sincerely,

    Ali Lewis & Uni Primary School Community

     

    -- 

     

    Attached Files: 

  2. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - May 9, 2025

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Agenda

    • Michael's updates
      • Recommendation page: added a Files column which shows any files associated with each Recommendation Update (e.g. ECONS004 Green Labs Coordinator)
      • SSC Projects:
        • Added column click sorting to SSC Projects table
        • Added ability to add/edit description to SSC Projects listing page
      • Metrics fixes:
        • Metric: Bicycle Registration in Project 529 system: Karina Jang had tried to restore a past Metric revision, which didn't work well and clobbered a few records. We reviewed the data and restored the broken/missing records. I have disabled restoring revisions for now. iCAP Admins and Moderators can view revisions, but cannot restore them. While it may typically work for basic content like text fields, it doesn't seem to work well for connected content like tracking records.
        • Metric: Total Purchased Clean Power: Somehow 2 empty records were created when Zach Bromberg updated this metric. I have made the Value and Date fields required, which should help avoid that in the future.
      • Showing Recommendations & Recommendation Updates on Project pages:
        • Initial version of how this could work available on live site (only visible when logged in):
          • Added Associated Recommendation(s) section in main column
          • List each associated recommendation w/its current status
          • Under each recommendation, show table of its related recommendation updates
        • You can find Project pages with associated Recommendations by visiting a Recommendation (All Recommendations) and clicking on its associated Projects.
        • Example pages:
        • Thoughts? For projects with a lot of recommendation updates, it gets a bit busy...
    • Discussion of how to handle projects with large numbers of metrics (see notes from Sarthak & Michael's discussion)

    Discussion

    • Recommendations on project pages
      • Will have a side channel meeting to discuss how best to cross reference iCAP Projects and Recommendations
    • Discussion of how to handle projects with large numbers of metrics
      • Need better way to display metrics with large numbers of tracking records
        • Michael will return to investigating switching charting systems
      • Need to be able to combine multiple metrics on a single graph
        • Michael had previously started work on this; can resurrect and continue it
        • Will have a side channel meeting to discuss needs in more depth

    TODOs

    • Various follow-up side channel meetings between monthly meetings.

  3. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - April 11, 2025

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Agenda

    Discussion

    • Morgan went through full list of projects to find ones to archive
      • Need to have a larger conversation about what archiving does at some point
    • Morgan's intern Zach is doing a couple things:
      • Filling in recent years of campus water data
      • Looking for duplicate metrics
      • Will mark duplicate metrics as duplicate, then work with Michael on deleting them
    • Linking SSC Projects to iCAP Portal projects
      • Quinn and Helen working on making sure all connections between SSC Projects and iCAP Portal projects are included
      • What to do about SSC Projects without an existing iCAP Portal project?
      • Quinn: 70-80% of SSC Projects have a direct or indirect connection to an iCAP Portal project; a few are really hard to find a connection
      • Morgan: every SSC Project should be connected to an iCAP Portal project. Quinn will keep working on connections, then this summer we can figure out what to do about the outliers
      • Would be helpful to add column sorting to SSC Projects table
      • SSC Projects listing goes back to 2008; aren't there projects from earlier than 2008?
        • That's all Helen had access to in SSC's master spreadsheet
        • Didn't include cancelled projects
        • Morgan will look for info about projects before 2008
        • Sheri may also have info about those projects
        • Some info about older SSC projects may be available in Project Updates (e.g. Projects Updates for Wind Turbine Generator(s) on South Farms)
    • Recommendations:
      • Morgan will have a student work on adding Recommendations
      • Once they're complete, we should remove the manually maintained recommendation links in Projects
      • Next step: show Recommendations & Recommendation Updates on Project pages; Michael will work on a draft version to share
    • Going through project hierarchy: adding/updating information to descriptions for Header projects
    • Google Analytics numbers drop
    • Discussion of how to handle projects with large numbers of metrics

    TODOs

    • ✅ SSC Projects:
      • ✅ Add column click sorting to SSC Projects table
      • ✅ Add ability to add/edit description to SSC Projects listing page
    • ✅ Show Recommendations & Recommendation Updates on Project pages
    • Investigate Google Analytics for April 3 - large spike in visits/users
    • Investigate how to hide Project Status from certain projects which aren't actually projects - they're meant to act as parents for other projects (remaining from last meeting)
      • e.g. add a "Header" Project Status which hides the status

  5. Education iCAP Team April 2025 Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS)
    Sustainability Gen-Ed Requirement
    Sustainability Literacy Assessment
    Sustainability Internship Program
    Sustainability in Study Abroad

    The iCAP Education Team met on Monday, April 7th from 4-5 pm via Teams. First we shared information about the upcoming events during Earth Month. Then we discussed project updates that team members had including AASHE stars data collection, sustainability language in course descriptions, progress towards a sustainability Gen-Ed requirement, a sustainability literacy assessment and outgoing survey, iSEE partnered internship opportunities, and sustainability integration into study abroad. We also discussed student team member ideas like the possibility of composting on campus. The meeting minutes are attached. 

    Attached Files: 

  6. Land and Water April Monthly Meeting Minutes and Notes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Rainwater Management
    Rainwater Management Plans
    Prairie Restoration at Florida & Orchard

    This month, the Land and Water team had their monthly meeting on Friday, April 4, at 9:00 am on a Teams video call. Linked below is the meeting agenda with the meeting notes from what the team discussed. Additionally, a recording of the meeting is linked in the agenda. 

    Attached Files: 

  10. Annual Space Survey

    Associated Project(s): 
    Improve Space Utilization

    Annual Campus Space Survey Opens May 5

    The 2025 Campus Space Survey reporting period will be Monday, May 5, to Thursday, July 3. Once the survey opens, facility liaisons and business managers can complete the annual required inventory through the ARCHIBUS Web Central portal. Please update departmental floor plans and occupancy/room usage data to enable an efficient survey process. More Web Central user accounts may be requested.

    May 5–July 3

    Brett Thompson • Facilities & Services

    sdYZO8qcRAZ+2EqUWp8LSWmAPTFXcjdbO3c5d1zNoDAW6MSm+sB6Fm4qDVeAtjIzMBQaGUpNAQzmTXABCMntaazcjTqCoBA2sbCw1PR7vQzoCga6Gb4yBAL58UwfAZZhAlEwaQmgyqUhwPwMpwCW3QKyMIDukGKIBbhVQZUMrAAAIlVQc2YxX6YAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC This opportunity is available online.

  14. Learn About the Campus' New Rainwater Management Program

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rainwater Management Program
    Water Conservation [ARCHIVED]
    Rainwater Management Plans
    Rainwater Management

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Rainwater Management Program showcases a future vision for the campus that emphasizes the importance of rainwater retention and replenishment. The goal is to transition from the traditional viewpoint of stormwater runoff as a maintenance issue to one that envisions rainwater as an asset to preserve, harness and celebrate. Learn more about the program’s release in a virtual forum on from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 2. Preregistration is required to attend the webinar. The RMP was funded by the Student Sustainability Committee.

    Learn About the Campus' New Rainwater Management Program

    April 2, 3–4 pm

    Betsy Richardson • Facilities & Services

  15. Safety and Efficiency in Fume Hood Selection

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Active Fume Hoods
    Green Research Committee

    Safety and Efficiency in Fume Hood Selection

    Laboratory fume hoods are critical in protecting laboratory personnel from chemical exposure; however, fume hoods may also be the largest energy consumers in a research university campus. The Grainger College of Engineering Office of Safety invites campus facilities, safety and laboratory personnel to an in-depth presentation on the latest developments in fume hood technologies, and how to leverage them to create the safest and most energy-efficient laboratories. More details and the registration link can be found at: https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/30/871793530.html

    March 27, 12–1 pm • 3002 Electrical and Computer Engineering Building

    Edward Chainani • Grainger College of Engineering

  16. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - March 14, 2025

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Agenda

    Discussion

    • [DEFER TO NEXT TIME] Google Analytics numbers drop
    • [DEFER TO NEXT TIME] Discussion of how to handle projects with large numbers of metrics

    TODOs

    • Investigate how to hide Project Status from certain projects which aren't actually projects - they're meant to act as parents for other projects
      • e.g. add a "Header" Project Status which hides the status
      • Remove Project Status from hierarchical listing on theme pages and full project hierarchy listing
    • Archived projects:
      • Add link to Archived Projects on Projects page
      • Hide archived projects from Theme page hierarchical listings
      • Leave archived projects from Project Family sidebar section, for now - may revisit that decision in the future

  17. Land and Water Team March Monthly Meeting Minutes and Notes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas
    Campus Rec Water Conservation Incentives
    Benefits of a Large-Scale Prairie Experiment

    The Land and Water team met on March 7th, 2025, at 9 am on Teams this month. In this week's meeting, the team discussed prairie strips, sustainable water usage on campus, milkweed plantings for pollinators, and activities to participate in this coming Arbor Day. The agenda and notes from the meeting are linked below. 

    Attached Files: 

  20. iCAP Energy Meeting March 2025

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy iCAP Team
    Rooftop Solar Potential
    Solar Power on Campus

    The Energy Team had their March meeting on Thursday, March 6th, from 2:00 - 3:00 PM. We welcomed a new member and had a hybrid meeting. The focus was on the Building Occupancy Engagement Pilot Program. We discussed the way forward and different ways to engage occupants.  Strategies like involving student groups, sending out surveys, and scheduling one-on-one meetings with building managers were discussed. Updates on the solar rooftop project and involving the athletics department in the pilot program were shared as well. The meeting minutes are attached!

    Attached Files: 

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