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Projects Updates for key objective: No name

  1. iSEE New Green Event Certifications

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

    Congratulations to the newest recipients of our Green Event Certification Program!

     

    -Recreation, Sport, and Tourism/Champaign Park District Bunny Open House, Certified March 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events University of Pretoria Delegation Lunch, Certified March 2023

     

    Keep an eye on the iSEE calendar for all of the Earth Month activities coming up in April!

  2. 3-6-23 Internal Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    "Don't Waste" with Coca-Cola
    Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)

    On March 6, UIUC sustainability representatives met and discussed the following:

    Attendance: Tony Mancuso, Julie Wurth, Marty Kaufmann, Jen Fraterrigo, Steve Breitwieser, Shawn Patterson, Travis Tate, Daphne Hulse

    Agenda:

    1. Discussed the results from the 3-2-23 game.
      1. F&S will post for Don't Waste Wednesdays.
      2. iSEE will post on their newsletter in a couple weeks.
    2. Jen to assist with calculating the recapture rate -- Daphne to provide the bottles and cans to weigh.
    3. Email Travis and Steve the document shown (Shawn's calculation notes).
    4. Todd Wilson -- U of I homepage: send the March 2 results.
    5. How do we stand across the Big Ten schools for recycling at athletic events? Investigate

  3. Invitation: Franklin STEAM Academy Earth Day Outreach

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach

    Below is an email exchange between William Villaflor from the Urbana Community Learning Lab and Stacy Gloss:

    I am reaching out to invite you to participate in Franklin STEAM Academy's Earth Day/Month celebration. Throughout the month of April, Franklin Middle School, located in Champaign, is looking to organize a full month of events, guest speakers, and engaging learning opportunities to educate and empower their students to grapple with issues surrounding environmental justice, sustainability, and conservation.

     

    Franklin is open to a variety of topics that would inspire students' passion for the earth and the environment; some examples of ideas include: a presentation on local conservation efforts, a hands-on opportunity to work with plants and animals, creating compost bins, environmental career exploration, etc.

     

    If you are interested in this opportunity and determining whether this will be a good fit for your organization, we would be happy to connect you to the best person at Franklin STEAM Academy. Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

     

    Warmly,

     

    William Villaflor and the CLL Team

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

    Good morning friends and colleagues,

     

    I have learned of a request for participation in Franklin Middle School's Earth Month activities coming up soon. 

    Please contact Will Villaflor....if you are interested and able to participate.

     

    Sincerely,

     

    Stacy Gloss

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

  4. The spring SDA webinar event

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach

    Below is an email exhange regarding a spring 2023 SDA Webinar:

    Dear Wanjhen,

     

    Thanks for Yu-Feng's arrangement. It seems that all invited speaker have agreed that our first SDA webinar will be hold on 8:30am-10:30am, 4/11 in Taiwan (7:30pm-9:30pm CDT, 4/10 in U.S.). Can you help us in announcing the Webinar to our colleagues in the Future Earth Taipei, and also arrange the on-line virtual meeting affairs(invitation letters, lecture fees, links, softwares, login.....) for our international speakers?

    The title for the spring SDA webinar in Future Earth Taipei is "Campus Sustainability Actions as a Living Laboratory"

     

     Here is our invited speakers and agenda:

     

    0. Introduction: Dr. Ping-Yu Chang, (5min.) Professor, National Central University ,Taiwan; Secretary, SDA in Future Earth Taipei

     

    1. Dr. Yu-Feng Forrrest Lin (15 min.), Director of   Illinois Water Resources Center; Principal Research Hydrogeologist in Illinois State Geological Survey; Clinical Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

     

     

    2. Dr. Andrew Stumpf (15 min.), Principal Research Scientist, Prairie Research Institute in Illinois State Geological Survey; Co-founder of Illinois Geothermal Coalition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

     

     

    3. Ms. Morgan White (15 min.), F&S Associate Director for Sustainability, Interim Director of Capital Programs. 

     

     

    4. Mr. Jack Reicherts(15min.), Chair of the Student Board, Illinois Green Fund and Student Sustainibility Committee

     

     

    5. Dr. Jui-Pin (Rubin) Tsai (15 min.), Assistant Professor, National Taiwan University

     

    6. Q&A time (15 min.).......(I saved 25 min. if we have delayed or further discussion)

     

    Thanks for your great helps. Let us anicipate the webinar then!

     

    Best regards,

     

    Ping-Yu Chang

    Secretary, SDA Group in Future Earth Taipei

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

    Hi Ping-Yu,

    I think it might be better to yield my time to Andy, Morgan and Jack for them to talk 20 minutes each.  If you really want me to speak, I can give a quick introduction to on campus as a living lab concept for 3 minutes.

     

    Yu-Feng

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

     

    Hi Team,

    I would like to initiate our discussion by suggest the workflow of this webinar:

    1. Introduction: Ping-Yu (5 min.) – End with our previous and current collaboration as the transition to Yu-Feng
    2. Definition of Campus Living Lab: Yu-Feng  (5 min.) – End with UIUC is a perfect testbed as the transition to Morgan
    3. UIUC Campus Administration on Sustainability as a Living Lab: Morgan (15-20 min.) – End with the student partnership as the transition to Jack.
    4. UIUC Student Actions on Sustainability as a Living Lab: Jack (15-20 min.) – End with geothermal projects as an example for the transition to Andy.
    5. Geothermal research development at UIUC: Andy (15-20 min.) – End with current international collaborations with Europe (Powell Center and Groundwater Special Issue), South America (Columbia and Brazil), Japan and Taiwan (as Ping-Yu mentioned in the beginning) as the transition to Jui-Pin.
    6. Progress and opportunities in Taiwan, and conclusion: Jui-Pin (15 min.)

     

    Please feel free to share your ideas on the workflow, time, contents, and anything else.

     

    Yu-Feng F. Lin

  5. Weekly capstone meetings: Meeting from 2/23 and 2/24

    Associated Project(s): 
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    Sarthak and Ethan met with Stacey DeLorenzo to discuss their development of the planning process for the 2024 Campus Master Bicycle Plan which will occur this semester. Stacey approved of a bicycle audit happening in the fall as well as gave some suggestions for some other stakeholders to include such as Ride Illinois. They also discussed more readings to refer to such as the TDM Plan and Urbana bike plan. This semester will culminate with the meeting with CTAC discussing the working structure and plan for the next two semesters. They also talked about other potential ideas to include in the plan such as scooter parking, more bike share programs, and more bicycle education programs. Stacey agreed to meet with Sarthak and Ethan once a month to get updates on their progress. 

    Attached Files: 

  6. Clean vehicle tax credits

    Associated Project(s): 
    UI Ride
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)
    Decrease Emissions from UI Fleet

    Following is Pete Varney's response to the question from Morgan, "In addition to the Ford Lightning EVs, could we potentially get EV versions of the turtle-top 15-person vans?  Also, is there any discussion about getting Hybrid buses for UI Ride?"

    When discussing EV we have to look at manufacturer availability and operational needs. Car Pool vehicles, 15-pass vans, need to be able to operate both locally and on extended trips ruling out EV due to range restrictions.

    We won’t be looking to replace the first UI Ride bus until FY24/25. We can explore hybrid, but this class of vehicle is different from MTD hybrid buses. Electric may be an option. When the time comes, we’ll discuss with the System office as they put the $$ into UI Ride.

    Thank you,

    Pete

  7. Update from Brent regarding milkweed recommendation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas
    Bee Campus USA

    Jen asked Brent on March 1 about the status of LW004 Monarchs Need Milkweed and ALUFS006 Increased Agroforestry. Brent responded on March 1 with the following message:

    Hi Jennifer,

    On this one, Morgan has our response.  We want to do the work with F&S Grounds, but would like to have the SSC pay for seeds.  I think I have a cost of $2200, which would allow for us to seed a fairly large amount of the low mow spaces on campus.  F&S wouldn’t charge for our time as we would be broadcasting, which isn’t difficult.  The benefit of having us do the seeding is that we would know where it was.  We would also focus on the higher visibility areas to greatest impact.

    If we can get funding soon, we can get the seeds ordered for this year. 

    Thanks!

  8. Sustainability Internship Program Independent Study Documents

    Associated Project(s): 
    Education iCAP Team
    Sustainability Internship Program

    Attached documents were generated as part of an independent study on a sustainability internship program. It highlights similar programs, both at UIUC and elsewhere, as well as some identification of local opportunities.

    Attached Files: 

  11. Sarthak & I (Alec) met to discuss the 2023 Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) Application

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Friendly University Status
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    Reduce Driving on Campus

    Sarthak & I met for an hour on 2/27/2023 to discuss the 2023 BFU application. I checked some answers with him. We determined who we need to ask for some questions and answered other questions.

     

    The current version of the 2023 BFU Application Log is attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  13. Transportation iCAP Team Meeting 2/24/2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Fleet Replacement Plans

    The Transportation iCAP Team met on Friday, February 24th, 2023 to hear about upcoming research on electric vehicles on campus, discuss updates to bike storage projects, and discuss actions to promote fleet replacement plans on campus.

    Watch the recording here

    Attached Files: 

  14. iSEE Quarterly update for Winter 2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Report on Progress
    iSEE Campus as a Living Lab (CALL) Projects
    iSEE Congress
    Environmental Leadership Program (ELP)
    Certificate in Environmental Writing (CEW)
    Grind2Energy
    Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste
    Illini Lights Out
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    Bee Campus USA

    Greetings, Colleagues,

     

    I hope the start of 2023 is going well. I’m reaching out today to send you iSEE Quarterly update for Winter 2022 from the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment.

     

    For more up-to-date news from iSEE, please sign up for our E-newsletter at https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/5031776.

     

    IN RESEARCH

     

     IN EDUCATION & OUTREACH

    • Registration is open for iSEE Congress 2023 — “Addressing Crises of a Planetary Scale: Lessons from Pandemics and Climate Change.”
    • The Fall 2023 Critical Conversation is expected to bring together stakeholders to discuss climate-smart commodities.
    • iSEE’s Environmental Leadership Program for Spring 2023 is already more than past the midway point; check out our student blog for some perspective on the immersive learning experience.
    • Read a Certificate in Environmental Writing (CEW) success story in former Q author and CEW recipient Zack Fishman.

     

    IN CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY

    • Our Grind2Energy video explored how dining hall food waste produces energy and fertilizer; its release spurred coverage by The News-Gazette and WCIA-TV.
    • iSEE’s new, more comprehensive Student Action webpage offers listings for iSEE jobs, volunteering, and student organizations to join.
    • Illini Lights Out fall semester featured RECORD totals: more than 640 volunteers turned off 20,303 bulbs, saving the campus as much as 35,000 kWH, $3,090, and nearly 25 tons of GHG. Spring dates: Jan. 27 (130+ volunteers, 5,043 bulbs, 8,700 kWH, $760, 6.2 tons of GHG), Feb. 10 and 24, March 24, and April 21.
    • At the November Zero Waste basketball game (see video) more than 280 pounds of beverage containers and other recyclables were diverted from the landfill. The next Zero Waste basketball game March 2 seeks 100 volunteers. iSEE partnering with F&S, Housing, Athletics, and Union for a #don’twasteWednesdays twitter campaign all spring. FALL PLAN: a ZW football tailgate.
    • A new Waste Transfer Station video shows the great work by Facilities & Services — but also the need for all campus community members to pre-sort their recyclables to prevent them from becoming landfill waste.
    • Greener Campus certifications in the new year: One new office (Visit Champaign County!), one new chapter (Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority), and nine new events (including Illini Lights Out) certified in January.
    • Read our article about the sustainable features of Campus Recreation and our feature about the new beekeeping club on campus.

     

    Thanks for reading, and best wishes for the remainder of the spring semester!

     

    Best,

    Madhu Khanna

     

     

    Madhu Khanna

    Pronouns: she, her

    Alvin H. Baum Family Chair & Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment

    ACES Distinguished Professor in Environmental Economics

    Co-Director, Center for Economics of Sustainability

    University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

    1301, W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801

     

     

     

  15. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - February 24, 2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Done:

    • Moved "Northeast of Nick Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Lab" Place from Null Island to where I think it should be. Could someone confirm it's now in the right spot?
    • Objectives page: fixed some styling issues (buttons above table, margin above in-page links to account for sticky headers)
    • Added LinkedIn & Reddit share buttons on Project Updates (see this Project Update for example)
    • Added social sharing buttons on Projects (see iCAP Portal project for example)
    • Finished testing improved method for setting a Project's location in the menu system (dropdown list was becoming unmanageable). A couple cautionary notes:
      • You can switch from single-item dropdown lists to multi-item lists by dragging the bar below them to expand them. If you drag bar back up to switch back to single-item dropdown lists, future changes to the items still fill them in as multi-item lists. Just drag the bar back down to expand them again.
      • **Do not select self in last dropdown list** - it will appear to work fine for that node, but it actually loses its place in the hierarchy, which can be seen in its children. If you go back in to edit the node, you'll have to find its location again from scratch.

    Discussion:

    • Should we show a "last updated" date on the projects?
      • Automatically show last time Project was updated?
      • Add field that is updated intentionally when a project's information has been reviewed & by whom?
      • Add a disclaimer about information being correct at the time it was entered?
    • Some social sharing buttons not showing up in incognito mode? (e.g. Carbon Commitment)
    • Question about a TODO: "Collections page: Add image upload option". At a previous meeting we had this TODO, but what was the context? Was it to have a thumbnail for each Collection? Or a banner image?
    • Should we link to "Take Action" project from homepage?
    • Archiving projects
      • Add "Archived" checkbox?
      • Add "Archived" to Visibility options?
      • Add "Archived" to Project Status options? (probably not - this mixes the status of the project itself with whether we still want it to show up on the site)

    TODO:

    • Can we limit access to menu selection for Projects to only certain users - e.g. iCAP Admins?
    • Remove RSS Feeds from listings (e.g. Project Updates for collection: Geothermal Projects)
    • Search: can it be less rigid? e.g. ignore punctuation, understand that "bikes" and "bicycles" are equivalent, etc.
    • Fancy project layout mockups - keep tweaking #3 to improve contrast
    • Discuss metrics
      • Metrics with lots of data
      • Consider how to handle old metrics that no longer track new data. Archive somehow?
      • Fun with math (e.g. combining multiple metrics)
      • Calculated Metrics on Dev site
    • Track down and resolve informational message on full listing page for Project Updates by Key Objective (see, e.g. Projects Updates for key objective: 1.0 iCAP 2020 Illinois Climate Action Plan)

  16. Sarthak & I (Alec) met to discuss the Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) application

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Friendly University Status
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    Reduce Driving on Campus

    Sarthak & I met on 2/20/2023 to go over some questions I had about the BFU application. We talked about the built environment of the campus (question A8), and clarified the total campus enrollment statistic. I also showed Sarthak the log I created to keep track of the my progress on the application, which is attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  17. 2-20-23 Internal Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    "Don't Waste" with Coca-Cola
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)
    Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste

    On February 20, UIUC sustainability representatives met and discussed the following:

    Attendance: Tony Mancuso, Jen Fraterrigo, Shawn Patterson, Julie Wurth, Steven Breitwieser, Travis Tate, Marty Kaufmann, Daphne Hulse

    Agenda:

    1. Basketball game

      1. Volunteers: Marty

        1. Volunteers checking in at the main west entrance?

        2. Place for volunteer coats and bags / giveaway t-shirts?

          1. Marty to check in with SFC

        3. Timing

          1. Move up first shift to 4:30 for bin placement (*note in reminder email*)

      2. Communications: Group feedback

        1. F&S crafted messaging for the upcoming game: feedback? [see word document]

      3. Media: iSEE

        1. Photography/videography: night of the event? (post-game pickup)

          1. iSEE interns

          2. Talk with F&S communications

      4. Post-game feedback: Marty

        1. Did you notice that this was a recycling-focused game? YES/NO

        2. Did you know State Farm Center recycles bottles and cans? YES/NO

        3. Did you recycle your cans and/or bottles at this game? YES/NO/I HAD NO RECYCLABLES

        4. Would you like to see more recycling initiatives at State Farm Center? YES/NO

        5. Did you know you can bring your own empty, clear plastic water bottle, up to 32 ounces to State Farm Center? YES/NO

        6. Post-season survey - could be incorporated here - Marty to investigate

      5. Post-game recycling estimates: Jen, Shawn

        1. It is possible to capture concession data from the single event [see excel sheet]

        2. Quantity of plastic bottles and aluminum cans sold at the event

          1. Estimate the weight of an empty can and bottle

          2. Of the total pounds of recyclables collected, estimate what percentage each material makes up. Percentage and weight, estimate % of bottles that were sold recycled, % of cans that were sold recycled

          3. Purpose:

            1. Part of the Coca-Cola contract (achieve 100% recycling of bottles and cans by 2030).

            2. Helpful to know how far we are until we cap out on possible recycling at these events (“we only captured and recycled roughly 50% of the bottles and cans sold that night”).

        3. Use relative proportions found in the bowl pick

        4. Don’t know the premium area information (missing data), though it is a small proportion

     

  18. Weekly capstone meetings: Meeting from 2/15

    Associated Project(s): 
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    Ethan and Sarthak met via zoom to discuss Ethan’s progress in reviewing relevant documents toward the former 2014 Bicycle Plan and for the future 2024 Bicycle Plan. Ethan has finished reading the 2019 and 2023 progress reports on the bicycle plan and reviewed which projects have been finished and are yet to be finished. Ethan’s main goal is to develop a presentation for a meeting with Morgan and Stacy to discuss the work he and Sarthak have been doing. Also, they must present their plan for the semester in regard to developing the planning process for the next year, in reference to the 2024 Bicycle Plan. Ethan and Sarthak also discussed highlighting the bicycle audit expected to be done in the Fall.

    Attached Files: 

  19. Land & Water iCAP Meeting 2/17

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)
    Water Audit / Inventory
    Monitor Soil Health
    Cover Crops on South Farms

    On February 17th, the Land & Water iCAP team met to discuss the details of a permeable pavers recommendation. The team then split off into breakout rooms to organize future soil and water committee initiatives. 

    Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

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