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Projects Updates for place: Illini Union

  1. Next steps from NRES285 spring report

    Associated Project(s): 
    NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors

    Karl Radnitzer (Associate Director at Uni High) responded to the spring 2022 NRES285 final report with the following action items and requests at the end of June 2022.

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    I have included Don Marrow (our Business manager) and Elizabeth Majerus ( our Director of the School). The part in red is where is where we need money to complete the projects Don and Elizabeth.

    I have read the report. I want to do the following:

    1. I will have 8 paper recycle containers on each floor- clearing marked. Should I spray paint them green or blue?
    2. Make sure all black containers are for garbage/trash only so we don't find contamination in all recycling bins.
    3. The issue with the steel door our previous business manager wanted the wooden doors.  Didn't have much say
    4. I would like all lights motions to switched to sensor LED. Don how do we make that happen?
    5. We realize our windows are not very effective. We need a complete overhaul of our windows.
    6. We did have a group talk to us about food recycling, but they wanted to do the composting inside the building. That was not going to work.
    7. On the land section, I have a boy scout do his eagle project on the area right outside the door on Springfield so that it now looks much better. We also have a club taking care of the small garden.
    8. Don, how can we get more sensor water bottle filters on each floor.. We have one on third, we need on second near 206 and one near 106 N.

  3. NRES 285 Final Reports for Uni High (2022)

    Associated Project(s): 
    NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors
    NRES 285: Sustainability Metrics and Evaluation Techniques

    Below is an email exchange involving the NRES 285 Uni High reports:

    Dear Director Elizabeth Majerus and Karl Radnitzer,

     

    You both are the first recipients of the final sustainability written report and class presentation! For Karl, our team worked in conjunction with Don Marrow, and with you fulfilling his position, we wanted you to have a copy of this report. We hope that you both enjoy the report, and that it helps Uni!

     

    Sincerely,

    John Michelotti

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

    Hi John,

     

    Thanks for the report. I have printed it out and plan to read after school ends (May 27th). Thank you for your work.

     

    Karl

     -------------------------------

    Thank you for planning to read it, and you’re absolutely welcome for our work. Have a good last stretch up until the end of school.

     

    Sincerely,

    John Michelotti

     -------------------------------

    Hi John,

     

    Fist of all I noticed you were in Koinonia House. I have two of my friends that were in that house- Tim and Paul Manning. Do you know them? They would have graduated in the late 70s or early 80s but are very active alumni.

     

    I have included Don Marrow (our Business manager) and Elizabeth Majerus ( our Director of the School). The part in red is where is where we need money to complete the projects Don and Elizabeth.

     

    I have read the report. I want to do the following:

     

    1. I will have 8 paper recycle containers on each floor- clearing marked. Should I spray paint them green or blue?
    2. Make sure all black containers are for garbage/trash only so we don't find contamination in all recycling bins.
    3. The issue with the steel door our previous business manager wanted the wooden doors.  Didn't have much say
    4. I would like all lights motions to switched to sensor LED. Don how do we make that happen?
    5. We realize our windows are not very effective. We need a complete overhaul of our windows.
    6. We did have a group talk to us about food recycling, but they wanted to do the composting inside the building. That was not going to work.
    1. On the land section, I have a boy scout do his eagle project on the area right outside the door on Springfield so that it now looks much better. We also have a club taking care of the small garden.
    2. Don, how can we get more sensor water bottle filters on each floor.. We have one on third, we need on second near 206 and one near 106 N.

    John,

    I will be back in town July 6th. Maybe we can touch base.

     

    Karl

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

     

    Dear Eric and Meredith,

     

    I hope each of your summers are restful and going well! I received this email today, along with one other that I will also forward, from Karl Radnitzer at Uni High. They are responses sent to me, Elizabeth Majerus, and Don Marrow—for some reason you both and the students were not included, but I think it’s because I sent out the files to him. I wanted you both to be aware so that you can appropriately respond whenever you can. I will tell him I’m forwarding this all to you both and thank him for his outlook on making changes. Thank you so much!

     

    Sincerely,

    John Michelotti

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

    Hi Morgan, Paul, Andy, and Karl,

    Last semester, the NRES285 students worked on a sustainability assessment of Uni High. Karl Radnitzer (Associate Director for Student Life at Uni High) expressed interest in moving forward with a few initiatives, as follows:

    1. I would like all lights motions to switched to sensor LED. Don how do we make that happen?
    2. We realize our windows are not very effective. We need a complete overhaul of our windows.
    1. Don, how can we get more sensor water bottle filters on each floor.. We have one on third, we need on second near 206 and one near 106 N.

    I am wondering if any of you have information on how we can move forward with any of these items. If there is someone else I should reach out to, please let me know. Thanks so much!

    Meredith

  8. Eco-Counter set installed and activated at Green and Goodwin

    Associated Project(s): 
    Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts
    Multimodal Corridor Enhancement Project (MCORE)
    Bicycle Counts
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    A set of Eco-Counters were installed at the intersection of Green St and Goodwin Ave by Loomis Laboratory on Monday, May 9, 2022. This was a new set of counters with no groundbox, purchased in October 2021. This set of Eco-Counter was purchased using the SSC funding. These counters were activated on May 10, 2022, and they are now collecting and transmitting data. See attached the pictures of these counters.

    Attached Files: 

  9. Eco-Counter set installed and activated at Armory and Sixth

    Associated Project(s): 
    Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts
    Multimodal Corridor Enhancement Project (MCORE)
    Bicycle Counts

    A set of Eco-Counters were installed at the intersection of Armory Ave and Sixth St on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. This is the last set of old counters that were purchased in 2019. These counters were activated on April 27, 2022, and they are now collecting and transmitting data. See attached to see the pictures of these counters.

    Attached Files: 

  11. Stable-to-Soil Enhancer

    Associated Project(s): 
    Compost at Illini Union
    Reduce Foodwaste

    Landscape Recycling Center sells the product described below:

    Stable-To-Soil Enhancer
     (Formerly Mushroom Compost)
    Up to 35-Gallon Bags/Containers: $7.25 | Bulk: $36/cubic yd



    Light brown and very fine textured material that can retain manure odor for several weeks



    Made from: Hardwood bark, straw material and horse manure from local stables that is composted into a high-quality finished product.



    Applications: Natural fertilizer for non-food crop landscapes. Excellent source of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). In addition, manure returns organic matter and other nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and sulfur to the soil, building soil fertility and quality.
     

  15. NRES 285 - iCAP Ambassadors - Facility Liaison

    Associated Project(s): 
    NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors

    "Hello Elizabeth and Don,

     

    Thank you again for agreeing to serve as facility liaisons for our NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassador Course! We look forward to this interdisciplinary, collaborative, and interactive field course. We sincerely appreciate your willingness to participate.

     

    This is the second week of the course and students have begun to learn about the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) 2020 and sustainability best practices. The syllabus with course schedule is attached; please note that the students will not necessarily visit their buildings until the end of February.

     

    Before the initial call or meeting (set up by the student group), we encourage you to assess your building to identify if there are any areas that the students should avoid walking through or areas in which they might need accompaniment. In March, the Thursday class period will be “reserved” as a time for students to work with their facility liaisons and/or assess buildings. If the class period time (Tuesday/Thursday 9:30 – 10:50 AM) does not work for you to meet with the group, the students will work with you to identify another day/time. 

     

    The students will be provided with the building floor plans ahead of time and both you and the student group will receive the “sustainability checklist”. This list will serve as the foundation for their building assessment in which they will base their final report and sustainability recommendations. In summary, the role of you two as facility liaisons are as follow:

    • Work with a student team (4 students), who will be trained on the Illinois Climate Action Plan. Students will hear from various guest lectures throughout the month February.
    • Students will visit their campus building in March and April to observe and gather sustainability information (e.g., number/location of recycling bins) and make recommendations as a final assessment/report. Building floor plans will be provided to the students by F&S/Eric and Meredith. 
    • Facility liaisons are strongly encouraged to have weekly or bi-weekly check-in calls with the student group.
    • Facility liaisons are strongly encouraged to walk the building with them and/or to be there for student teams to assess certain areas, and discuss/answer questions about the building.

     

    Please reach out to Eric and myself at any time throughout the semester if you have any questions or if we can help facilitate communication or expectations between you and the student group. Thank you so much again!"

    -Meredith Moore (01/25/2022)

    Sustainability Programs Manager 
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)

    Attached Files: 

  16. NRES 285 iCAP Ambassadors Presentation

    Associated Project(s): 
    NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors

    A presentation titled, "How Campus Works", created by Morgan White, was presented on 1/25/2022 in the NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors course.

     

    The topics discussed:

    1. Campus Master Plan and the iCAP

    2. Energy Overview (Campus and Buildings)

    3. Facility Liaisons and F&S

    4. Building Service Workers

    5. Building Users (Students, Faculty, Staff, and Visitors)

    6. How it ALL Works Together...

     

     

    The presentation is attached below.

     

     

     

    Attached Files: 

  19. STARS award finalists

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS)
    Apply for Recognition
    Solar Farm 2.0
    NRES 285: iCAP Sustainability Ambassadors

    The University of Illinois has two submittals that are recognized as finalists for the 2021 Sustainability Awards:

    More information can be found at https://www.aashe.org/news/meet-the-2021-sustainability-award-finalists/. 

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