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Projects Updates for place: Allerton Park & Retreat Center

  1. June Tour at Allerton Park & Retreat Center

    For June, CCNet has arranged and sponsored a tour at Allerton Park & Retreat Center. This tour will take place on Friday, June 25th at 3:00 PM CDT. As mentioned in their monthly newsletter: 

     

    Tour at Allerton & Food at 3 Ravens

    Date: Friday, June 25th at 3:00 PM CDT
    Location:
    Allerton Park & Retreat Center (515 Old Timber Road, Monticello, IL 61856) &
    3 Ravens (108 South Charter, Monticello, IL 61856)

    Join us on a tour of Allerton!

    We will be meeting near the outside patio of Greenhouse Cafe at Allerton Park & Retreat Center. During this tour, Derek Peterson, the Director of Allerton, will show us clean energy installations at the center and we will visit the compost toilet funded by the Student Sustainability Committee. The Clivus Multrum compost toilet system is installed at the park’s Schroth Trailhead, providing park volunteers, trail-hikers, and other visitors the ability to use the restroom in an environmentally sustainable and convenient manner without needing to travel all the way to the Visitor Center to do so.

    Afterward, all are more than welcome to continue your visit to Allerton or join us for a quick bite at 3 Ravens in Monticello, IL!

    Please note that coordinated transportation will not be provided for this event. If you would like to drive to the event, parking is available at multiple locations around the park.

    Learn More About Planning Your Visit (Parking & Accessibility)

  2. Award Letter - Allerton Toilet

    In keeping with recent sustainability projects currently underway, Allerton Park would like to install a Clivus Multrum compost toilet system at the park’s Schroth Trailhead, providing park volunteers, trail-hikers and other visitors the ability to use the restroom in an environmentally sustainable and convenient manner without needing to travel all the way to the Visitor Center to do so. Allerton would like to install permanent restroom facilities at the Schroth trailhead, replacing the need to rent portable restrooms for every outdoor event or volunteer day. The addition of the Clivus Multrum compost toilet will provide Allerton with a much-needed restroom facility located at the Schroth Trailhead while at the same time providing University of Illinois students and members of the general public the opportunity to learn about the technology available that can help society manage waste sustainably. Additionally, the compost created by the compost toilet may be used directly on park grounds or integrated into the compost system at the Diversified Farm at the park’s northeast edge, augmenting the quality of the present compost system.

  3. Award Letter - Allerton Park Waste Receptacles

    In accordance with the explicit goals of the Allerton Park Climate Action Plan (apCAP), Allerton Park aims to install an augmented park-wide recycling collection system. The project is a critical component of the larger Solid Waste Diversion Plan, currently under development by Urban Planning Masters student, Tony Herhold. The goal of the project is to provide park visitors and staff with the opportunity to dispose waste in an environmentally sound, sustainable manner. By providing receptacles for the multiple waste streams accounted for in the park waste audits performed in the fall of 2014 and spring of 2015 alongside new waste collection protocols, park staff will now be able to recycle or compost waste that would otherwise be directed to the landfill. Allerton seeks funding for nine Super Sorter receptacles form Busch Systems, based in Canada. The four-stream receptacles are built from 66-99% recycled plastic materials and are themselves 100% recyclable. The remaining funding will go toward purchasing indoor receptacles for various office locations throughout the park as well as signage for the receptacles. The goal of the project will be to make it as easy, or easier, to recycle waste than it is to throw it into the landfill waste receptacle. Clear signage signaling what types of waste should be deposited into the specific receptacles as well as deterrent signage (e.g. “LANDFILL WASTE†on trash cans instead of the typical “Wasteâ€) will help to deter improper waste disposal. The goal of this project is to further develop the relationship between the university, the Illini Algae Club and its students, the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department as well as other departments, and the Abbott Power Plant. Using a pre-established waste to algae remediation system used in experimental design, we will apply this system to a real-world use. We will do this through the use of a semester project focused on remediation of university wastewater that can be scaled up into a larger scale project in the future that the club can build off of. Allerton’s goal is to provide the foundation of active student involvement for which our organization can grow.

    The project calls for clear, concise signage and information pamphlets/posters on and around the waste stations. The goal is to make it as easy, or easier, to recycle than to dispose of trash in a landfill waste receptacle (which will still be available), and with access to an array of receptacles for new waste streams, park visitors and staff should have no issues.

  4. Solar Powered Cookstoves Funding Letter

    The Solar Powered Cook Stoves project is an innovative effort to implement cook stoves powered by solar energy. The stoves associated with this project will utilize innovative new technology to overcome some of the key limitations of current solar cooking. Specifically, they will offer high-temperature cooking and grilling while in use while also storing energy for cooking at night or during other periods of reduced sunlight. Once completed, these stoves will provide a clean source for cooking and grilling that does not use fire, gas, wood, or charcoal.

  5. Sustainability Assessment of small-scale Outdoor Wood Burning Appliances

    In this case study, an Outdoor Wood Burning appliance was installed in central Illinois as a biomass substitute for existing natural gas heating.  The location is owned by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is operated under the name Allerton Park.  Allerton Park is a 1,500 acre estate with numerous woodland, riparian, and prairie areas.   This location was selected by the University’s Student Sustainability Committee which disperses student fees allocated for sustainability improvements.  The visitor center and several workshops at Allerton Park used a 1960 boiler/heating unit that was expensive to run and produced excessive CO2 emissions.

  6. Allerton Park Geothermal_Funding Award and Acceptance

    This project seeks to significantly reduce Allerton Park’s net energy usage while, at the same time, promoting clean, renewable energy.  This will be done by converting the facility’s most inefficient and outdated heating and cooling system, located within the Gatehouse building, to geothermal heating and cooling.  As a U of I entity, Allerton Park strives to lead the way in upholding the University’s climate commitment by proactively encouraging sound and sustainable building principles.  As a climate leader, Allerton Park is committed to encouraging alternative energy initiatives, improving energy efficiency, and engaging students in supporting alternative sources of energy. 

  7. Bridge to China Allerton Project_Funding Award and Acceptance

    Allerton Park, located in Monticello, Ill., was previously the private estate of Robert Henry Allerton. In 1946 Allerton Park was given as a gift to the University of Illinois by Robert Allerton as “an educational and research center, as a forest and wildlife and plant-life reserve, as an example of landscape architecture, and as a public park”. Today, the park is used for various purposes, such as business meetings, hiking, and weddings.

    Allerton Park is 4.7 miles away from downtown Monticello and has three entrances to it. One of these entrances is a North Entrance that leads from Old Timber Road. Allerton Park wishes to construct a pedestrian pathway which runs alongside Old Timber Road, connecting the Visitor Centre of the park to County Farm Road, which is connected to downtown Monticello. However, a quarter mile north from the visitors center the path is obstructed by a creek, which is difficult to cross. Allerton Park needs a solution that would help connect the two ends of this path over the creek. They wish to construct a bike path that would connect all three entrances of the Park and be a form of transportation within the park. Allerton Park wishes to draw visitors towards the park via a safe and sustainable transportation method and to promote a positive relationship between users and the natural environment. Also, this bridge project will assist the student organization, Bridge to China, to build sustainable bridges in future bridge projects in China.

  8. Allerton Geothermal Project Funding Letter

    This proposal seeks to install a geothermal system at the Evergreen lodge and Retreat Center. The Evergreen Lodge is a 2828 sq. ft. structure used as lodging facilities for retreat center guests. The installation will result in energy savings of ~ $2,000 annually and provide the University with experience in handling geothermal installations – none of which are currently installed at the University. This project is also being supported by grant funds from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunities. Committee funds will be utilized for purchase and installation of equipment, such as a ground source heat pump unit, as well as drilling of borehole heat exchange pipes. Additionally, Allerton park has agreed to install an on-site educational display about geothermal energy. The Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of funding a grant in the amount of $18,000.

  9. Green Allerton Wood-fired Boiler Funding Agreement

    The goal of this project is to replace a natural gas heating system at Allerton Park with an Outdoor Wood-fired Boiler System. This replacement will eliminate considerable CO2 emissions from the current system and result in substantial cost savings. The use of a renewable resource (wood) in place of a non-renewable one (natural gas), combined with the greenhouse gas emissions reduction will help increase campus sustainability, thus the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of funding the full requested amount of $25,500.