As part of the Lighting Retrofit #5, 20 T-12 fixtures in the FSI Hazmat Storage Building were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 2,278 hours. The simple payback for this project is 6.64 years.
As part of the Lighting Retrofit #5, the remaining 5,646 T-12 fixtures in the Main Library were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 849,998 hours. The simple payback for this project is 3.11 years.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be celebrating Earth Week on April 16-20. Several exciting activities are being planned for the week. We hope you will join us in celebrating!
The One Shirt National Collegiate Clothing Challenge - The ARC and CRCE will be collecting clothing to be donated to local charities!
9:00am – Noon – Boneyard Creek Community Clean Up Day
Join us to protect our local creeks and lakes to ensure a healthier community. Volunteers pick-up litter, remove non-native plants and install stormdrain medallions.
Schedule:
9:00 a.m.: Check in begins at Scott Park, 207 E. Springfield Ave., Champaign, or remote sites.
9:00 a.m. to Noon: Work time! Activities are all around the community.
Noon: Lunch at Scott Park!
Check-in at Scott Park unless you have been told to go to remote check-in site.
What should I wear/bring for the event?
Wear closed-toe shoes (no flip-flops), long pants recommended. If you'd like, bring a filled water bottle. You can refill it at the Scott Park registration site. Wear last year's orange t-shirt if you have one - reduce, reuse, and recycle!
Thank you for making our community waterways healthier!
1:30-3:30pm - ICAP Forum/Review
I-Hotel and Conference Center - Chancellor Ballroom
At the iCAP Forum, the Office of Sustainability will present a status update about progress towards meeting our commitments in the Illinois Climate Action Plan. This will include a broad overview of the various initiatives that are currently underway and a summary of the next steps in this process. After the presentation, participants will be asked to work in groups to provide feedback about setting priorities for further iCAP implementation. As stakeholders in this campus-wide effort, all members of the campus and community are welcome to attend the iCAP Forum and participate in the discussions.
4:00-5:00pm - Green Building Presentation
University YMCA
Want to learn more about the most cost effective way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and lower building operating costs? Come hear Kristine Chalifoux of the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center(SEDAC) present a primer on energy and how buildings use it. She will discuss the costs of energy from different sources(including efficiency), the "top ten" energy efficiency measures for new and existing buildings, and the strengths and limitations of the LEED process in producing energy efficient buildings. "The only guarantee is that a building won't perform the way you expect." This presentation will provide valuable information for anyone considering a career in designing buildings or their systems. Find out more about SEDAC's work here. Organized by the U.S. Green Building Council Students-UIUC and Students for Environmental Concerns.
6:30-9:30pm - CyclingSavvy Course - Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling
Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Auditorium
Free and open to all 15 years and older, regardless of cycling experience.
Using guided discussion along with photos, illustrations, animations and videos, this classroom course provides all the knowledge you need to drive your bike safely and confidently in traffic. Knowledge of the Law covers the legal rights and responsibilities of cyclists. Knowledge of Bicycling Safety shows that cycling is safe and that understanding the causes of bicycle crashes and how to avoid them makes cycling safer still. Knowledge of Traffic Cycling Problem Solving examines a variety of traffic cycling situations and how a savvy cyclist negotiates them.
Follow-up on-bike CyclingSavvy sessions will be held in Urbana on Saturday, May 5. For more information, see CyclingSavvyIllinois.notlong.com.
8:30am-4:30pm: Water in a Changing World: A Comparison of Midwest and European Approaches
I Hotel and Conference Center, Champaign, IL
Water@leeds is the largest university-based water research center in the UK. A team of scientists from the University of Leeds will participate in a workshop with Illinois researchers to compare different approaches to address climate uncertainty and the impacts on water resources. The format will feature short presentations followed by panel discussions on the following:
The workshop is supported by a grant from the European Union Center of Excellence. Other sponsors include the Illinois State Water Survey, the University of Leeds, the Prairie Research Institute, the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, and the Office of Sustainability.
For more information contact, George Czapar gfc@illinois.edu
4:00pm-5:00pm - Speaker Panel - Environmental Ethics
Asian American Cultural House
Come hear University Professor Madhu Viswanathan and Pastor Steve Shoemaker speak about the link between the environment, religion, and ecology.
8:00pm-10:00pm - Movie showing - Wall-e
On the Quad if weather permits or Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Auditorium
http://www.facebook.com/events/386697074696703/?notif_t=plan_user_joined
11:00am - 3:00pm - Bike Blender
On the Quad
Made from vegan, organic ingredients, you can make your own smoothie using our bike blender! A bike will be attached to a blender so that when pedaled, activates the blades of the blender. Smoothies will be made by letting students “pedal” their own. Smoothies will be sold for $2. Come get a refreshing, sustainable drink between classes!
11:00am-3:00pm - Globe/Picnic for the Planet
On the Quad
Come enjoy another day of the Globe while having a picnic on the quad! Bring your lunch and celebrate the planet we live on, the food it provides, and the people with whom we share it.
12:00n-1:30pm - Permaculture a Dangerous Enterprise
Illini Union, room 210
The presentation will be followed by questions and a 30 min reception
Mark Shepard farms and teaches in south western Wisconsin where he has been building a 106 acre permaculture paradise for over 15 years. The farm is a diversified venture that is growing ideas and community culture along with a polyculture of plants, animals and enterprises. Over 250,000 trees have been planted by the keyline technique in the beautiful coulee district of Wisconsin. Trees and market garden patches are planted on contour to retain water via a network of small pocket ponds and spreader swales that slow and spread rain water and protect the land from erosion. His farm embodies the radical idea of managing a perennial food ECOLOGY, which means that all of the rules of ecology apply. According to Mark “When conventional disturbance ceases, (stop the plow and herbicides) a site begins to aggrade... soil fertility increases, organic matter increases, soil life diversity increases, nutrient cycling improves, plant and animal populations and diversity increase. Pests and diseases come into their "natural" population cycles and levels. What ends up happening is that input costs (tillage, herbicide, fertilizer, pest control, disease control) decline. When your input costs approach zero, your net profitability increases”. Mark is encouraging young farmers to contribute to this vision and he backs this up by supporting ‘collaborative enterprisers’. Aspiring permaculture entrepreneurs learn through doing as they design and implement projects on the ground. In his talk, Mark will explain how and why his permaculture paradise differs from traditional permaculture, how it is a force for good and, explain how he is spreading this dangerous idea through collaborative enterprisers. Attend this event to learn about his edible woody crops nursery, and how growing trees shrubs, vines, and canes to produce food, medicines, fuels and fiber are revolutionizing agriculture in nature's image while simultaneously revitalizing culture, stabilizing the economy, and restoring the environment.
Sponsored by: Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program (ASAP)
3:00pm-5:00pm - Environmental Expo
Courtyard Cafe inside the Illini Union
The Environmental Expo will be an exhibit of campus RSOs, organizations, and foundations that help to promote and attain sustainability on and off campus. Come see what “green” groups Illinois has to offer.
3:00-6:00pm: Public Engagement Symposium: Transforming Our Society
Activities and Recreation Center (ARC)
Your participation will provide faculty, staff, students, and community partners the opportunity to share innovative ideas and approaches to community engagement activities. We hope you will learn from, support, and celebrate the quality and variety of our scholarly and creative community engagement efforts. It is our hope to enlighten, educate, and inspire; to strengthen relationships; and to develop a culture of engagement across the campus and local communities. The Symposium is free and open to the public.
8:00pm - Benefit Concert
Canopy Club
Come see the Ragbirds, the Great Divide, and Jaik Willis in a performance at Canopy Club. The concert will be benefitting the University YMCA as they help to fund Students for Environmental Concerns’ projects toward a more sustainable campus and world. Tickets will be sold $8 in advance and $10 at the door.
11am-3:00pm - Globe
On the Quad
Come get your picture taken and write your Earth Week pledge and put it on the globe!
5:30pm - Keynote Speaker Majora Carter - Home(town) Security
NCSA , room 1122
Come hear the visionary voice of Majora Carter speak on environmental equity and the work she has done to lead environmental and economic development.
http://www.facebook.com/events/366608156715201/
12:00pm - Coal-Free Summer Celebration - Beyond Coal
At the tennis courts across from Abbott
On Friday, April 20th, at noon, SECS’ Beyond Coal group and Facilities and Services(F&S) will be hosting a ‘Coal Free Summer Celebration’ to celebrate the fact that Abbott Power Plant will not burn coal over the summer, and encourage the campus to further reduce coal use and move completely beyond coal. Come here information about campus coal use and how it can further be reduced from students from SECS, scientists from Prairie Rivers Network, Professor Brian Deal of Urban Planning, and F&S, and sign petitions to show support of going beyond coal on campus. Free food! Basketball courts at Oak and Gregory(across from Abbott)–meet at the YMCA at 11:30 to walk over as a group, or take the Yellow South from campus.
9:00am-1:00pm - Community Electronics Collection for Earth Day!
Atkins Building Parking Lot - 1800 S. Oak Street (NE corner of Oak and St. Mary's)
Keep the Earth Clean and Green this Earth Day!
Mervis Industries, WICD and the Illinois Green Business Association are hosting this free event to reduce the amount of old electronics sent to landfills. Collection will be open to the community.
Accepted Items: Computers, servers, network devices, monitors (CRT and Flat screen), printers, tv's, vcrs, dvd players, stereos, copiers, cell phones and smart phones.
**We DO NOT accept speakers or microwave ovens.
1pm – Earth Day Prairie Work Day
Florida Orchard Prairie Site
Come help Red Bison, Students for Environmental Concerns, and Alternative Spring Break work on transplanting some native plants that RB/SECS have been growing in the campus greenhouses to our own campus’ prairie site.
Sponsors:
Students for Environmental Concerns, Office of Sustainability, Environmental Change Institute, ARC, Illini Union, University of Illinois Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, School of Architecture, College of Business, Center for Advanced Study, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institute for Computing in the Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, School of Earth Science and the Environment, College of Engineering, Office of Equal Opportunity and Advancement, I-TOPP project, Department of Geography, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Prairie Research Institute, Office of the Provost, Social Dimension of Environmental Policy Initiative in the Beckman Institute, funded in part by SORF, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research; Action Research Illinois; Center for the Advancement of Sustainability Innovations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
As part of the Lighting Retrofit #5, 2,711 T-12 fixtures in the Natural Resources Building were replaced with more energy-efficient T-8 fixtures. This switch will incur an Annual kWh Savings of 424,466 hours. The simple payback for this project is 2.2 years.
The Office of Sustainability will be hosting the 2011 Sustainability Week on November 1-4. There will be a variety of exciting campus and community events planned throughout the week.
There will be a poster session on November 1-3 from 12-6pm at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Winter Garden, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign. We invite University of Illinois faculty, staff, and students working on sustainability education, research, outreach, and operations to present a poster or art display at this open session.
There is no charge to present and you do not need to staff your poster during the session. We sincerely hope you will participate this year.
Tuesday, November 1st:
10am-2pm: Free Bike Repair: Volunteers will be on hand to evaluate your bike and do simple maintenance. North of Henry Admin Building on the Quad
12pm: Garden walk with Diane Anderson, Research and Education Specialist in Crop Sciences and Michele Guerra, Director of Wellness Center: The walk features Red Oak Rain Garden, Illini Grove, Idea Garden, Sunken (Hartley) Garden, Japan House Gardens, new Arboretum trails.The group will meet at the main entrance of the Campus Recreation Center East Building, 1102 W. Gregory Drive.
12-6pm: Sustainability Poster & Art session: ARC Winter Garden, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign
4-6pm: Sustainable Student Farmer's Market: The farmer's market will provide fall produce for sale from our student farm on the University of Illinois campus. ARC Winter Garden, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign
6pm: Recyclables Costume Contest: Use your imagination and come up with a homemade costume out of recyclable materials. Prizes will be awarded. Refreshments following. ARC Winter Garden, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign
6:30pm: Latrelle Bright, Director, performer and arts advocate in the Department of Theatre will be performing a solo performance piece "matter": Graduate Dance Center, East Art Annex 2, 1206 W. Peabody Drive, Urbana
Wednesday, November 2nd:
12-6pm: Sustainability Poster & Art session: ARC Winter Garden, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign
1:30-3:30pm: "iCAP Forum" open house: A review and progress report of the University's Climate Action Plan, originally signed May 2010. Participants will be able to provide feedback, suggestions, and comments. Illini Union, 1401 W. Green Street, Urbana, Rooms B&C
4pm: Quad walk with Chancellor Wise: The walk will feature sustainability projects on the quad.Michele Guerra, Director of the Wellness Center will be leading the walk. The group will meet outside at the south entrance of the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green Street, Urbana.*This is an “approved event” for civil service employees. Employees may attend, without loss of pay or having to charge a benefit, with prior supervisory approval and operations permitting.*
6:30-9:30pm: CyclingSavvy traffic cycling course with Gary Cziko and Carl Stewart: ARC Auditorium, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign
Thursday, November 3rd:
11am-1pm: Sustainable Student Farmer's Market: The farmer's market will provide fall produce for sale from our student farm on the University of Illinois campus. 57 North, Ikenberry Dining Hall, 301 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign
*Bookstore remote sales stations selling books related to sustainability
12-6pm: Sustainability Poster & Art session: ARC Winter Garden, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign
1-3pm: Facilities & Services presentations about Utility Rates, Net-Zero Buildings, and Campus Planning: Illini Union, 1401 W. Green Street, Urbana, Room B
4-5:30pm: Green Career Panel with Chris Pyke, Vice President Research at USGBC. Join Chris and other professionals in the green industry to discuss recent and future trends in this growing career path. Other participants include: Bart Hagston, Environmental Sustainability Manager at City of Urbana, Lacey Rains Lowe, Planner at City of Champaign, Wayne Wargo, Site Director at Abbott Nutrition, and Cassie Carroll at Illinois Green Business Association: Asian American Cultural Center, 1210 W. Nevada Street, Urbana
4:30-8pm: Dining Services 8th Annual Chef's Challenge: This year’s event will be a mystery box theme featuring proteins provided by the Meat Sciences Lab. They will also be providing a pantry to each team to cook with featuring local products. There will be six teams competing from Catering, PAR, IKE, LAR, ISR, and Busey. Each team consists of a chef/coach and two full time dining employees.Ikenberry Dining Hall multipurpose room, 301 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign
7pm: Chris Pyke, Vice President Research, U.S. Green Building Council: “Accelerating Green Building Market Transformation with Information Technology" will be speaking at Newmark Hall, room 1310, Stoughten Street, Urbana ** Chris Pyke is part of the Sustainable Innovations Seminar Series, a collaboration between the University of Illinois and ERDC-CERL-CASI**:
Friday, November 4th:
2:30-3:30pm: Students Sustainability Chat with Chancellor Wise: As part of the Chancellor’s listening and learning tour the sustainability related RSO’s have been invited to give short presentations. There will also be time for questions and answers. University YMCA, Latzer Hall
Shoe Donation:
The ARC and CRCE will be collecting shoes throughout the week to donate to local charities. Please stop by one of the locations below.
ARC - 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL
CRCE - 1102 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL
We look forward to seeing you at Sustainability Week!
Co-sponsored by: Campus Recreation, Facilities & Services, Illini Union, University Housing, and the Wellness Center.
Each year, our campus celebrates Earth Day with a week full of activities. The Office of Sustainability collaborated with student groups in planning and organizing events for Earth Week 2011. The Earth Week celebration was intended to widen sustainable practice awareness to the campus community. The events of the week showcased many organizations that promote sustainability, engaged students to be more involved in sustainable efforts, allowed students to use sustainability in their own lives and also included entertainment to celebrate Earth Day. Michael Ableman (Sustainable Canadian Farmer) visited campus to share his life experiences with the students and community. The week included workshops, a clothing swap and an organization fair showcasing RSO’s and other units that practice sustainability. Planning for Earth Week 2012 will begin during the fall semester. Would you like to help? Please let us know!
The highly attended Sustainability Week 2010 shed green light upon campus last week! The former president of Greenpeace USA, John Passacantando, and author Jeff Biggers inspired and informed students, faculty, and the community. Tours and workshops showcased some of the University’s most green spaces and initiatives, while local sustainable food events tickled our taste buds.
Green light Let's GO
From October 25 – 29, 2010, the inaugural Sustainability Week shed green light upon campus movements and activities. Students, faculty and the community attended. Chancellor Robert A. Easter showed his support for the week with his opening speech on Monday before introducing Jeff Biggers, author of "Reckoning at Eagle Creek, the Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland" kicked off the week on Monday with impassioned testimony revealing the tale of the destructive uprooting of natural habitats and families in Illinois throughout history by the coal industry. His theatrical performance had the audience pinned to their seats, appealing to various emotions. After, farmers from various counties, a representative of the Champaign County Board and the Prairie Rivers Network publically brainstormed ways to combat the potential depletion of the Mahomet aquifer, our main source of drinking water, by an incoming coal company from Carlisle, Indiana.
Thursday, John Passacantando, the former president of GreenPeace USA, met and interacted with students at a Q&A Workshop at the YMCA. Students voiced their confusions and concerns regarding environmental issues and "greenwashing"; Passacantando clarified the political hurdles and shortcomings of our system, shared his expertise and experience, and provided authentic and honest answers. Later, he presented an inspiring keynote address providing attendees with purposeful facts and lively anecdotes regarding his time as an environmental activist and leader of the largest environmental organization in the world. View videos from Keynote: Part 1 and Part 2
In Good Green Graces
The week also showcased some of the University's most progressive green spaces; the Business Instructional Facility, the Student Sustainable Farm, Ikenberry Commons, the Art Annex, the Waste Transfer Station, theCampus Bike Plan, just to name a few.
The Common Ground Food Co-Op hosted a cooking class offering not only savory recipes, but also ones that cater to sustainability and budget constraints. The Sustainability Fair, held at the Union, boasted a mosaic of booths and tables explaining the latest news and accomplishments of organizations on campus and in the community. The Electric Vehicles Club showed off the newest cutting-edge models available, complete with friendly members providing information on safety, speed, and practicality.
The Finale Celebration, held on Friday at the Art East Annex 2, showcased the new dance floor, designed and built by architecture and dance students from the former IMPE Gym 4 floor before the ARC renovation. Chef Benjamin prepared a delectable variety of seasonal fall dishes using local foods. Guests enjoyed hors d'œuvres such as Curtis Apple Orchard and goat cheese crostinis, filet de boeuf with caramelized onions and bleu cheese, a bruschetta bar with fresh spreads, a pumpkin cheese ball with apple slices, chocolate truffles and hot apple cider as they awaited the raffle drawing. Prizes were distributed to 39 lucky winners, the grand prize being a freshly finished bike from the Campus Bike Project.
Gear into Green
As the year continues, we all may find ourselves in a few traffic jams—juggling school, jobs, internships, activities and our general lives! Sustainability Week encouraged the community not to turn a blind eye to the environment in which we thrive. Keep in mind the processes behind being able to fuel up your car, take a shower, heat your room, and drink clean water. Keep track of the actions institutions like the University of Illinois take to preserve our environment. And most importantly, do your part. Get informed. Get involved. The light is green!
Lauren Turk
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MA European Union Studies 2012
BA French Commercial Studies, Communication 2010
University of Illinois Office of Sustainability, Graduate Assistant
Student Sustainability Committee Intern, Solar Energy
Sustainability Week 2010 Communication Coordinator
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Photos from Sustainability Week 2010
Videos from Sustainability Week 2010:
- Chancellor Robert A. Easter - Sustainability Week Kickoff
- John Passacantando - Part 1
- John Passacantando - Part 2
- Jeff Biggers
- Ikenberry Dining Hall Sustainable Practices
For the complete list of events, please click here.
Tim Hoss: Our First Green Hero
The year was 1987. In just a few hours on the Quad, members of Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) got over 2,000 signatures on a petition to encourage campus leaders to start a recycling program at the University of Illinois. Campus leaders agreed it was a good idea, and an advisory task force of students, faculty and staff was given the charge to study what it would take to set up a campus-wide recycling program. After reviewing the task force's 170-page report, campus leaders approved approximately $650,000 to start a recycling program, which was to be set up over a 5-year period. Grants from various state agencies contributed the other resources needed to cover the final $1 million price tag.
Tim Hoss, with a lot of help from students, was able to get a recycling program that serviced over 200 buildings on campus operational in about two years. And since 1989, Tim Hoss, Coordinator of Campus Waste Management, operated a comprehensive recycling program at the University. In 1995, $1.3 million was spent on a material processing addition to the Waste Transfer Station (WTS). When it opened in November 1997, the University's Material Recovery Facility was one of the first state-of-the-art recycling-sorting facilities on a university campus in the nation.
Fast forward to 2010. Everyday two trucks from the WTS collect waste paper, and another truck collects cardboard twice daily from around campus. Recovering recyclable material from the University's waste stream is no small job. The WTS collects waste from thousands of recycling bins and 250 dumpsters. Except for the waste from University Housing (which runs its own program), all wast
e on campus comes to the WTS. Once back at the recovery facility, all of the material gets sorted: equipment, construction waste, and non-recyclable materials are removed. Recyclable materials such as cardboard, paper, aluminum, and plastics are all sorted out and placed into storage bunkers. Tim is quick to point out that it takes a team of people to get the job done including: 5 drivers, 2 operating engineers, 4 laborers, and 6 workers from the Developmental Services Center in Champaign who help with the sorting.
Once sorted, the materials are compressed into large bales and sold. The WTS generated about $500,000 in revenue during fiscal year 2008, and saved the University over $200,000 in landfill costs. In 2008, the WTS recycled: 838 tons of cardboard, 1,236 tons of paper, 21 tons of plastic, 41 tons of aluminum, 625 tons of scrap metal, and 325 tons of pallets. Through these efforts, the Un
iversity diverted 48.8% of our waste stream from landfills.
Tim retired from the University in January 2010. But he still has great ideas for how the University can continue to lessen its impact on the environment. When asked what he'd like to see happen in future recycling efforts on campus he had two ideas:
1) Start a comprehensive organic waste management program, and
2) Restructure the way that surplus equipment is disposed.
Tim Hoss made a tremendous positive impact while he was here at the University, and so we are happy to recognize him as our first Green Hero. Tim certainly did his part to make our campus a Greener place. And you can too. Consume less. Recycle more.
