ArcGIS created an interactive map displaying the information of farms across the State of Illinois. The farms displayed on this map offer direct sales of meat and produce to local markets and consumers on-site.
Try out citizen science in your own backyard! Melody Arnold, President of the Macon Co. chapter of the Audubon Society, will describe the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, happening February 12-15 this year. She will talk about a few of the birds that we are most likely to see in this area and how we can participate. This program is brought to you by East Central Illinois Master Naturalists.
February 1, 12 PM
Amanda Christenson • Cooperative Extension Service
From: Stumpf, Andrew J
Sent: Friday, March 1, 2019 4:20 PM
To: Erickson, Keith R; White, Morgan
Subject: Geothermal project at the Woody Perennial Polyculture site for new greenhouse and existing Greenhouse 1506 Building
Hi Keith,
In getting an initial estimate for the design and build of a geothermal system for a new and existing greenhouse at the Woody Perennial Polyculture site we are being asked to what extent the electrical system will need to be modified/upgraded. Does it require utilizing the existing infrastructure and extending the current line to an utility shed, or will there be further modifications needed to the electrical system.
We have been advised so a far that the heated greenhouse would need up to 5 heat pumps, which would be located in the shed. Another heat pump would be installed in Greenhouse 1506 building, to be used just for summer cooling. Overall, the proposed geothermal borefield would provide 2-tons of heating and cooling.
Currently, both greenhouse have propane heaters, and the 1506 building has a evaporative cooler on the west wall. Since we could not get a design and build of the geothermal system done in the summer/fall, Dr. DoKyoung Lee installed the propane heater that came with the new greenhouse he purchased in early last year. We introduced the idea of building the geothermal system after he had purchased the greenhouse.
If you could provide us with some information about the electrical distribution system at the site, we would appreciate it.
Thanks,
Andy
Andrew Stumpf, Ph.D, LG, P.Geo
Associate Geologist
Illinois State Geological Survey
Prairie Research Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
After a few delays, the geothermal exchange project at WPP is progressing. Please see the attached report submitted to the Student Sustainability Committee.
Due to the complexity of this project, F&S recommended conducting a feasibility study before installation. It is estiamted to cost approximately $10K and take about one month to complete.
The Student Sustainability Committee allocated $132,550 to install a geothermal exchange at WPP.
This proposal directly funds:
This project seeks to strengthen student understanding of the farm-to-fork food system. This project's main goal is to upkeep, collection, and summarization data from the Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP). The WPP was a student-initiated effort that was established on the Student Sustainable Farm in 2012 with support from the SSC and other campus entities. By completing this analysis, WPP will expand its educational outreach, increase student engagement, and better connect with campus Dining Services. This funding provides student and staff time so that WPP can expand its efforts after a detailed analysis.
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Fresh Press, in collaboration with the Sustainable Student Farm (SSF) and the Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP) site, are aiming to grow student opportunities through individual and collaborative research and public engagement efforts. The money requested in the Farm and Fiber grant will contribute to the acquisition of walk-in coolers, perennial crops, bee hives/equipment, additional paper dry box, a bailer/hay rake, and a bale shredder blower. This equipment will benefit each project at the SSF by increasing farm production and allowing for increased agricultural fiber yield, leading to a growth in paper production. This increased capacity will triple production capacity and allow greater opportunity for university paper commissions and student workshops in Fresh Press facilities at South Studios.
Our spring field day that took place at the end of May was a huge success! Many great collaborations have already evolved out of the conversations that took place among the many visitors that came out.
Check out the video below that summarizes the field day, participants, and the general outreach focus of the WPP Research Site. You can also view our Media page for photos from the field day as well as our other recent activities.
If you missed the spring field day, please join us for one of our summer field days on Friday August 23rd or Saturday August 24th!
CAN'T SEE THE VIDEO? CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT.
The first flush of both red currants and raspberries ripened up this past week, and we were able to harvest our first calories from the WPP Research Site. Once yield and nutrition data are collected, all crops from the site, including the berries harvested this spring, are sold to University Dining Services for use in both catered campus events as well as the student dining halls. When sufficient quantitates are available, WPP crops will also be sold at the Sustainable Student Farm market stand on the quad side of the Illini Union (Thursdays, 11am-5pm).
There are still plenty more raspberries to come this summer, as well as a solid crop of black currants and grapes!
