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Projects Updates for theme: all

  1. Archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECE Rooftop Solar PVs

    The new ECE building is designed to include Solar Panels on its roof. The panels will provide about 11% of the building's energy needs.  The infrastructure for connecting these panels to the building electric supply was included in the original design and construction costs for the full building, while the solar panels themselves were funded separately. This specific project is to have a series of photovoltaic solar arrays on the roof of the building with a 300 kW peak power rating, capable of generating an estimated 470 MWh of electricity annually. (This project is distinct and separate from the project to install solar panels on the roof of the North Campus Parking Deck.) The scope of the project is to provide a structure located on the existing roof of the ECE Building which will support 950 solar panels and provide all components to connect them to the building electrical system for a fully operational system

  3. Invitation to Attend Student-Athlete Only Earth Day Celebration

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)

    The following event invite was sent to LeAnn Bird at DIA:

    We invite you, your teammates, and fellow climate-curious athletes to a special Athletes-Only EcoAthletes Community Chat on Thursday the 22nd, Earth Day! During the chat, world-famous chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy and one of the best climate communicators out there, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, will share some thoughts with our group. Then we plan to share EcoAthletes' exciting new path forward, which features our centralized focus on a new Resource Hub. It will equip you and the rest of our climate-active Champions to lead climate action...We've been hard at work on this and can't wait to share! By attending, you'll have the chance to be entered to win exciting prizes and gain opportunities to meet aligned potential sponsors, professional mentors and like minded athletes.

    REGISTER HERE for the event on Earth Day, April 22nd, at 10:15am ET!

    https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?e=__test_email__&u=025a0fa19b0e671467d82f681&id=9e93bbf113 

  4. Weekly Update: Basic Maintenance 101, Friday Ride

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    All, Still not steadily busy as the temps started to dip. We’ll see what this week brings.
    We had our Basic Maintenance 101 class on Wednesday night. Sam held the class and we had 5 people signed up but only 1 showed. Friday Ride was a no-show except for a DI reporter who wanted to cover the event.
    This week is business as usual and our Friday Ride again. I’ll scavenge some freewheels and tires/tubes off some of the junk bikes in storage at some point, too. We are desperately low on used freewheels and can’t really get any new ones due to the sustained supply shortages.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 22
    Sales: $664.50

    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $410
    Tires/tubes: 7 for $26

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    WManager, Campus Bike Center

  5. Free Native Bee Homes from The Bee Conservancy

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA

    The Bee Conservancy, an environmental NPO, is handing out hundreds of free native bee homes across the U.S. and Canada in hopes of boosting native bee populations.

    As part of its Sponsor-A-Hive program, the group is offering 500 native bee homes to community-focused organizations that support food growth, education, or ecological conservation. (Two hundred were awarded in fall and 300 are being awarded this spring.) Eligible groups include community gardens, nature centers, schools, tribal organizations, parks, and zoos. According to Guillermo Fernandez, founder and executive director of The Bee Conservancy, "We’re looking for organizations that share our passion to nurture local bee populations, create habitat for them, and support their communities and local food systems."

    Applications are open until the end of April 2021!

     

    Read more about The Bee Conservancy native bee home giveaway in the TreeHugger article.

  6. Weekly meeting with Audrey Freeman: Tasks for the week of April 12th

    Associated Project(s): 
    Encourage Telecommuting

    The Telecommuting & Commuter Program intern met with supervisor Sarthak Prasad on Friday, April 9th, 2021 to discuss updates on the program and goals for the upcoming week. Over the past few days, they continued to research telecommuting programs at other Illinois universities (UIC, UIS, ISU) and various Ivy League institutions. In addition, the Transportation SWATeam reviewed the questionnaire for the IHR department and other universities. Once Audrey and Sarthak finish receiving feedback, they will revise and finalize the questionnaire and send out the document to the IHR department. They will also collect the necessary information to contact the employees responsible for telecommuting at the Big 10 Schools, the University of Illinois at Springfield and Chicago, as well as Harvard and Yale. Once they gain the contact information, they will draft emails to each of the specified schools and create a google form in case the school is not able to meet over the phone or via zoom.

    Attached Files: 

  7. Careers in Sustainability Panel Discussion 4/9/21

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability at Career Fairs
    Education iCAP Team

    The Career Center hosted a Careers in Sustainability panel which included the following panelists: Roxina Kanchwala (Eco.Logic), John Sinclair (Wisconsin DNR), Andrew Rehn (Prairie Rivers Network), and Savannah Donovan (Urbana Parks District). 57 people were in attendance! Several resources were shared to the group: 

    https://climateinterpreter.org/about/projects/nnocci

    https://skepticalscience.com/ 

    https://www.cleanenergyleaders.org/

    https://grist.org/energy/greentrolling-a-maniacal-plan-to-bring-down-big-oil/

    https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/

    The recording is found here: https://uofi.app.box.com/s/m73kwaloh46tr9pphhwgqm4treblvku0 

  8. Adapthaus inauguration coming soon!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Solar Decathlon

    The Illinois Solar Decathlon team has completed construction of the innovative ADAPTHAUS and is planning an inauguration event. To learn more about this project, visit some of the many links below:

    https://www.solardecathlon.gov/2020/build/competition-team-illinois.html

    https://resourcefurniture.com/inspiration/adapthaus-net-zero-for-the-win/

    https://sustainability.illinois.edu/student-team-awarded-150000-for-sola...

    https://www.facebook.com/illinoissolardecathlon/

    https://dailyillini.com/opinions/2021/01/19/letter-to-the-editor-illinoi...

    https://www.contractormag.com/green/solar/article/21144537/solar-decathl...

    https://twitter.com/Solar_Decathlon/status/1377984161751867395

     

  10. 4/9 Zero Waste SWATeam Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Reuse Surplus Goods and Valuable "Waste"
    Zero Waste Messaging Campaign

    Meeting minutes for the 4/9 Zero Waste SWATeam meeting are attached. The agenda is as follows:

    • Updates
    • Roundtable Discussion
      • Removal of virgin paper from F&S stores/catalogues 
      • Elimination of thermal paper receipts
      • Assessment of third-party vendors footprint (single-use plastics, recyclable materials, etc) in the Union.
      • Student Waste Management Educational initiative.
      • Single-use plastics in vending machines.
      • Reuse of Surplus Goods
      • Battery Recycling
    Attached Files: 

  11. Red Oak Rain Garden Monthly Newsletter: April 2021

    Associated Project(s): 
    Red Oak Rain Garden

    Each month, the Red Oak Rain Garden (RORG) Team produces an e-newsletter to keep supporters updated on everything that is happening in the garden. In the April 2021 e-newsletter, the team highlighted RORG's hosted workshops & presentations, partnerships for grants, social media highlights, and more!

    To read their April 2021 newsletter, please see the attached file below.

    Attached Files: 

  12. Trash Cleanup 4/7/21

    Associated Project(s): 
    Earth Month
    Boneyard Creek Management

    The trash pickup on 4/7/21 was a great success, and a lot of fun too! Thirty people showed up and picked up 80 lbs of trash/recycling that would have otherwise likely made its way into Boneyard Creek! Most groups helped track and characterize the waste. The categories and data are attached.

    Check out our recap video here!

    We made it on the Earth Day Network map: https://cleanup.earthday.org/pages/find-a-cleanup

    Attached Files: 

  14. 2020 Bloom Calendar - Red Oak Rain Garden

    Associated Project(s): 
    Red Oak Rain Garden

    Sad that Mulch Madness is over? You can still watch (most of) those amazing plants 'play' this year in the garden using my 2020 Bloom Calendar as a guide! The champion Virginia Bluebells, which weren't installed until last fall, are in full bloom NOW!

    Check out the Red Oak Rain Garden Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/RainGardenUIUC 

    Attached Files: 

  15. Example program at Ball State

    Associated Project(s): 
    Graduate Certificate in Sustainability

    Now, while you are pursuing the Sustainability Excellence (SEA) credentialing, you can earn Ball State University's online graduate certificate in sustainability at the same time.

    The certificate consists of 12-credit and is offered entirely online. Each course is conveniently offered as a one-credit experience, taking just five weeks to complete. The skills and knowledge to be gained can be applied within the various employment opportunities arising from every degree completion. Cost varies on your state of residence and the number of courses you plan to take each semester. 

  17. iWG/iCAP Team Social Hour - 4/5/21

    Associated Project(s): 
    Topical iCAP Teams
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    Earth Month

    Hello iCAP Teams and happy spring! We are excited to invite you to the next iCAP Team/iWG social hour on Monday, April 5 from 4 – 5pm. The format will look a little different this time. We will be meeting on a cool platform called “Topia”, which will be more conducive for small group discussions.  

    Here is the link for our “iCAP 2020” platform: https://topia.io/icap-world

     Topia will not work on a tablet or phone, and it needs to be on a Chrome browser. Please take a few minutes and click the link above before the event, and let us know if you have any issues. The hour will consist of:

    4:00-4:10 – Welcome and learn about the Topia website

    4:10-4:35 – Breakout groups, visiting the different topical areas based on your interest (not specifically based on your team assignment)

    4:35-4:45 – Come back to the center (central park) and a representative from each group will provide a brief update on what the group talked about  4:45-4:50 – Highlight one of the iCAP projects

    4:50-5:00pm – Q&A, Conclusion

    Let us know if you have any questions. We are so excited to try this out with you in a few weeks. See you then!

    Meredith, Morgan, and Ximing

  18. Weekly meeting with Audrey Freeman: Tasks for the week of April 5th

    Associated Project(s): 
    Encourage Telecommuting

    The Telecommuting & Commuter Program intern met with supervisor Sarthak Prasad on Tuesday, April 6th, 2021 to discuss updates on the program and goals for the upcoming week. Over the past week, they created a questionnaire for the Illinois HR department and a questionnaire for when they begin interviewing other universities about their respective telecommuting programs. Tomorrow, they hope to collaborate with the transportation SWATeam to get feedback on their proposed questions. This week, they plan to investigate telecommuting policies at other Illinois universities (UIC, UIS, ISU) and various Ivy League institutions. They will then plan to narrow down the best schools to reach out to and gather necessary contact information.

    Attached Files: 

  20. Weekly Update: Interview with Buzz Magazine, Fix-a-Flat, Bike Maintenance 101

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All,This week projects to be a busy one as the temps climb into the 70s.
    Last week I had an interview with Buzz Magazine and we had our Fix-a-Flat class on Wednesday evening. It was well-attended with 3 participants. Our first Friday Ride was a no-show as it was still, I guess, a little chilly for most people. Personally, 60 and sunny is delightful weather to ride a bike. Elsewhere, I also worked with Todd to clear out some bikes at the warehouse. One guy came by specifically asking for the Bike@Illinois seat cover. I happily obliged.
    This week we have another after-hours class on Wednesday (Bike Maintenance 101) and another Friday Ride.
    Campus Rec IT came by on Friday and set up our new phone, new number, and email address. I worked with Barry to get this new number hooked into TBP communications. The phone will ring in the lobby, which will be much easier to hear and answer than just having my office line.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 18
    Sales: $677.50
    Memberships: 5 for $150
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $370
    Tire/tubes: 4 for $29

    Thanks!

     

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

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