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Projects Updates for theme: all

  2. TED Talk: Eco Edition Series - February 2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    TED Talk: Eco Edition Series [ARCHIVED]

    February's TED Talk: Eco-Edition discussion was hosted by Professor Megan Matthews. Matthews led the group in an insightful discussion on renewable energy and what really needs to be done in order to achieve a greener future. 

    If you missed the discussion or would like to reference any materials Matthews presented, see the attached file.

    Attached Files: 

  4. Weekly capstone meetings: Meeting from 2/23 and 2/24

    Associated Project(s): 
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    Sarthak and Ethan met with Stacey DeLorenzo to discuss their development of the planning process for the 2024 Campus Master Bicycle Plan which will occur this semester. Stacey approved of a bicycle audit happening in the fall as well as gave some suggestions for some other stakeholders to include such as Ride Illinois. They also discussed more readings to refer to such as the TDM Plan and Urbana bike plan. This semester will culminate with the meeting with CTAC discussing the working structure and plan for the next two semesters. They also talked about other potential ideas to include in the plan such as scooter parking, more bike share programs, and more bicycle education programs. Stacey agreed to meet with Sarthak and Ethan once a month to get updates on their progress. 

    Attached Files: 

  6. Update on drilling

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Battery at Energy Farm

    From: Stumpf, Andrew J 
    Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2023 7:37 PM
    To: Rubin, Joshua ; Mies, Tim ; Lamb, Jeremy ; Klein, Bradley Dean 
    Cc: Lin, Yu-Feng ; Weckle, Amy Lorraine; White, Morgan 
    Subject: UTB at the Energy Farm

     

    Hi folks,

     

    Here is an update. Dom and Todd worked to get half of the hole grouted today and now wait until tomorrow morning to see if the battery floats, or not. Theoretically it should not, but we will see. They will start up again at 8 am if anyone is over that way. Xiaobing and Tony have gone back to Tennessee.

     

    Best,

    Andy

  7. Clean vehicle tax credits

    Associated Project(s): 
    UI Ride
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)
    Decrease Emissions from UI Fleet

    Following is Pete Varney's response to the question from Morgan, "In addition to the Ford Lightning EVs, could we potentially get EV versions of the turtle-top 15-person vans?  Also, is there any discussion about getting Hybrid buses for UI Ride?"

    When discussing EV we have to look at manufacturer availability and operational needs. Car Pool vehicles, 15-pass vans, need to be able to operate both locally and on extended trips ruling out EV due to range restrictions.

    We won’t be looking to replace the first UI Ride bus until FY24/25. We can explore hybrid, but this class of vehicle is different from MTD hybrid buses. Electric may be an option. When the time comes, we’ll discuss with the System office as they put the $$ into UI Ride.

    Thank you,

    Pete

  8. Update from Brent regarding milkweed recommendation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas
    Bee Campus USA

    Jen asked Brent on March 1 about the status of LW004 Monarchs Need Milkweed and ALUFS006 Increased Agroforestry. Brent responded on March 1 with the following message:

    Hi Jennifer,

    On this one, Morgan has our response.  We want to do the work with F&S Grounds, but would like to have the SSC pay for seeds.  I think I have a cost of $2200, which would allow for us to seed a fairly large amount of the low mow spaces on campus.  F&S wouldn’t charge for our time as we would be broadcasting, which isn’t difficult.  The benefit of having us do the seeding is that we would know where it was.  We would also focus on the higher visibility areas to greatest impact.

    If we can get funding soon, we can get the seeds ordered for this year. 

    Thanks!

  9. ALUFS006 update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam

    Hi Jennifer,

    So on this one, Allen Parrish and I didn’t see eye to eye on this and came to an impasse.  In suggesting more trees, he was concerned about the turning movements of the tractors and having trees eventually growing into the swale area.  I didn’t agree as the aerials looked like there was plenty of room for the tractors to maneuver and still be able to plant.  The swale issue too seemed thin.  Ownership and maintenance of the plantings also didn’t seem like something he wanted to take on.  Like I said, we just came to an impasse and I dropped it.  With Allen being gone, we might have a different conversation with ACES.   I will look talk to Doug Wolters and see if he and I can’t sit down and discuss this again.

    Thank you,

    Brent.  

     

    From: Fraterrigo, Jennifer M
    Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2023 4:22 PM
    To: Lewis, Brent
    Cc: White, Morgan
    Subject: ALUFS006 update?

     

    Hi Brent,

     

    Hope you are doing well.

     

    It came to my attention recently that the ALUFS006 recommendation to increase agroforestry was approved and transmitted, but there is no further information about implementation. I would appreciate a progress update. Thanks much!

     

    Jen

     

    Read more about the ALUFS006 Increased Agroforestry recommendation here.

  10. Sustainability Internship Program Independent Study Documents

    Associated Project(s): 
    Education iCAP Team
    Sustainability Internship Program

    Attached documents were generated as part of an independent study on a sustainability internship program. It highlights similar programs, both at UIUC and elsewhere, as well as some identification of local opportunities.

    Attached Files: 

  12. Waste Transfer Station Tours

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Recycling through the WTS

    Molly Black, lab manager at Bevier

    Student group coordinated by Laney Nielsen

    Civil & Environmental Engineering 538: Water Control Process II class, led by research scientist Yalin Li

    Student Sustainability Committee group, led by Hongxu Lu

  14. Sarthak & I (Alec) met to discuss the 2023 Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) Application

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Friendly University Status
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    Reduce Driving on Campus

    Sarthak & I met for an hour on 2/27/2023 to discuss the 2023 BFU application. I checked some answers with him. We determined who we need to ask for some questions and answered other questions.

     

    The current version of the 2023 BFU Application Log is attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  15. Weekly Update: Close to M-F hours

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Another abbreviated week for me, but the staff held down the fort. We’re working up bikes and our staff is peer-to-peer training during slow times to get the new folks up to speed.

    This week I’ll schedule some off-hours staff trainings and a staff meeting to help bring folks along. We’re close to being able to open back up M – F, still have a few more things to iron out. I even found the same open hours poster we used to have for our M-F hours, so we don’t have to order a new sign. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 17
    Sales: $299.30
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $160
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    Tires/tubes: 3 for $45

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  18. February 24, 2023 Illini Lights Out

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    At Friday's Illini Lights Out event, 4,850 light bulbs were shut off that otherwise would have been left on all weekend, saving $738 in energy costs. This also prevented 5.9 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from the average car driving 14,717 miles. That's a huge impact!

    The next Illini Lights Out event is on Friday, March 24th, and you can sign up using this link. Stay up to date with other sustainability-related events and news by signing up for the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) newsletter here!

    If you're interested in learning more about energy, specifically renewable energy, please sign up to attend iSEE's TED Talk: Eco-Edition Series tomorrow, Monday, February 27th at 6pm using this link!

    Illini Lights Out addresses objectives 2.2 and 2.2.2 of the iCAP, or Illinois Climate Action Plan, to increase energy efficiency and reduce building-level energy. Find out about other iCAP objectives here and read the entire iCAP here.

    Illini Lights Out is a certified Green Event! Click this link to learn how to green-certify your own event.

  20. Transportation iCAP Team Meeting 2/24/2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Fleet Replacement Plans

    The Transportation iCAP Team met on Friday, February 24th, 2023 to hear about upcoming research on electric vehicles on campus, discuss updates to bike storage projects, and discuss actions to promote fleet replacement plans on campus.

    Watch the recording here

    Attached Files: 

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