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  1. Tailgate Recycling Update

    The Zero Waste iCAP Team submitted ZW010: Tailgate Recycling to the iWG on March 22, 2023. On April 19, 2023, the iWG transmitted the approved recommendation to the DIA and F&S leaders, Josh Whitman and Ehab Kamarah.

  2. Native Planting at Burrill Hall

    The following is an email sent by John Marlin on May 16, 2023:

     

    As most of you know I am retired from campus and involved in other off campus conservation activities. I will no longer be overseeing the Burrill Hall native planting.

     

    During the pandemic, maintenance at campus native plantings by volunteers was not allowed.  This coupled with very dry conditions caused deterioration of several sites including the one at Burrill Hall. F&S bought the woodland wildflowers for the planting and the Entomology Department installed them and provided some maintenance in conjunction with some students.

     

    Department head May Berenbaum has put together an effort to revitalize the planting and has some limited funding for some maintenance of the native plants.  F&S plans to make some changes in part of the area and the path is to be restored.  Daniel Bush will initially work with the native plants and supervise any students. 

     

    In the past weeds removed from the site were placed by the two square concrete benches and I notified Ryan Welch who had the maintenance crew remove them.  I assume a similar arrangement can be made possibly with Mr. Dalby as the contact.

     

    This site was quite popular with people walking past and provided a good instructional resource, especially the area near the sidewalk.  I hope that this will continue.

     

    John C. Marlin

     

    Dennis Dalby replied:

     

    Thank you John,

     

    It was nice meeting you today to gain some of your tips and input regarding the planting and upkeep of this area.  I’ve been working with Ryan Welch and SIB to get this area brought back up to its current level and look forward to its improved upkeep with the discussions that we had today.  We’ll be working with Ryan to have a wood chip path added once again and will add a few small plants of our own within the areas that we (MCB) will maintain.  SIB will maintain the areas of the native plants.  It will look and function much better once all is in place.

     

    Thanks again for stopping by to share your experience,

     

    Dennis

  3. Weekly Update: Bike donations, Updated working hours

    All, We received 8 bike donations directly from graduating students last week—easily a record during my tenure so far. Not sure how the word got out, but it was effective! Of course, I forgot to ask for a few photos for future marketing use, but one person did request a photo with her bike before she donated it.

    I also worked with TBP volunteers to move a chunk of bikes out of storage, so we’re making headway on that. But still a good number of bikes left, too, which I’ll continue to work on going forward.

    This week we start our summer hours of M/W/F 2 – 6p.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 49
    Sales: $868.25
    Bikes: 3 for $570
    Memberships: 4 for $120
    Tires/tubes: 5 for $36

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  4. Bike Safety Quiz Form for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Here are some links that direct you to UIUC's bike safety quizzes!

     

    Links to Share – share these links with anyone who’s interested in taking the quiz. Feel free to post on social media, websites, etc.

    Adult BikeSafetyQuiz

    Adult BikeSafetyQuiz - Spanish

    Child BikeSafetyQuiz

    Child BikeSafetyQuiz – Spanish

  5. Dump and Run 2023 held from Monday, May 8 through Saturday, May 13

    Associated Project(s): 

    Collections began at 10am on Monday morning and continued through 3pm on Saturday afternoon. More than 16,000 pounds of household items were donated to Goodwill through the program. Salt & Light collected 3,500 pounds of soft items (clothes, bedding, linens

  6. Bike at Illinois: May Newsletter

    May Newsletter sent out on May 10, 2023.

     

    Bike at Illinois Newsletter: May 2023

     

     

     

     

    Happy National Bike Month!

    Thank you for registering your bicycle! We wanted to remind you to collect your bike registration sticker (shield) and attach it to your bicycle, if you have not done so already. There are, currently, eight campus and community shield pick-up locations - found on the Register Your Bike webpage. You will be required to show the Bike Registration Fee payment confirmation email and identification to collect a shield.

    Winners of Bike Registration Raffle were contacted recently and we will follow up with them again today!

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Notices

     

     

     

     

    Do not leave your bicycle on campus over the summer! 

    Do not leave your bike on campus property over the summer. If you do so, the bike will be considered abandoned and it will be impounded via university staff. If you no longer need your bicycle, consider donating it (go.fs.illinois.edu/DonateBikes) to the Campus Bike Center (51 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign) or the Bike Project of Urbana (202 S. Broadway Avenue, Room 24). 

    No appointment is required. Donations are tax-deductible. Bicycles will be refurbished or recycled, reusing as much of the bike as possible.

    More information, including bike storage options, is available by contacting bike@illinois.edu.

    Removal of Abandoned Bike 

    All unattended bicycles on campus will be impounded after the on-bike sticker notification process concludes this summer. Retrieving an impounded bicycle will require an active bike registration and associated fees in accordance with the University Bicycle Ordinance. F&S removed almost 500 abandoned bicycles on campus last summer. 

    Use the Shared Use Path between Huff Hall and Siebel Center for Design

    Due to the construction of a new facility, Steven S. Wymer Hall, between Huff Hall and Business Instructional Facility (BIF), the bike path will be closed. Bicyclists should use the shared-use path (8' wide sidewalk) immediately south of this bike path by Siebel Center for Design from Fourth Street to Sixth Street. 

    This bike path is considered abandoned and will be removed once the construction is complete. For any questions, please reach out to fandscampustdm@illinois.edu.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Upcoming events

     

     

     

     

    1. Mother's Day Bike Ride - Sunday, May 14
      Starting point: Anita Purves Nature Center (1505 N. Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL 61801)
      Starting time: 2:00 p.m.
    2. Ride of Silence - Wednesday, May 17
      Starting Point: I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center (1900 S 1st St, Champaign, IL 61820)
      Starting time: 7:00 p.m.
    3. Smart Cycling Class - Traffic Skills 101 - Saturday, May 27
      Location: MTD Training Facility (1207 E. University Avenue, Urbana, IL 61802)
      Time:1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
      Cost: $20
      Register to attend here: https://tinyurl.com/yuaxmakr

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Bike Safety: Always lock your bicycle

     

     

     

     

    For nearly 60 percent of the bike thefts reported in the past year, the stolen bicycle was not locked. Always lock your bicycle to a bike rack to keep it safe. Watch this video on how to properly lock your bicycle. Watch other educational videos created by Bike at Illinois.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Thank you so much for all your support! Have a great finals week and congratulations to all graduates! Contact us at bike@illinois.edu for any questions.

     

  7. F&S announcement - Donate Your Bike

      Donate Your Bike!  
     

     
      A bike shelter with vertical racks on the Urbana campus
     

    Don't abandon your bike on campus at the end of the semester. If you no longer need your bicycle, consider donating it (https://go.fs.illinois.edu/DonateBikesto the Campus Bike Center (51 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign) or the Bike Project of Urbana (202 S. Broadway Avenue, Room 24). 

    No appointment is required. Donations are tax-deductible. Bicycles will be refurbished or recycled, reusing as much of the bike as possible.

    Removal of Abandoned Bicycles 
     All unattended bicycles on campus will be impounded after the on-bike sticker notification process concludes this summer. Retrieving an impounded bicycle will require an active bike registration and associated fees in accordance with the University Bicycle Ordinance.

    More information, including bike storage options, is available by contacting bike@illinois.edu

  8. Green Research Committee Informal Summary

    Associated Project(s): 

    The following is an email sent by Stephanie Hess on May 11, 2023.

    Green Research Committee,

    Jeremy and I met with Susan, Ehab, and Madhu last week to give them an update on our progress over the past few weeks. I have attached the topics discussed. Here is a brief summary of that meeting and how we propose to move forward.

    • The October deadline can be extended. However, if there are requests for campus funding, it is a good deadline since all the budget meetings with the Provost happen in the Spring. As long as we continue making progress, we will update them in October with what we have done by then.
    • When we write recommendations, we should consider the financial impact. Cost to implement and money saved following implementation.
    • Jeremy is going to put together a single document that includes the information Paul shared on Teams and more details for the topics discussed in the meeting. That will be shared with the committee.
    • Next meeting, we will discuss that document. Please read it before the meeting and write comments.

    I will try to get something on the calendar soon.

    Thanks,

    Stephanie

     

    Attached is the Informal Summary.

  9. Earth Month Campus Trash Pickup

    Associated Project(s): 

    During Earth Month, iSEE hosted its biannual trash pickup. More than 75 participants picked up 160 pounds of trash and recycling over the hour and a half long event. Participants also tallied the trash they picked up on a waste characterization sheet in order for UIUC to characterize its waste stream and determine what kind of outreach is needed in order to decrease waste and litter on campus. Highlights include more than 300 soft food wrappers, 180 beverage cans, 40 plastic bags, and more cigarette butts than participants could count collected during the pickup.

  10. Earth Month Energy Conservation Challenge

    Associated Project(s): 

    During Earth Month, iSEE hosted their biannual campus wide sustainability challenge. The Energy Conservation Challenge had more than 70 participants who carefully tracked their energy conservation over the entire month. Overall, the group increased their average weekly point total by 65% over the course of the month. This means the group took on 65% more energy conservation techniques such as hang drying clothes, unplugging appliances, installing more efficient light bulbs, writing to the University to encourage them to follow the Illinois Sustainable Investment Act, attending Illini Lights Out, using public transportation, and more. See iSEE's Contests and Challenges page for more details.

  11. Earth Month - Kindness Rocks

    Associated Project(s): 

    During Earth Month, iSEE hosted their annual Kindness Rocks event, where campus is invited is paint kind messages on rocks and place them around campus to spread positivity. More than 40 people came out to this event. See the attached file for a picture from the event.

    Attached Files: 
  12. iWG Meeting Notes from 05/09/2023

    Please see attached the iWG meeting notes from the meeting held on May 9, 2023. During this meeting, the following recommendations were dicussed:

  13. Energy011 Priority Technologies and Practices for a Clean Energy Plan - Successful

    Following is the response from Dr. Ehab Kamarah (on May 5, 2023) regarding the Energy011 Priority Technologies and Practices for a Clean Energy Plan recommendation.

    Dear Dr. Fraterrigo,

    We agree that this summary of current efforts towards carbon-neutral energy will be helpful, and we will coordinate the development of this document.

    Regards,

    Ehab

    Read the iWG Transmittal update for the Energy011 Priority Technologies and Practices for a Clean Energy Plan recommendation here.

  14. Trans015 Fleet Replacement recommendation - Submitted

    On May 5, 2023, the Tranportation iCAP Team submitted the Trans015 Fleet Replacement recommendation. See below a preview of the recommendation:

    The objective of this recommendation is to establish a framework for accomplishing iCAP 2020 Objective 3.1, which states, “Establish written replacement plans for at least 80% of campus fleets by FY24 to improve university-owned vehicle efficiency.” By

    1. Enumerating a definition for a “fleet” as it applies to vehicles on campus, and
    2. Requiring campus units with a fleet more than 5 vehicles to establish a “Fleet Administrator” tasked with communicating with the F&S Fleet Operations team and creating a written replacement plan for the fleet, and
    3. Requiring all Fleet Administrators to have a minimum of once-a-year meeting with the F&S Fleet Operations team.

    DEFINITIONS

    Campus Fleet

    • The total number of vehicles owned and operated by the various units of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.

    Unit Fleet

    • A total of 5 or more vehicles operated by an individual unit on campus.

    This recommendation calls on each campus unit with 5 or more vehicles to appoint an employee as a “Fleet Administrator”. The Fleet Administrator will be tasked with the following responsibilities:

    1. Establishing a sustainable fleet plan capable of achieving certification with the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA).
    2. Establishing a written, comprehensive strategy for replacing the fleet’s existing vehicles with more environmentally sustainable models.
    3. Communicating with the Fleet Operations team at the Transportation & Building Services department at Facilities & Services regarding development of the sustainable fleet plan or fleet replacement plan.
    4. Communicating with other Fleet Administrators regarding development of the sustainable fleet plan or fleet replacement plan.
    5. Attending annual meeting(s) with all Fleet Administrators, the Fleet Operations team at Facilities & Services, members of iSEE, and the Parking Department to discuss progress in development and implementation of fleet replacement plans and identify best practices moving forward.

    Strategies for creating a sustainable fleet plan or fleet replacement plan may include the following:

    • Consulting with Fleet Operations team at the Transportation & Building Services department at Facilities & Services regarding the replacement of their fleet vehicles
    • Plans for transitioning to newer vehicle models with higher fuel efficiency or alternative fuel sources such as electricity or hydrogen.
    • Plans for “right-sizing” the fleet that assesses the extent university vehicles are being used:
      • To complete necessary tasks.
      • By designated personnel.
      • In a fuel and cost-efficient manner.
    • Limiting the idling of vehicles
    • Educational training for their drivers
    • Reporting of vehicle and fuel usage as well as setting a target reduction for following years

    Suggested unit/department to address implementation: All campus units with more than 5 vehicles.

  15. ZW011 State Farm Center Recycling - Submitted

    On May 5, 2023, Zero Waste iCAP Team submitted the ZW011 State Farm Center Recycling recommendation. Please see attached.

    Without appropriate recycling infrastructure on the upper concourse of State Farm Center, campus is losing valuable recyclable materials sent to the landfill (particularly with recyclable items left in the arena). Additionally, the installation of permanent recycling bins on the upper concourse would facilitate the ability for fans to recycle at any athletic or entertainment event held at State Farm Center.

    The purpose of this recommendation is to be a conversation-starter in regard to permanent recycling on the upper concourse. The proposed use of MAX-R bins is a suggestion, based on campus’ success with the roll-out of these bins throughout our facilities.

    Suggested unit/department to address implementation: Division of Intercollegiate Athletics

  16. Weekly Update: Schedule update, bikes for sale

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, The past work week was full of last shifts for a lot of the student staff, as well as a lot of talk of finals schedules. Ended on a bright note as a couple rented a tandem from us as practice as they didn’t want their “Just Married” post-nuptial ride on a tandem to be their absolute first one. Fun!

    This is our last week of being open M – F. Next Monday we start M/W/F hours.

    This week I’ve got a meeting to hash out some Tue/Thurs appointment hours to still help folks in need of bike repair.  I’ll also move some bikes out of the warehouse with the help of TBP folk.

    The lobby is currently packed full with sale bikes, so we’ll have to rearrange in the back to accommodate moving some sale stock back there. A good problem to have.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 33
    Sales: $233*
    Memberships: 3 for $90*
    Tires/tubes: 8 for $73*

    Thanks!

    *Due to technical difficulties, these numbers may not be 100% accurate.

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  17. ZW008 Adopt a Highway/Drain - Returned

    ZW008 Adopt a Highway/Drain was returned to the Zero Waste iCAP Team by the iWG. See the following message:

    Hello Zero Waste iCAP Team,

    Last spring, the Zero Waste iCAP Team submitted a recommendation regarding the adopt a highway/drain programs (https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-update/zw008-adopt-highwaydrain-submitted).  The iCAP Working Group discussed this a couple times and there were a few concerns raised by the iWG and by F&S, such as how we can ensure safety of a student group working on a street drain. You can see the related meeting notes attached here.  

    We are returning this recommendation to your team for review.  If you believe this recommendation is a priority, please discuss it with the Land and Water iCAP Team and the Resilience iCAP Team to refine it before resubmitting. 

    Thank you,

    Morgan and Jen

    =====================================

    MORGAN B. WHITE and

    Dr. JENNIFER FRATERRIGO
    Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP)

    iCAP Working Group co-chairs

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    sustainability@illinois.edu 
    https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/

    See the ZW008 Adopt a Highway/Drain recommendation here.

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