I'm doing some work with the USFWS on an urban pollinator habitat project and have a couple questions I'm hoping F&S can help me with (or send me in the right direction.)
Kevin, Erwin,
Our drillers are looking to get on site next week for the Geotech borings – on the areas to the south of the Project it looks like the area is actively farmed, is there any type of notification we need to do to the University before we enter the fields or other coordination needed with whomever is farming this area?
Hi all –
Ming Kuo recently contributed to an NPR piece that explored the benefits of spending time in nature, noting that getting your daily dose of nat
Terry Guen’s practice has brought ecology back to communities through high-profile technical projects in landscape and urban design. TGDA is a nationally recognized designer of urban public spaces and ecological landscapes. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, TGDA designed landscapes for Ikenberry Commons and the recently completed Siebel Center for Design.
The Illinois Monarch project is an organization that collaborates with both public and private partners, interacting on all levels for the protection and the enhancement of habitats that support monarch butterflies and other pollinators.
SOLAR FARM LANDSCAPE BUFFER
Mr. Apfelbaum will tell us about his life-long project to restore his land on the border of Wisconsin, taking it back to its original state, before the changes brought about by farming, described in detail in his book Nature’s Second Chance. Having carried out ecological restorations world-wide, he is presently working in Urbana, restoring the Stone Creek golf course to its natural state.
March 12, 6:30 PM • Stone Creek Golf Club (Formerly known as Attie's), 2560 Stonecreek Blvd Urbana, IL
Amanda Christenson • Cooperative Extension Service
In 2019 F&S Executive Director Mohamed Attalla charged a Resilient Grounds Strategy Advisory Committee, to develop a Resilient Landscape Strategy for this campus. In December of that year, the Chancellor's Capital Review Committee (CCRC) approved the attached file, as the strategy for this campus moving toward a fully sustainable campus landscape. This effort is also reflective of a Senate Resolution from November 2018 (RS.19.03 Resolution for Campus Ssutainable Landscapes) and the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP).
The exterior Integrated Pest Management program has been in place for several years, and recently the program was formalized and adopted by F&S Grounds. This helps meet iCAP objective 7.2 and supports the student-led efforts to achieve Bee Campus USA recognition.
Hello ALUFS SWATeam members,
Thank you again for your willingness to help our campus achieve the Climate Leadership Commitments. There is great value provided by the bi-weekly meetings of student, faculty, and staff representatives evaluating our progress and recommending additional actions campus units could take.
The following is a list of current activities I am aware of, and suggestions I have about useful next steps. I am happy to follow up with you on any of these, as needed.
Thank you very much,
~Morgan
Water & Stormwater SWATeam and the Agriculture, Land Use, Food & Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam had a joint meeting to discuss shared objectives and project ideas.
F&S Director of Sustainability, Morgan Johnston, asked the ALUFS SWATeam for their input regarding the forthcoming "Low Mow Zone" sign updates. She said, "I would like to talk with you about the “No Mow Zones” on campus and our efforts to better name them as “Low Mow Zones.” Brent and Ryan Welch are working on updating the locations in a map form and our F&S communicators (primarily Steve Breitwieser) are developing a message about the updated words and locations.
The Champaign County Pollinator Coalition group had their first meeting on September 7, 2016, from 1:30 - 3 pm. The main topics of discussion included the needs, concerns, and decisions.
There is a growing interest in doing several native plantings at specific buildings and undeveloped areas around campus. However, there is no real information on the soil at these locations. This project is looking to provide the data needed to successfully and efficiently manage these planting projects. Several students will take soil core samples from each site and provide the samples to a commercial lab. The data will all be analyzed in comparable manner by the same lab.
Monarch butterflies migrate through the campus twice a year. Their movement is tracked online at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/monarch.html.
In 2016, the F&S Grounds crew will do only spot mowing of the designated Low Mow Zones, to control the noxious weeds and trees at the end of May or early June.
Attached and embedded below is a request to utilize the remaining funds in the Paxton grant for campus sustainable landscapes which is now under the purview of ISEE. The persons on the CC are all familiar with some of the work in this area done over the past few years and can likely speak to the wisdom of using the funds to supplement the ongoing efforts.
TO: Dr. Evan DeLucia and Dr. Ben McCall
From: John C. Marlin
RE: Use of “Support for Sustainable Landscapes” funds
Date: March 21, 2016
“People would like a nice simple story with a guy in a black hat as the bad guy, but it’s complicated,” says May Berenbaum, head of the entomology department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. --from http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2015/bees-or-not-bees/
The University campus has designated several different areas as No-Mow Zones. There is signage at these locations that explains that the area is a no-mow zone and the benefits of no-mow zones.
