Below is an update from Brent Lewis on Oct 17th about the Monarchs need Milkweed recommendation:
FYI, I’m close to getting a $2.5k bag of milkweed seeds delivered to me. 😊 We are getting this in the portal and ordered so Grounds can get this spread out this fall.
Morgan White, the Associate Director of F&S of Sustainability and Interim Director of Capital Programs at UIUC, responded to the LW004 Monarchs Need Milkweed with the following message:
Dear Land and Water iCAP Team and iWG,
Thank you for your continued support and advocacy for the Illinois Climate Action Plan. Last semester, we received the recommendation below for adding more milkweed around campus to support the monarch butterfly population, and we are happy to take action.
Jen and Morgan asked Brent Lewis about the use of plugs instead of seeds. They also want to explore partnering with schools and community groups to collect seed from local sources and that The Urbana Free Library has a seed library, in which we could help encourage participation. Also, Jen would like to engage University Primary School, which is adjacent to the prairie where students found a lot of milkweed. One of their lessons is about monarchs. Milkweed pods are easy to harvest in the fall.
Brent responded with the following message:
Hi Jennifer,
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,
Ryan Welch updated Dave Boehm during F&S' strategic planning discussions that the three following pollinator pockets were added to the campus in 2022.
Temple Hoyne Buell - Sophia Garden
Beckman Institute - east entry
Dorner Pond
On November 7th, the Land and Water iCAP team met to review the results of the Milkweed survey, make final edits to the Monarch Butterfly recommendation, and discuss new recommendations inspired by the Campus Landscape Master Plan.
Meeting minutes are attached.
On September 16th, the Land & Water iCAP team met to identify projects that need to be wrapped up, review the key priorities document, and discuss recommendations to be completed in the short term.
Meeting minutes are attached.
SSC received semesterly report for Fall 2021 for Joint Pollinator Garden and Composting Systems to Offset Environmental Impact and Reinforce Responsible Stewardship in Research on 12/17/2021. Please see attached.
Plant care facilities coordinator Rosale Metallo reached out to F&S in order to get the small garden outside of the RIPE greenhouse renovated.
SSC received semesterly report for Spring 2021 for the Root to Roof project on 9/16/2021. Please see attached.
SSC received semesterly report for Spring 2021 for Joint Pollinator and Composting Systems project on 9/14/2021. Please see attached.
On July 12, 2021, Adam Dolezal, May Berenbaum, Layne Knoche, Eliana Brown, Morgan White, and Avery Maloto met over Zoom to discuss pollinator efforts on campus. The conversation included topics such as: Bloom Calendar, Red Oak Rain Garden, Dorner Drive Retention Pond, Setting up a BioBlitz, and more.
See the attached file to view the minute notes.
Discover Magazine released an article highlighting the biodiversity benefits that can stem from pairing solar farms with pollinator-friendly plants. Supporting its claims with initiatives from universities across the country, the article recognizes the University of Illinois' pollinator habitat at Solar Farm 2.0.
Read the article on Discover Magazine. Or, refer to the PDF of the article in the attached files.
The site was seeded on 6/4/2021.
A 24" by 36" blank sign was installed at the corner of Florida Avenue and Orchard Street, by the Florida-Orchard prairie, near Orchard Downs and the Presidents’ House. The information planned to be featured in the sign will originate from the new Bee Campus brochure. This text will highlight the Bee Campus student organization, information about pollinators, as well as university and campus initiatives to be more pollinator-friendly. Thanks to funding by SSC, the signage will be ready for public display by the end of 2021!
F&S submitted the Spring 2021 Semesterly Report to the SSC for the Solar Farm 2.0 Landscape Buffer project!
Read the report in the attached files below.
F&S provided the attached files to Kerry Shanebrook, the Grounds Superintendent at Taylor University, in regards to pollinator plants under solar arrays.
Entomology Today released an article highlighting the strategy and benefits behind pairing solar energy with pollinator habitats. Supporting its claims with UIUC and Iowa State initiatives, the article discusses content such as the scorecard approach, efficiency of the positioning of planted vegetation, and restrictions from geographic locations.
Read the article on Entomology Today. Or, refer to the PDF of the article in the attached files.
Today, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Facilities & Services (F&S) announces the final stage of completion for Solar Farm 2.0, totaling 12.3 megawatts (DC), with the planting phase of the farm’s pollinator habitat commencing this month. The project is the second solar farm constructed at the U of I and achieves clean energy sustainability goals outlined in the university’s Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), nearly four years ahead of schedule.
