The site’s 54 acres will serve as a major demonstration and research location for pollinator-friendly solar arrays. The University of Illinois Solar Farm 2.0 project exceeded the required 85 minimum points established by the State of Illinois’ Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act.
A team of researchers will be measuring the impact of natural vegetation at the Solar Farm 2.0 grounds. Below the 31,122 bi-facial solar panels lie 54 acres perfect for pollinator-friendly plantings.
But how exactly does one calculate the plants’ effectiveness? How about: count the bugs.
The Solar Farm 2.0 developer will be planting the Solar Farm 2.0 site next week. On May 7, 2021, they will spray an herbicide mixture to prepare the site.Here are the details they provided:
Beginning in 2011 Alice Berkson began taking photos at the Florida – Orchard prairie on campus next to the President’s House. The photos were taken each month from the same locations beginning in 2013. The two years prior to that all 12 months are not represented. A few photos are missing including all of October 2015. A few extra shots are occasionally included of unusual situations or plants.
See https://uofi.box.com/s/cfmmscpv2335f57g7nzngx4g8nf4cqgj to view or download the images.
The attached file is the updated pollinator pocket map for campus
Craig Chamberlain, a Social Sciences Editor for Illinois News Bureau, released an article highlighting the lack of coverage dedicated to bees in mainstream news. Supporting his article with a study from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, it was found that the amount of attention dedicated to "pollinator population topics" has significantly declined over several decades.
Read Chamberlain's article through Illinois News Bureau or the PDF in the attached files!
An effective rain garden is planted with suitable trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plants that allow runoff to soak into the ground and protect water quality. Please join us for a presentation by Kaizad Irani on rain gardens from the landscape design perspective followed by a discussion. Bring your lunch and your questions. No question too big or too small. Come, learn and have fun.
January 27, 12–1:30 pm • U of I Extension Champaign Co., 801 Country Fair Dr., Champaign
Sara Mason, Chantelle Hicks, and Morgan White discussed revisions to the Bee Campus USA web presence. For ease of maintenance, the iCAP Portal seems to be a more friendly process for providing updates and keeping the web content current and active. Sara could do the entries this year, and future students could do entries in the future years. The updates can also be shared on other websites, when requested. Sara will bring this idea back to the student committee, for a decision.
|
|
Superintendent of Grounds, Ryan Welch, describes the difference in heat tolerance between spring and summer flowers on campus:
"We plant the early flowers (pansies) because they provide early spring color and are one of the only annuals that prefer cooler temps and will withstand frost. The early or cool season annuals do not like heat, so they are removed and replaced with the summer annuals. The summer annuals will not tolerate even a light frost and should not be planted before May 1."
https://youtu.be/dcetof6KSXs is a link to a video interview a student did as a class project. It features the planting project and mentions SSC, SECS, Red Bison, and CIMN among others.
Here are some useful references on Native Plants, Pollinators, and related topics.
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
Sustainable plants are native species that are resilient to insects and disease. Once established, they require minimal fertilizer, watering, and upkeep. The F&S Grounds Department planted 80 native trees last year and more than 2,300 native grasses in the last three years. Campus locations with native grasses include: Roger Adams Laboratory, the Institute for Genomic Biology, the Agricultural Engineering Building, and the Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building.
This proposal looks to contribute to the campus wide effort of promoting more sustainable landscaping by creating a Prairie Garden comprised of plant species characteristic to east-central Illinois to surround the Deloitte Auditorium in the courtyard of the Business Instructional Facility (BIF). The Prairie Garden will provide carbon sequestration benefits, aid in management of water runoff, increase biodiversity, and reduce the use of carbon-intensive maintenance equipment.
