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Projects Updates for Land and Water iCAP Team

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  1. LW004 Monarchs Need Milkweed - Submitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)

    The Land and Water iCAP Team submitted the attached LW004 Monarchs Need Milkweed recommendation to the iWG on 12/7/22. The team also submitted a supplemental map (attached) of proposed milkweed locations. The recommendation states as follows:

    The Land and Water iCAP Team recommends the plantings of milkweed (Asclepias syriaca, A. incarnata, A. tuberosa), across the UIUC campus in order to support migratory Monarch Butterfly populations. Plantings could be introduced into existing landscape beds and/or smaller milkweed specific planting beds, as well as in designated low mow zones and prairies.

    Attached Files: 

  2. Status Update on Water006 Recommendation: Lot23 Monitoring

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    Rainwater Management

    On May 28, 2022 Meredith Moore sent an email to Arthur Schmidt regarding the status of the Water 006 recommendation:

    Hi Art!

     

    I hope you are well. I am reaching out to check in about the status of the Water006 recommendation: Lot23 Monitoring. This is an old recommendation that was returned back to the Water and Stormwater SWATeam in August 2019. It can be found here: https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-update/water006-lot-f23-monitoring-returned.  Based on the project update, a proposal for funding was to be submitted to the Student Sustainability Committee. Are you aware if this happened?

     

    I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks!

     

    Meredith

    -----------

    On November 30, 2022 Mrogan White sent the following to Arthurt Schmidt:

    Hi Art,

    Could you please answer these quick questions?

    1. Did you ever move forward with installing a monitoring system of any kind in the parking lot at Florida and Lincoln (Lot F23)?
    2. If the SSC would provide funding for such an installation, would you be able to serve as an advisor for the project and use the collected information?

    Thanks!

    Morgan

    ------------

    On Dec 1, 2022 Art responded:

    Hi, Morgan:

    Many years ago when this first came up we installed an instrumentation vault at the SE corner of the lot where the storm sewer pipe leaves the lot.  We never received any funding to move forward with this, so no instrumentation ever installed.

     

    I would be thrilled to help/advise with moving this forward.  I would also try to find portions of this where my Field Methods class could help install/calibrate/maintain instruments or collect samples.  I have a couple classes were we could use the data.

    Art

     

     

  3. LW003 Certified Green Building Certification - Declined

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Engagement iCAP Team

    The LW003 Certified Green Building Certification was declined and returned to the team on April 16, 2022 with the following message. 

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

    Hello Land and Water iCAP Team,

    Thank you for your continued efforts toward making our campus more sustainable and advocating for the iCAP 2020 objectives for Land and Water!  The attached recommendation (LW003 Certified Green Building Certification) has been declined by the iCAP Working Group (iWG).  The iWG reviewed this recommendation in the April 2021 and May 2021 meetings and determined it would be better to consider an awards program, preferably for individual efforts rather than buildings. 

    As your team suggested, I’ll share this information with the Engagement iCAP Team, so they can consider a related recommendation for an awards program.

    Thanks,
    Morgan

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

    See the submittal of LW003 Certified Green Building Certification here. 

  4. Land & Water iCAP Meeting 11/7/2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)
    Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design
    Rainwater Management
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

    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.

    Attached Files: 

  5. Campus Sustainability Celebration - 10/17/22

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Sustainability Month
    Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Energy iCAP Team
    Education iCAP Team
    Resilience iCAP Team
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan

    The 2022 Campus Sustainability Celebration was a huge success! Thank you to all who participated! The PowerPoint presentation is attached, and the agenda for the event was as follows:

    • 3-3:15 PM – Welcome
      • Jennifer Fraterrigo, on behalf of Director Madhu Khanna (iSEE)
      • Chancellor Jones
      • Vice Chancellor Susan Martinis (OVCRI)
    • 3:15 – 3:30 PM – Holistic initiatives
      • Plastic reduction (Jen)
      • Clean energy/Solar Farm 3 (Morgan)
      • Greener Campus Program (Meredith)
    • 3:30 – 4:40 PM – iCAP Team presentations
      • Energy
      • Transportation
      • Land and Water
      • Zero Waste
      • Education
      • Engagement
      • Resilience
    • 4:40 – 5 PM – Student groups (SSLC, SSC) – Jack Reicherts and Maiah Caise
      • Closing remarks by Jennifer Fraterrigo (on behalf of Madhu Khanna)
    • 5 – 6 PM – Celebration - refreshments, roundtable forum with each iCAP Team, student tabling session  
    Attached Files: 

  6. Land and Water iCAP Meeting 10/4/2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)
    Cover Crops on South Farms
    Let It Flow
    Benefits of a Large-Scale Prairie Experiment

    On October 4th, the Land and Water iCAP team met to make final edits on the Campus Sustainability Celebration slides, review the Campus Landscape Master Plan, and discuss regenerative agriculture research on the South Farms.

    Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  7. Urban Biodiversity Master Plan Student Support

    Associated Project(s): 
    Urban Biodiversity Master Plan
    Resilience iCAP Team
    Education iCAP Team
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Energy iCAP Team

    Biodiversity Plan intern Gabriel Harper-Hagen is looking for students and student groups to help him develop two iNaturalist surveys for the project. Here is the detailed explanation from Gabe:

    The survey will act as a pilot for future surveying around campus and the broader community. We will have two surveys: one focused on animals and one focused on plants. This is because of the different methods of surveying each. The surveys will benefit from as many students that would be interested in this for either one (Or both). The survey will attempt to efficiently gather data about the diversity of plant and animal species found on campus to create a baseline for what is present and to help identify gaps on the campus where diversity may be lacking. If successful, I hope to expand the model to other parts of the community including the park districts to have larger community based BioBlitz seasonally to keep track of the diversity in the area and measure success of the biodiversity plan. 

     

    As far as students can help, we need enough people to survey the area efficiently in a reasonable amount of time. The student groups and individual students would be helping in an initial survey that focuses only on the campus. My thought is that a date will be set for each of the two surveys where the participants can join to go over brief instructions on identifying plants with iNaturalist, adding them to the project, and explaining the purpose of surveying. iNaturalist allows for specific project data to be collected within a region which is then peer reviewed. Ideally, there will be some experts (students or professors if appropriate) that join for each survey to help with logistics and identification. I hope this will not only be a useful database for our campus to utilize, but also a fun learning experience. 

     

    All iCAP students and environmental student groups are encouraged to participate. If interested, please email Gabe (harperh2@illinois.edu) and Resilience iCAP Team clerk Asli Topuzlu (aslit2@illinois.edu). 

  8. L&W iCAP Meeting 9/16/2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)
    Cover Crops on South Farms
    Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

    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.

    Attached Files: 

  9. iCAP Team Priority Areas 2022-2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Topical iCAP Teams
    Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS)
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Resilience iCAP Team
    Energy iCAP Team
    Education iCAP Team
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Engagement iCAP Team

    The following email was sent to the iCAP Teams:

    Hello iCAP Teams,

    Thank you again for serving on these important campus sustainability committees, and for your commitment to helping the university achieve the objectives in the Illinois Climate Action Plan.  As promised in the charge letters you received, we are attaching the Key Priorities Document here.  The attached document includes a section for each iCAP Team, with two parts in each section: Priority areas and in progress iCAP Portal projects.

    1. Priority Areas

    In order to help our campus move from STARS Gold to STARS Platinum, we have identified priority areas where our university can potentially improve. iSEE’s summer intern Tyler evaluated the latest UIUC STARS report and identified example case studies from STARS Platinum schools.  Tyler’s report is online at “Report on Improving UIUC STARS Score.” The priority areas also include topics for potential recommendations that have been brought up in previous discussions with the campus sustainability teams.  One example of this is the current efforts to reduce plastic waste on campus.

    Many prior iCAP team members have expressed a desire for guidance on appropriate topics for recommendations, so we are providing this guidance to assist your team with focus areas for development of recommendations.  We encourage you to investigate these ideas with gusto; reach out to people at other schools to learn more about the ideas and contact people on our campus who would have a stake in the project (“stakeholders”) to understand how it could fit into our campus. You should also review the recommendation template to see the information that needs to be completed when you submit a recommendation to the iCAP Working Group. 

    1. In progress iCAP Portal projects

    The iCAP Portal has over 900 projects and contains information about our campus sustainability efforts, going back as far as 2003. The information is primarily entered by members of the iCAP Teams, the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC), and a few volunteers.  We are requesting your assistance to get updates on some of the projects that are listed as “In Progress.”  For each of the projects listed in the attached file, please answer the following questions:

    • Who is the current contact person? The project records on the iCAP Portal may provide past contacts, and your team members may have relevant information.
    • Is the project completed? If not, what is the current status of the effort?
    • What changes are needed on the iCAP Portal project page content? Pictures would be particularly nice to be able to share on the Portal.

    We are very excited about this coming year, and we want to support you in any way necessary.  Please reach out to any of us at any time.

    Thank you,

    Morgan, Jen, and Meredith

    Attached Files: 

  10. iCAP Team Charge Letters 2022-2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Topical iCAP Teams
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Energy iCAP Team
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Engagement iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Education iCAP Team
    Resilience iCAP Team

    iSEE Director, Madhu Khanna, sent out the seven iCAP Team charge letters for the 2022-2023 academic year (attached). 

    "Thank you once again for your service in helping to make the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign a more sustainable campus. Attached is your charge letter for the 2022-2023 academic year with an outline of your campus sustainability duties as part of the iCAP Team. We look forward to your positive and impactful contributions."

    Attached Files: 

  11. iCAP Team Kickoff 2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    Engagement iCAP Team
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Climate Leadership Commitments
    Energy iCAP Team
    Resilience iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Education iCAP Team

    The iCAP Teams and iCAP Working Group gathered for the annual kickoff event on 8-24-22. Current members attended to learn about the iCAP 2020, the role of the teams and members, and meet sustainability staff and fellow team members. The presentation is attached and the recording can be found here. 

    Attached Files: 

  12. Save Soil Movement - June 2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Monitor Soil Health

    Ayush Gupta shared the following message: there are walkathons happening across 60 cities for the Save Soil movement in the States in June. Check it out here and consider participating if you happen to find yourself in one of the cities.

    https://www.consciousplanet.org/walkathon?mkt_tok=MTcyLUVFVS0xOTAAAAGE8zVRsrjyXQ5nVug3pTNsAodzSzhsF8biyXjk-RPUhF6kySegwdhhlpGrm9QbEscE5WZjkujeo47tWtq2Z-UVScbjilsNh1qbL1noUOZ3Y2COy_s

  14. Residence Hall Research Site Email

    Associated Project(s): 
    Obtain and Publicize Water Data
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Green Infrastructure

    Below is an email sent by Dr. Edwin Herricks to Morgan White regarding a research site to study stormwater mitigation designs.

     

    Morgan,

     

    You may not know, but some time ago I led a project to create a research site on the parking lot across from the residence halls to study parking lot stormwater mitigation designs.  Of importance we installed a weir for a gauging capability for the lot discharge.  Unfortunately, the U did not proceed with the lot improvements so the weir simply sits.

     

    Art Schmidt is aware of this and over the years I have encouraged him to take advantage of the infrastructure. 

     

    Hopefully if you know about this capability you may find some use for it.

     

    Ed

  18. LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design - Successful

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design
    Sustainability Council

    The Sustainability Council is in support of further discussion about the Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design and broader rainwater management issues, as discussed at the meeting on November 29, 2021. F&S will get the committee together to discuss broad rainwater management issues, and one of the tasks will be to discuss the Vet Med challenge. For future project updates, visit the Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design project page here.

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

    See transmittal and iWG assessment of the LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design.
    See submittal of LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design here.

  19. LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design - Transmitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Sustainability Council
    Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design

    Following the completion of iWG assessment for LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-design, the recommendation was transmitted to the Sustainability Sub-Council (11-10-21) and Sustainability Council (11-29-21). 

    See the attached iWG assessment for LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-design.
    See the Land and Water recommendation of LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design. 

    Attached Files: 

  20. iCAP Team and iCAP Working Group Kickoff

    Associated Project(s): 
    Topical iCAP Teams
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Resilience iCAP Team
    Engagement iCAP Team
    Energy iCAP Team
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Education iCAP Team

    We had a great iCAP Team and iCAP Working Group Kickoff on 9/16/21! During the event, we heard from iSEE Interim Director, Dr. Madhu Khanna, went through the team rosters, iCAP Procedures, iCAP 2020 and progress made thus far, and lastly summarized other resources that sustainability advocates should be aware of. 

    The iCAP Teams and iCAP Working Group are instrumental in helping campus advance and achieve our sustainability goals and we look forward to a great year!

    The presentation is attached and the recording is found here. 

    Attached Files: 

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