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Projects Updates for Land and Water iCAP Team

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  2. iCAP Team Charge Letters

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

    Attached are the charge letters sent to each of the iCAP Team members, on September 10 by iSEE interim director, Dr. Madhu Khanna.

    Attached Files: 

  3. Crop Sciences/ACES - Agronomy Days!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Responsible Stewardship of Campus Land and Water
    Sustainable Agricultural Practices
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    Crop Sciences/ACES is committed to sustainability and works hard to ensure our land is responsibly managed! They are hosting a series of Agronomy Days; events are free and open to the public though registration is encouraged to reserve your space. Agronomy Day field events will begin on July 22 and run through August 19; tours are held each Thursday from 9 AM - 12 PM. 

    Click here for more information and to register: http://agronomyday.cropsciences.illinois.edu/

  4. Update on Campus' Tree Inventory

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tree Campus Higher Education
    Campus Tree Inventory
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    Brent Lewis provided the following update to the Land and Water iCAP Team:

    One of the iCAP objectives under Land and Water (4.2.1) involves a service learning project to better understand our historic and current tree canopy percentages.  I just wanted to reach out and say that I’ve worked it out with our NRES faculty member, Jennifer Fraterrigo that she will work with her students in the fall to prepare this analysis.  As our last 2 tree surveys were generally on 2008 and 2018, they will take a look at those years and put together an analysis.  Over this time, I believe we lost between 10-12% of our tree inventory on campus.  It is my thought that this loss in older trees would have meant a much larger loss in actual tree canopy.  This would generally equate to a loss of habitat, increase in ambient temperatures and increase in rainwater that would otherwise have been used by the trees.  I have been wanting to get a handle on the loss as I push for resources to replace what we had, as well as enhance what we will have for the future.

  5. ALUFS004 South Farm Management Plan - Successful

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    ALUFS Recommendations Summary
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam
    Cover Crops on South Farms
    Sustainable Land Management Committee

    The Sustainability Sub-Council discussed and approved this recommendation at the March 18, 2021 meeting.  The meeting minutes are online at: https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-update/sustainability-s...

    The key next steps are:

    • Form “Sustainable Land Management Committee” with both ACES and non-ACES representation (e.g., iSEE, F&S, UI System, Ag Property Management, Engineering, etc.)
    • Madhu will work with ACES to form this committee, which will focus on incorporating sustainable land management practices on South Farms, extension opportunities, and updating agronomy handbook and recommended set of practices
    • South Farms will ultimately be an example of how to demonstrate sustainability practices and will connect with farmers who are willing and engaged with these practices

    See iWG assessment started for ALUFS004 South Farm Management Plan here.

    See SWATeam recommendation ALUFS004 South Farm Management Plan here.

    For future updates on this effort, visit Sustainable Land Management Committee.

  6. archived info - previous project background

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    This team focuses on the 2015 iCAP objectives for Chapter 5 and Chapter 7, including:

    5.1 Obtain and publicize more granular water use data by FY16, including water quantity and quality data where available

    5.2 Improve the water efficiency of cooling towers by limiting the amount discharged to sewer to less than 20% of water intake for chiller plant towers, and less than 33% for stand-alone building towers, by FY20

    5.3 Perform a water audit to establish water conservation targets — and determine upper limits for water demand by end-use — for incorporation into facilities standards by FY16.

    5.4 Inventory and benchmark campus’ existing landscape performance by FY17

    5.5 Through an open solicitation process, implement at least four pilot projects to showcase the potential of water and/or stormwater reuse by FY20, with the objective of implementing a broader program by FY25

    5.6 Investigate the water quality impacts of stormwater runoff and potential ways to reduce stormwater pollutant discharges by FY187.1 Perform a comprehensive assessment of GHG emissions from agricultural operations, and develop a plan to reduce them, by the end of FY16

    7.2 Design and maintain campus landscapes in a more sustainable manner; expand the specification of sustainable plantings in campus landscaping standards, and develop and implement a tree care plan by FY16 and an integrated pest management program by FY17

    7.3 Incorporate sustainability principles more fully into the Campus Master Plan.

    7.5 Increase carbon sequestration in campus soils by determining the sequestration value of existing plantings and identifying locations for additional plantings, with a specific objective of converting at least 50 acres of U of I farmland to agroforestry by FY20

    7.6 Reduce nitrates in agricultural runoff and subsurface drainage by 50% from the FY15 baseline by FY22

  7. iWG Meeting Minutes 5-14-21

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Engagement iCAP Team
    Zero Waste Recommendations Summary
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC)

    The iCAP Working Group met on 5-14-21. The agenda was as follows: 

    • Transportation iCAP Team presentation
    • Engagement iCAP Team presentation (presentation attached) 
    • Celebration of success ~ thank you!

    The Zoom recording is found here. (must download in order to view)

    Attached Files: 

  8. iWG Meeting Minutes from 4-27-21

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

    The iWG met on April 27, 2021, and discussed the iCAP Team recommendations: ZW002 Join NERC Government Recycling Demand Champions, ZW003 GreenerOffice Delivery Service Enrollment, ZW004 Reusable Dining Containers Program, LW002 Vet Med Parking Re-Design, and LW003 Certified Green Building Certification. See meeting minutes attached. 

    Attached Files: 

  9. LW003 Certified Greener Building Certification - Submitted

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

    The Land and Water iCAP team submitted the following Certified Greener Building Certification recommendation on 4/2/21:

    "The Land and Water iCAP Team recommends the creation of a Certified Greener Building Program to add to the portfolio of Greener Campus Programs under iSEE. The existing Greener Campus Programs target nearly every facet of campus life from University employees to student experiences. A Greener Building Certification would provide an opportunity for collaboration between building liaisons and the people and groups that utilize campus buildings. A set of requirements and voluntary actions must be developed to achieve the certification. Based on the success of the existing Certified Greener Campus programs, students, faculty, and staff alike are very likely to take advantage of the certification opportunity and embed these actions as part of building operations. These actions will also promote life-long sustainable habits. A Greener Building Certification would establish a sustainability standard and increase our culture of sustainability on campus."

    Attached Files: 

  10. LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design - Submitted

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

    The Land and Water iCAP team submitted the following LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design recommendation on 4/2/21:

    "This recommendation calls for a redesign of the Vet-Med parking lot F27 to reduce runoff and prevent flooding of the Dairy Farm. Project design recommendations would include adding stormwater infrastructure such as bioswales and raingardens within the redesigned parking lot, as well as to the west of the parking lot where much of the runoff from the asphalt currently flows. A student project, which placed first in the Central States Water Environmental Association Student Design Competition: Environmental Category addresses this issue, but the team recommends hiring a Professional Services Consultant team, consisting of a professional engineer and landscape architect for the design. It is possible that the firm may be willing to donate the design, which would reduce the cost."
     

    Attached Files: 

  13. SWATeam charge letters

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

    Attached are the charge letters sent to each of the SWATeam members with the iWG copied, on September 16 by iSEE interim director, Dr. Madhu Khanna. 

    Attached Files: 

  14. LW001 Data Repository - Submitted

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

    The Land and Water SWATeam made the following recommendation on 4/2/2020: 

    The Land & Water SWATeam recommends that a single data repository and online dashboard should be established to ingest, archive, and disseminate data from various sustainability related monitoring on and around campus. This could potentially be a dashboard included on the iCAP Portal.

    Currently, there is a need to keep permanent records of original data and measurements from a variety of sensors and applications and in a variety of formats.  The university should be able to provide reliable, secure online access to sustainability-related monitoring data, to manage all monitoring network locations, to integrate data acquisition systems and external databases, and automate continuous data importing. Data such as water quality, soil moisture, green roof monitoring, nitrogen content will be tracked. Data can be input as public or private (such as data from research papers before publication) and entered manually or pulled from other platforms and software. The goal is to be able to provide online tools to visualize, analyze, and download data.

    The SWATeam has identified two potential options to develop this system, such as the College of ACES Soil Diagnostics proprietary software. Additionally, personnel from the Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Lab in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering have developed a natural-resources data-management system that is able to assimilate and store data from a wide variety of sensors and provide online access to user-selected data streams (described in Explanation and Background section).

    The Land & Water SWATeam recommends that iSEE provide support to make this system the repository and dashboard for all sustainability-related monitoring across campus.  This would provide a single portal that would enable students, faculty, University staff and administration, and the public to access these monitoring data.

    Attached is the SWATeam recommendation LW001 Data Repository with comments from Land and Water SWATeam.

    Attached Files: 

  19. Mahomet Lots (Lot F-4) Permeable Pavement Proposal to SSC

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rainwater Management
    Rainwater Management Plans
    Use of Non-Potable Water (such as Greywater)
    Rainwater Capture Systems
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    Attached is the proposal, budget, and presentation for the upgrade of the Lot F-4 parking lot. 

    Attached Files: 

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