Willard Airport Director, Tim Bannon, and F&S Associate Director for Sustainability, Morgan White, discussed the potential for solar at Willard Airport.  Tim identified approximately 100 acres available for solar.

A full week of warm weather is forthcoming, so we should be busy. We’ll be closed next week for Spring Break and right after that our full Mon – Fri schedule will resume. This Thursday we have another Instructional Class—hopefully it’s as well-attended as the last one!

This week, we’ll also grab the last of the worth-our-trouble abandoned bikes from storage.

The numbers:

Visitors: 36
Sales: 767.38
Bikes (Refurb): 2 for $395
Memberships: 7 for $210
Tires/tubes: 5 for $32

The attached PDF contains performance metrics for ZipCar usage on campus for February 2025.

The Land and Water team met on March 7th, 2025, at 9 am on Teams this month. In this week's meeting, the team discussed prairie strips, sustainable water usage on campus, milkweed plantings for pollinators, and activities to participate in this coming Arbor Day. The agenda and notes from the meeting are linked below. 

The Illinois Leadership Center achieved Chrysalsis Level Green Office Certificaiton!!

University bike sharing partner Veo is expected to return 750 bicycles (Class 2 e-bikes) to Champaign-Urbana this month. The company removes its entire local fleet for upkeep when ridership significantly decreases over the winter.

Click here to see official email announcement.

The prior annual reports were not submitted, so F&S worked to update the Bee Campus Committee members, update the Charge Letter, and submit the 2023 data.  The Xerces Society approved the 2023 Bee Campus USA report on March 5, 2023. 

The iCAP Education team met on teams from 4-5 pm on Monday March 3rd. First, we recapped the Green Career Forum and the Green Career Panel. Then we discussed updates on the collection of data for the AASHE Stars report, integrating sustainability language into course descriptions and developing the Gen-Ed sustainability requirement. Lastly the team introduced a sustainability graduate certificate and student internship opportunities. The meeting minutes are attatched. 

An article was published in Illinois Public Media News on How the U of I's new Bicycle Plan aims to make the campus more bike-friendly. An excerpt from the article was featured on the University of Illinois System's News & Trends weekly email. 

Great meeting for the Transportation Team, discussing future projects and EV infrastructure possibilities on campus.

Looking forward to the Green Globes and Bike to Earth event!

Attached is a news article titled Urbana’s Feet Hit the Streets, 1977, covering Urbana’s "Bus, Bike, and Hike Week." This was among the initial initiatives promoting alternative transportation to reduce traffic, pollution, and encourage exercise. The event included a pedestrian parade, free bus rides, a film on automobile impacts, and bike trips across Illinois. Check it out to learn more about Urbana’s historical sustainable mobility efforts.

See attached a newspaper article 'The Bachelors ' (May 14, 1961), which explores the controversy surrounding bicycle paths and features a striking song or poem about a University of Illinois student’s tragic fate on one.

See attached an aerial image from the construction of KCPA, 8/3/1966. An example that showcases the university's leadership in bicycle friendliness in the 50's and 60's.

Staff collected and updated data for the month of January and February on 2/26/25.  

Still slow but have had a few people in looking for bikes or B-a-Bs but no sales on either. With the warmer weather this week, we’ll likely be busier. I’ve got a half dozen bikes to safety check while the weather is cooperating.

Last week and today we made some more headway on the abandoned bike pile. Still coordinating with some other groups to take some of the junky bikes off our hands.

Tonight is the Bike Project Monthly Meeting.

The numbers:

Visitors: 23
Sales: $82
Membership: 1 for $30
Tire/tube: 1 for $6

At this past Friday's Illinii Lights Out event, 3953 light bulbs were shut off that otherwise would have been left on all weekend, saving $601.43 in energy costs. This also prevented 5.8 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 660 gallons of gasoline being consumed. That's a huge impact!

The meeting covered several key updates and discussions on sustainability initiatives. The Chair provided updates on the Green Training Program survey, seeking feedback on student engagement strategies. The Vice Chair discussed efforts for a greener campus, including outreach to Greek Life. The Clerk emphasized the importance of in-person meetings and marketing materials. Guest speakers highlighted upcoming events like Sustainapalooza and Illinifest, stressing the logistical challenges and opportunities for student involvement. Discussions included promotional outreach, sustainability projects such as Greener Chapters yard signs and low-maintenance greenery at ISR, and the importance of connecting sustainability efforts across campus. Additionally, engagement team members offered support for these initiatives, and an approved course for next semester was announced. Adam encouraged members to consider speaking at the sustainability film festival.

25 lbs of common milkweed seed was dispersed by F&S Grounds. The attached pdf shows a map of places where this seed was dispersed.

Uneventful over here. Slow and cold. Plodding away at bikes and wheels to have a good supply of both come the busy times. This week I’ll meet some TBP volunteers to clean out the barn more, as it’ll be March soon.

The numbers:

Visitors: 19
Sales: $281.50
Bikes (B-a-B): 2 for $100
Memberships: 3 for $90
Tires/tubes: 1 for $4