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Project Updates

  2. Energy Education grant program

    Associated Project(s): 
    Seek External Grant Funding for Implementation

    https://www.constellation.com/community/e2-energy-to-educate.html

    Through the E2 Energy to EducateSM grant program, Constellation offers students in grades 6-12 and college opportunities to experience problem-solving today’s and tomorrow’s energy challenges. Grant funds support projects designed to enhance students’ understanding of science and technology, and inspire them to think differently about energy.

  3. EV Procurement Law in Illinois

    Associated Project(s): 
    Electric Vehicle (EV) Task Force
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)
    Fleet Replacement Plans

    EO 2108, ELECTRIC VEHICLE PROCUREMENT. The executive order provides that the state shall: (1) develop and implement a program for procurement of electric and other low emission or zero emission vehicles for state purposes; (2) establish a State Fleet Working Group convened by the Department of Central Management Services and composed of representatives from the Department of Transportation, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and the Illinois Commerce Commission; (3) set forth the responsibilities of the working group; (4) direct the Department of Central Management Services, in conjunction with other state agencies, to develop a plan to install electric vehicle chargers on state property; and (5) direct the Illinois State Board of Education to collaborate with the Department of Transportation and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to develop tools and provide information to assist school districts in assessing the benefits and costs of zero emission bus options when replacing school buses. The executive order became effective 22 APR 21.

    https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2108&GAID=16&DocTypeID=EO&SessionID=110&GA=102

    https://www2.illinois.gov/Pages/Executive-Orders/ExecutiveOrder2021-08.a...

  4. Walkability Audit: Week 9 meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Walkability Study

    On Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, Oct 19, 22, 23, 2021, Sutapa and Sarthak met to work on the Training Manual for the Walkability Audit. 

    The training manual is designed for the volunteers to understand the project better before starting their audits next week. The training manual entails the following sections (more details included in the attached word doc):

    1. Introduction to the Project

    2. Maps of the site of intervention

    3. Directions for volunteers

    4. Understanding the Walkability Audit questionnaire- Each question explained with figures for key concepts

    5. Understanding the Deficiency Reporting questionnaire- Categories of deficiencies with an example of how to collect data

    The draft manual has been sent to everyone involved in the project for their perusal before finally sending it to the volunteers.

    Volunteer list has also been processed. They have been divided into teams and assigned map blocks to audit. The list of teams along with the training manual will be sent to all the volunteers shortly after 26th Oct ( Tuesday's meeting).

  5. Vision Zero - Final report presentation by Ray and Jacob + meeting recording

    Associated Project(s): 
    Vision Zero
    Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC)

    Dr. Ray Benekohal and Jacob Mathew met with Stacey DeLorenzo, Sarthak Prasad, and Stacy Gloss, and they presented the findings from their Vision Zero project in 2020-21. They collected information on campus locations with

    1. Potential problems
    2. Near misses
    3. Collisions

    They received more than 500 responses, of which nearly 475 were on campus. They analyzed the crash report data from IDOT from 2014-18, and they also organized two focus group studies.

    Please see attached the final presentation and the full report. See the full report from this study online at: https://uofi.box.com/s/zyuqv8p11tleiuqzsvwge3utsuuutipp

    See the meeting recording (45 minute presentation) here: https://uofi.box.com/s/wjybgfpjdz1nyl6hahw09utub8162ynd

    See the preliminary report shared during CTAC Fall 2020 presentation

    Attached Files: 

  6. Zero Waste iCAP Team Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Achieve Zero Waste

    On Friday, October 22, the Zero Waste iCAP Team met to touch base on the status of last semester's submitted recommendations and potential recommendations that were proposed last semester. The team also held an ideation session to generate new recommendation ideas. Members will be filling out a form to identify their primary initiative interests before next meeting to serve as a starting point for the team's work. Meeting minutes attached.

    Attached Files: 

  7. Natural Water Balance

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water Conservation [ARCHIVED]

    Meredith Moore, Sustainability Programs Manager, reached out to Associate Professor Ashlynn Stillwell to ask a question from the AASHE STARS sustainability report (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Sustainability Tracking and Reporting System). The question is: "Has the institution calculated a natural water balance for the campus to assess the sustainability of its water withdrawal?". Professor Stillwell replied explaining that UIUC has not calculated its natural water balance, and proposed ideas on how to it can start doing so. Specifically she said, 

    "First, it seems like a question that is motivated by water scarcity, given the phrasing "sustainability of its water withdrawal". Extraction (withdrawal) of water is not the only way I personally would calculate water sustainability. In our part of the world, runoff volume and the contaminants contained in that runoff are important aspects of sustainability too. 

    Next, to actually calculate the natural water balance, I would think one would write a high-level mass balance around the campus. 'Natural' to me implies 'non-engineered', so at first pass, I would only include natural water flows. However, the question then mentions waer withdrawal, which is a non-natural human interaction with water, which makes me think the engineered water system should be included also. 

    For a high-level water mass balance around campus, it would be similar to any mass balance: IN - OUT = CHANGE IN STORAGE 

    What goes IN? potable water, raw water (?), makeup to chilled water loop, makeup to steam loop, rainfall, runoff from upstream areas, inflowing streams, inflowing groundwater. 

    What goes OUT? waste water, evaporation (from steam and chilled water loops), evapotranspiration, runoff (from rainfall and from overwatering from sprinklers), runoff to downstream areas, surface stream discharge, outflowing groundwater.

    How much is CHANGE IN STORAGE? probably zero at steady state on a sufficiently large timescale."

  8. Resilience Work Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Build Resilience with Our Local Community

    Resilience Work Group Meeting 10/21/2021

    Present: Morgan White, Meredith Moore, Stacy Gloss

    Project Management:

    Stacy will start keeping track of resilience projects in an excel Gantt chart to be able to show high-level progress. Project progress will be tracked as “not begun, just starting, in progress, finishing up, done”

    Stacy showed changes she made to the Resilience box.com folder by adding Objective folders.

    Project Updates: 

    We discussed Vision Zero. Morgan asked Stacy to contact CCRPC, Champaign and Savoy planners for their perspectives on Vision Zero. Stacy presented draft recommendations for the next steps Vision Zero white paper. We discussed these early recommendations and path for sharing the white paper with the iCAP team and with Gina for editing.

    Stacy briefly shared progress on getting an understanding of how the 2010 and 2015 iCAPs intended to create a local offsets program.  

    We discussed an update to the DFA student project.  

     

  11. ECIP Award Winners

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)

    On October 20, 2021, the 2021 Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) Award Winners were announced at the Campus Sustainability Celebration!

    UIUC is home to a total of 10 winners and honorable mentions, as listed below according to their categories:

    • Occupant Action Category
      • Ice Arena
      • Student Dining and Residential Programs
      • English Building
      • Campus Recreation Center East (CRCE)
    • Energy Advancement Category
      • Stock Pavilion
      • Forbes Natural History Building
      • Levis Faculty Center
      • Early Development Lab
    • Honorable Mentions
      • State Farm Center
      • Bielfeldt Athletic Administrative Building

    See the attached file to read the official announcement of 2021 ECIP Winners, including the locations' % improvements and monetary savings.

    Attached Files: 

  13. Green Infrastructure & Erosion Control Conference

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rainwater Management
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)
    Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) Climate Action Plan

    The 2021 biennial Champaign County Stormwater Partnership Green Infrastructure and Erosion Control Conference took place on October 20th.

    The following email provides some context and resources with more information about the event.

    The program and the media post for the conference are attached below.

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

    From: Liggett, Betsy Jo 
    Sent: Friday, September 03, 2021 9:59 AM
    To: Stillwell, Brett
    Cc: White, Morgan; Wilcoxen, David B; Ruhter, Colleen; Liggett, Betsy Jo
    Subject: Green Infrastructure & Erosion Control Conference

     

    Good morning Brett!

    I wanted to share an upcoming conference opportunity with you and others in DIA. F&S Safety and Compliance is a member of the Champaign County Stormwater Partnership to help meet goals for our campus stormwater municipality permit. One of the permit Public Education and Outreach goals is to host a biennial stormwater conference. We have several speakers this year one of which is a member from Green Sports Alliance (GSA) who will speak about the GSA program and provide examples of what other organizations/universities have done to meet the program missions.  Green Sports Alliance

     

    Please share with others and join us October 20, 2021 for the free biennial Champaign County Stormwater Partnership Green Infrastructure and Erosion Control Conference. This year the conference will be virtual instead of at the iHotel and Conference Center, however Professional Development Hours are still available. Attendance is limited and you can register at the following link Champaign County Stormwater Conference - CHAMPAIGN COUNTY STORMWATER PARTNERSHIP (ccstormwater.org)

     

    Thank you!

    Betsy

    Attached Files: 

  16. Compiled Campus Rain Work Data

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Infrastructure

    Brent Lewis compiled the following to offer insight into (1) Campus Storm Peak Runoff, (2) Existing Green Infrastructures, and (3) Turf Lawn Irrigation information for campus.

    List of Permeable Paver Installations on Campus:

    Nugent/Ikenberry Complex

     

    Permeable concrete paving and pavers

    Electrical & Computer Engineering

     

    Permeable paver service area & East plaza

    Siebel Center for Design

     

    Permeable paver service area

    Bookstore (MCORE P4)

     

    Permeable paver sidewalks

    ISR

     

    Permeable paver sidewalks

    Hydrosystems / Newmark  

     

    Permeable pavers

    Alma Mater

     

    Permeable pavers

    Henry Administration

     

    Permeable pavers

    Swanlund / John St. 

     

    Permeable pavers

    Japan House Bike Parking

     

    Permeable pavers

    Altgeld Hall (future-2026)

     

    Permeable pavers

    Illini Hall (future-2024)

     

    Permeable pavers

    Coordinated Science Lab (future fall 2021-spring 2022)

     

    Permeable pavers

    State Farm Center

     

    Permeable pavers in the NE parking lot.  (NW lot in planning)

     

     

    List of Underground Retention Facilities & Detention Ponds (On and Off-Campus):

    Football Performance Center

    just south of building 1540, west of Fourth Street and north of Kirby Avenue

    Underground retention

    Ikenberry Commons

    between buildings 0084, 1248, 0079, and 0080

    Underground retention

    IGB

    just west of 1080, at roughly the northwest corner of Gregory Drive and Goodwin Avenue (just east of "Mathews Avenue extended")

    Underground retention

    Siebel Center for Design

    east of 1517, between Fourth Street and Sixth Street, and Peabody and Gregory

    Underground retention

    Stadium Soccer Fields

    northwest corner of Stadium Drive and First Street

    Underground retention

    Siebel Center

    -

    Underground retention

    Noyes

    -

    Underground retention

    Bielfeldt Detention Pond

    west of 0379 against Fourth St in the circle drive

    Detention pond

    Windsor Road Detention Basin

    southwest corner Windsor and First St.

    Detention pond

    South Research Park Detention Pond

    southwest corner St. Mary's and Oak St.

    Detention pond

     

    List of Irrigation Efforts On Campus:

    • We have irrigated fields for both Athletics and Campus Rec. 
    • Athletics’ Bielfeldt and Ubben areas are irrigated
    • The Research Park also has irrigation out there.    
    • The arboretum has irrigation, mainly at the Hartley Garden
    • The President’s House is irrigated
    • The Main Quad is irrigated, as well as the Bardeen Quad and North Quad
    • Beckman Institute is irrigated
    • The landscaped area around the Hallene Gateway is irrigated

  17. Data Regarding EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge

    Associated Project(s): 
    EPA RainWorks Challenge [ARCHIVED]
    Rainwater Management

    Yuhze Zhang, leader of the Master plan team in EPA Rainworks Challenge 2021, asked Brent Lewis, UIUC's campus landscape architect, for some data for the challenge. Data asked for includes campus storm peak runoff, existing green infrastructure, turf lawn irrigation.

    More information regarding the data can be found in the email chain attached below.

     

    Another participant of the EPA Rainworks Challenge, Matthew Rodriguez, also requested data.

    This email chain is attached below.

     

    The Water Reuse Handbook is also attached below (attachment from both email chains).

     

    Attached Files: 

  18. Weekly Update: Fixing bike pump; fixing bicycles; student employment

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last Tuesday we had our Green Quad Day event. We had a few people stop by later in the week after talking with them and one potential student application for employment. We were also generously resupplied with clothes for making into rags. (Thanks, Morgan!) The beautiful weather was certainly an added perk.

    On Thursday I picked up the remaining bikes from the warehouse that are worth our time. We’ll get to rehabbing those bikes this week. There are a good 20 – 30 bikes left there that are destined for the scrap heap. Unfortunately, 3 of the 10 bikes didn’t pass even a basic inspection so they’ll be fodder for parts.

    We’re currently very low on used 26” tires. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.

    This week I’ll also get the ball moving on fixing the outdoor pump, which is broken again.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 40
    Sales: $586.50
    Bike (refurb): 1 for $190
    Memberships: 7 for $210
    Tires/tubes: 8 for $32

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  19. Campus Landscape Master Plan - Core Planning Committee Charge Letter 2021

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)

    On October 18, 2021, the Campus Landscape Master Plan - Core Planning Committee Charge Letter was sent out to its members.

    In this document, Ehab Kamara, the Interim Executive director of Facilities and Services, outlines the responsibilities of committee members and background information for this project. 

    See the attached file to read the charge letter.

    Attached Files: 

  20. TED Talk: Eco Edition - Sustainable Economy

    Associated Project(s): 
    TED Talk: Eco Edition Series [ARCHIVED]

    Join iSEE for our monthly "TED Talk: Eco-Edition" event! Participants will view a prerecorded TED Talk by Kate Raworth, “A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow.” Afterward, iCAP Team Clerk Alexa Smith, a U of I senior, will lead a guided discussion on what makes a sustainable, beneficial economy. Sign up to learn, discuss and connect with peers on an important sustainability topic!

    October 19, 6 pm • Zoom

    Julie Wurth • Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

    TED Talk: Eco Edition - Sustainable Economy

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