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Project Updates

  2. Weekly Update: Busy week!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Busy week! Sold bikes, stripped bikes, helped people fix bikes. We had especially good volunteer turnout on Friday. One frequent visitor even donated his neighbor’s old bike that was headed for the dumpster before he intercepted. Another person said they’ll be here to volunteer on Monday.

    Donations, thankfully, have hit a little bit of a lull, so we’ll be able to spend this week catching up on that. On Friday alone—see aforementioned volunteer levels—we started 4 new shop builds that will be finished this week.

    We also sold a bike to someone from Housing who works specifically in promoting healthy and environmental lifestyles in the dorms. He seemed really jazzed about our programming and operations. Hopefully that’ll be a future partnership.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 28
    Sales: $1,307.10
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Bikes (refurb): 6 for $1,040
    Tires/tubes: 5 for $26
    U locks: 3 for $63

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  3. TED Talk: Eco-Edition on Energy Conservation Follow-up

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

    Paul Foote, F&S Energy Efficiency and Conservation Specialist, led a thought-provoking discussion on 7-27-21 about the many uses of energy – even the hidden ones! – in our daily lives, how we can become more energy-conscious, and actions that we can all take to reduce consumption. Attached is the presentation and here a few resources additional resources that were discussed during the event:

    Be sure to sign up for the iSEE newsletter to stay up-to-date on other campus and community sustainability opportunities, including our future TED Talk discussions. Topics and hosts vary each month! Please reach out if you have any questions. Thank you again and have a great week!

    Attached Files: 

  5. iWG Meeting 7-22-21

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Energy iCAP Team
    Clean Energy Plan
    Green Research Committee
    Freezer Challenge
    Topical iCAP Teams

    The iCAP Working Group met on 7-22-21. Attached are the meeting minutes. The agenda was as follows: 

    1. Introductions
    2. Energy006
      1. Update on Freezer Challenge (Paul Foote) ~4 min
      2. Update on Greener Labs Inventory Toolkit (Morgan White) ~4 min
      3. Energy Team introduce the recommendation (Bill Rose, Andy Stumpf) ~8 min
      4. Group discussion ~10 min
    3. Energy007
      1. Overview of Energy Management Plan (Rob Roman) ~6 min
      2. Energy Team introduce the recommendation (Bill Rose, Andy Stumpf) ~8 min
      3. Group discussion ~45 min
        1. Should the scope only utilize existing technology?
        2. Do we want project-specific preliminary costs or prorated estimates based on historical costs?
        3. Does this document need stakeholder engagement?
        4. This is for meeting the 2050 iCAP goal.
        5. Should this document include net-zero space aspects or should it utilize an anticipated growth percentage?
        6. How does deferred maintenance interact with this plan?
        7. What scenarios would we like to see? For example, what if every new building on campus had to be net-zero energy?
    4. Overview of vision for iCAP Teams this academic year (Meredith Moore) ~5 min
      1. Enhanced interaction about the iCAP
      2. Standard recommendations from topical teams – encourage small-scale recommendations that will get to more campus units/groups
      3. Active participation at Campus Sustainability Celebration – afternoon of 10/20/21
      4. Increase connections with other groups – Student Affairs, SSLC, etc.
    Attached Files: 

  6. Geothermal Illinois - 7/29 Webinar

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Geothermal Coalition
    Geothermal on Campus
    Geothermal Urbana-Champaign

    Thank you to those who participated in the Geothermal Illinois webinar on 7/29! Many thanks to our presenters, Dr. Tugce Baser, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; John Freitag, Executive Director, Geothermal Alliance of Illinois; and Dr. Yu-Feng Forrest Lin, Director of Illinois Water Resources Center; Principal Research Hydrogeologist, Prairie Research Institute.

    As promised, slides are available for download here, and a recording can be found here.

    Other helpful links shared during the program:

    Please join us on August 10 and August 12 for geothermal webinars that will give us a closer look at campus projects and community models.

    For more information, please contact: 

    Nancy Esarey Ouedraogo
    Extension State Specialist, Community and Economic Development
    UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS EXTENSION
    https://extension.illinois.edu/
    905 S Goodwin Ave
    557 Bevier Hall MC 184
    Urbana, IL 61801
    esarey@illinois.edu
    217-244-7020

  7. 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/

  8. July 2021 Project Progress Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Cover Crops on South Farms

    The following project updates were provided by Allen Parrish on July 30, 2021:

    • The air seeder is ordered and should arrive in the next couple of weeks.
    • Cover crop seed plates are ordered to use a planter for cover crop seeding.
    • Several types of seeded have been done (7.5, 15, 30, and surface broadcasting.)
    • Seed orders are currently in the process of being placed.
    • The Animal Science Building will be getting the first fields planted after the harvest silage in late August 2021 / early September 2021.
    • An estimate for acereage planted can be provided in November 2021.

  9. Update on LAR East Gardens

    Associated Project(s): 
    LAR Native Plants

     

    “Chuck: You mentioned recently the patio had some weeds that needed to be cleaned up.  I took these photos today.  The areas in the photo are student garden areas.  I did see someone in one of the garden areas southeast of LAR last week.  I am not clear if she was there to work in the garden or perhaps for other research work.

    John: Would you be able to assist (organize some student help perhaps) with weeding in the patio gardens?  Could you also  include the student garden plantings at the main east entry to the building as well as the smaller gardens each side of the drive at Lincoln Ave.?  These are the first areas people will encounter at move in.”

    -Wayne Bugaj (07/27/2021)

     

     

    “Hello All,

    Yesterday I did some cleanup along with Sara Mason, a former LAR LLC member who graduated last year.  We pulled weeds by the small beds near the wheelchair ramp and did some trimming in the front beds including the one near Lincoln Ave. Two other former LLC students from 2016 and 17 helped a couple times this summer with some very basic weeding.  The people who started this maintain an interest, but most have let town.  The virus and “student priorities” have kept the regular LLC students from doing anything in the plantings for about 2 seasons.  Hopefully that will change this year.   Basically the plantings are mostly doing well.  They need some weeding and thinning.  A couple spots on the S side of the front steps and SW side of the building have areas where one or two species have taken over.  Some replanting would probably be good there, but is not critical.

    The main goal of providing pollinator resources is definitely being met.

    Chris Murphy told me in the spring that he hoped to get a faculty member to oversee a few students who could get credit for maintaining the plantings. 

     Anyway things look better now.  We took out 2.5  35 gallon cans of weeds.

     I hope this helps”

    -John Marlin (07/29/2021)

  10. Brainstorming incentive ideas for Commuter Program: Meeting between Sarthak and Avery on July 27

    Associated Project(s): 
    Commuter Program: Bus, Bike, and Hike

    Sarthak and Avery met on July 27 for a brainstorming session to discuss potential incentives for the Commuter Program: Bus, Bike, and Hike. Please see attached the meeting notes as well as a draft document for the Commuter Program with description and potential incentives. Here is a link to view the meeting recording (recording started 30 minutes in to the meeting): https://uofi.app.box.com/file/839557013310

    Attached Files: 

  11. 2021 – ECEB is 100% Solar Powered!

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECE Net-Zero Energy Building

    ECEB solar panels have been generating power since April 2020. Building energy use is offset by the ECEB solar panel production and, since February when a contract between F&S and ECE has been in place, the excess energy use not offset by the ECEB solar panels is being replaced through solar renewable energy credits (SRECS) from Solar Farm2. These credits are being paid for by the ECE Power and Energy group.

  12. Zero Waste iCAP Team: Reusables in Dining Meeting Notes (7/26)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reusable Containers

    On July 26, 2021, the Zero Waste iCAP Team met to discuss Reusable Dining Options. In this call, Thurman Etchison, Justin Holding, Meredith Moore, Alexa Smith, and Avery Maloto spoke about a reusable to-go container program that is scheduled to launch at the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester.

    Key takeaways from the call include the purchase of 10,000 reusable containers that will soon be available at Ikenberry, ISR, and LAR dining halls.

    See the attached file to read the meeting notes.

    Attached Files: 

  13. Current Count of Green Infrastructure

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Infrastructure

    From: White, Morgan <mbwhite at illinois.edu>
    Sent: Friday, July 23, 2021 4:46 PM
    To: Lewis, Brent C <bcl at illinois.edu>; Liggett, Betsy Jo <bliggett at illinois.edu>
    Cc: Moore, Meredith Kaye <mkm0078 at illinois.edu>
    Subject: current count of green infrastructure

     

    Hi Brent and Betsy,

     

    In the Green Infrastructure Project list at \\Fandsu360\Sustainability\iCAP Projects\04 Land and Water Projects\Green Infrastructure Project List, I count 39 GSI installations constructed on campus (skipping the one Rain Barrel location).

     

    Do you concur that it is the right number for our annual count in the iCAP Portal metrics?

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan 

     

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

    MORGAN B. WHITE
    Associate Director of F&S for Sustainability

     

    Facilities & Services | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    1501 S Oak Street (MC-800) | Champaign, IL 61820
    217.333.2668 | mbwhite at illinois.edu
    fs.illinois.edu/services/sustainability

    https://webtools.illinois.edu/webservices/js/ds/signature_logo.png

     

    The response to this email concluded that the current count of green infrastructure is accurate as the list was recently updated. 

  14. Upcoming energy-themed events

    Associated Project(s): 
    TED Talk: Eco Edition Series [ARCHIVED]
    Geothermal Urbana-Champaign
    Geothermal on Campus

    YOU are invited to iSEE's monthly TED Talk: Eco-Edition series discussion. Tomorrow (Tuesday), July 27 at 5:30 PM, Paul Foote, F&S Energy Efficiency and Conservation Specialist, will host the event and lead the July discussion on energy conservation. We will view a pre-recorded TED Talk , "The four things you need to know about the energy you use", followed by a guided discussion and roundtable. All are welcome to this (fun!) Zoom event, and I hope to see you there! Register here.

    Additionally on the topic of sustainable energy, this summer the University of Illinois Extension is hosting a series of free and online webinars on the topic of geothermal energy. There are three upcoming sessions at noon on the following dates (click the links to learn more and register): July 29 (Geothermal Energy in Illinois), on August 10 (Campus Case Study, highlighting ten existing campus geothermal projects), and August 12 (Community Case Study).

    There are many events in the coming weeks to keep you energized and engaged!

     

  15. Archived Info - Previous Project Description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Environment-Enhancing Energy Paradigm for Food Waste to Biofuel and Biomaterial [ARCHIVED]

    A student research team, under Dr. Yuanhui Zhang, will expand the Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2E) research program to campus application by augmenting wet food waste produced through the dining halls. They will first survey dining services food waste and make their findings available to campus affiliates. Next, they will take dining waste and convert it into biofuel and asphalt. This process will reduce UIUC’s food waste, advancing the Illinois Climate Action Plan efforts. Likewise, the project will bring awareness to food waste at a local level. In December 2017, this project received $10,000 from the Student Sustainability Committee to kickstart the project.

  16. Archived Info - Previous Project Description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Environment-Enhancing Energy Paradigm for Food Waste to Biofuel and Biomaterial [ARCHIVED]

    A student research team, under Dr. Yuanhui Zhang, will expand the Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2E) research program to campus application by augmenting wet food waste produced through the dining halls. They will first survey dining services food waste and make their findings available to campus affiliates. Next, they will take dining waste and convert it into biofuel and asphalt. This process will reduce UIUC’s food waste, advancing the Illinois Climate Action Plan efforts. Likewise, the project will bring awareness to food waste at a local level. In December 2017, this project received $10,000 from the Student Sustainability Committee to kickstart the project.

  17. Weekly Update: Refurbished bikes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Continuing in our lucky streak of donations, we got a few bikes donated last week that we’ve already fixed up and sold. It is really an ideal situation when donations need minimal work like that and then the ideal person shows up the next day to purchase the bike. On the flipside, I counted 16 bikes that we moved out to the racks just to clear enough space for the bike center to be functional.

    Big thanks to Todd who picked up our heaping pile of scrap. I’ll spend some time this week starting a new heaping pile.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 16
    Sales: $1,386.50
    Bikes (refurb): 6 for $905
    Memberships: 6 for $180
    U locks: 4 for $84
    Tire/tubes: 2 for $9

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  18. July 2021 Project Progress Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Air Quality Monitoring Station

    Moazam Hakim provided the following updates regarding the Air Quality Monitoring Station on July 26, 2021:

    • The actual pod was received on Monday, July 26, 2021. This pod was procured from Stratford, UK.
    • The next step is to get this pod installed on a lighting pole, or at another suitable location on campus.
    • Over the course of the past month, the development of public interface and API for the data has been underway. After the installation of the pod, the collected data will be reported via Mobile Network, and the dashboard will be released. This dashboard will report live data, as well as provide past data and information available for download. 
    • The parameters that are being monitored are PM, NO, NO2, O3, CO, CO2, Relative Humidity, and Barometric Pressure.

  19. Request for Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Fly Ash Phosphorous Filtration

    Avery Maloto reached out to Rabin Bhattarai requesting an update for the "Fly Ash Phosphorous Filtration" project in the iCAP portal. Rabin explained that the project ended in December of 2018, and there are no ongoing activities related to the project. 

  20. iSEE Annual Report and iCAP Portal Updates Request

    Associated Project(s): 
    Environment-Enhancing Energy Paradigm for Food Waste to Biofuel and Biomaterial [ARCHIVED]

    Tony Mancuso, the Communications and Public Affairs Director, has requested updates on the progress of Professor Sinha and Professor Zhang's 2018 Campus as a Living Lab seed-funded projects for the iSEE website and the iSEE annual report.

    Professor Zhang sent updates for this project per Avery Maloto's request to update the iCAP Portal. Pictures were included in the update but there was an issue determining the status of the funding. 

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