All, Not much news from last week. We still aren’t busy-busy. I picked up bikes from the warehouse to scrap. I moved six kids bikes to Urbana on the big bike trailer and got lots of surprised looks, quizzical glances, and a couple thumbs up. Considering the amount of attention that trailer gets, we should look into getting some signage for it.

There’s been some nascent interest in volunteering from a few visitors. That’s been welcome. We also rearranged the workspace, moving the second repair stand next to the first one by the tool wall. They’re still safely separated but not totally annexed to the other side of the shop.
This week is our Friday Ride—last week was a no-show again—and our Quad Fix It Day on Thursday. I’ll be helping with the Bike Census on Wednesday as well.

The numbers:

Visitors: 15
Sales: $627.24
Memberships: 3 for $90
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $140

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Manager, Campus Bike Center

This opportunity is available online. 

TED Talk: Eco-Edition series - Earth Month

In celebration of Earth Month, the next TED Talk: Eco-Edition will focus on environmental activism and individual vs. corporate responsibility for climate change. Participants will view a prerecorded TED Talk by Xiye Bastida: "If you adults won't save the world, we will." All are then invited to participate in a guided discussion hosted by iSEE Communications Intern and ESES student Maria Maring.

April 29, 7–8 PM • Map

Meredith Moore • Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

Happy Friday! I hope you are having a great Earth Week/Earth Month and have been able to attend a few (of the many!) activities this April. The Bike Census Spring 2021 is next Wednesday, April 28, from 10 – 11 AM. Bike Census is a collaborative, community-wide effort between Facilities & Services (F&S) and Champaign County Bikes that began in 2013 as part of ongoing improvement efforts to support the campus’ Bicycle Friendly University status.

If you are available to volunteer next Wednesday morning, please sign up here. There will be a virtual training session beforehand at 9 AM. Two Illinois coffee mugs will be raffled off for student volunteers. I hope you are able to participate and in the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Sarthak Prasad (sprasad9@illinois.edu).

On another note, in celebration of Earth Month, the next iSEE TED Talk: Eco-Edition event will focus on environmental activism and individual versus corporate responsibility for climate change. On Thursday, April 29 at 7 PM, participants will view a prerecorded TED Talk presented in July 2020 by Xiye Bastida: "If you adults won't save the world, we will." Afterward, all are invited to participate in a guided discussion hosted by iSEE Communications Intern and ESES student, Maria Maring. Sign up here.

As always, be sure to check out the iSEE Sustainability Calendar for upcoming events and programs and help spread the word. Have a great weekend!

To wrap up Earth Week, President Killeen, Chancellor Jones, and leadership teams sent out the following message:

"The University of Illinois System welcomes President Biden’s publicly announced commitment to action on climate change, a serious and essential statement of the country’s resolve to lead in building a better, more sustainable future.

President Biden’s new plan to, among other things, cut U.S. emissions in half by 2030 also represents a call to the country’s centers of research and innovation for the bold ideas needed to make these goals reality.

The University of Illinois System and its three universities stand ready to help."

Go Illini!

https://massmail.illinois.edu/massmailArchive 

Thank you for a great Earth Week, Illini! Here a few highlights:

• SSC hosted an Environmental Quad Day 
• Climate Strike on the Quad
• Virtual open house for campus solar
• Illini Union Pretzels + Plants and recycling center launch 

The Telecommuting & Commuter Program intern met with supervisor Sarthak Prasad on Friday, April 23rd, 2021 to discuss updates on the program and goals for the upcoming week. Over the past week, they emailed over 10 different universities to fill out the google survey and/or schedule an interview to gain more personal insights and research. They also emailed the updated questionnaire to the IHR department, however, the department had to reschedule the meeting to May 5th. In addition, Audrey has begun creating the final deliverable presentation via PowerPoint for the transportation SWATeam meeting on April 30th. In the coming week, she will reach out again to the universities that have not yet filled out the google survey, and finish the final deliverable presentation.

Attached are the minutes to the Zero Waste SWATeam meeting which took place on April 23, 2021. The meeting agenda was as follows:

• Elimination of thermal paper receipts.
• Education on Waste Management.
• Reduction of water bottle purchases in vending machines.

Potential initiatives which resulted from this conversation:

• Pursue sustainable receipt options to divert receipts from University waste stream.
• RA Training on waste management, with intent to educate students in university housing about sustainability.
• Creating a sustainability training video for buyers through the Purchasing office.
• Recommendation to create F&S standard to modify water fountain installations.
• Recommendation to do a behavioral assessment on water bottle purchasers.
• Recommendation to launch an education campaign for campus members on tap water quality.

The SSC awarded $1,200 for the "Bike Registration Signs". This award will expire on May 14, 2022.

The Solar Array on the I-Hotel and Conference Center is now producing electricity. This is a 149.7 kW Solar Array. This project was completed in December 2020.

The Energy iCAP Team met on April 14th, 2021 with Brian Bundren, a member of the Illinois Space Advisory Committee, about to learn more about how campus space can be managed more efficiently as a way to reduce energy consumption. The University moving from hybrid learning to more in-person instruction and the new IVCB budget model that assigns bills individual colleges for their energy use will have significant impacts on space usage. The team also discussed our recommendation for Green Labs, or ways to integrate sustainability in research labs and reduce their energy consumption. We will also be moving forward with recommending an Energy Planning document to outline steps towards carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Meeting minutes and agenda are attached!

The Resilience iCAP Team met on April 6th, 2021 to brainstorm ideas for public engagement for creating our first Environmental Justice Plan. Members identified important avenues for learning about local intutions on what are relevant barriers to equitable health and safety in our communities. Moving forward, the Biodiversity Plan and EJ Plan will look to possibly engage the Department of Urban Planning and other students who will work on focus group interviews over the summer. The meeting concluded with an overview of the current progress of all Resilience iCAP objectives and future steps.

Meeting minutes and chat log are attached! 

Please see attached the presentation for the CTAC meeting in Spring 2021. This meeting was held on April 20, 2021. Here is the link to see the recording of this meeting: https://uofi.box.com/s/i1853i4hp9oxj6vjm0ow5h0rxe5me4be

All, Not a whole lot to report from last week. We had our first attendee for a Friday Ride. He was unfamiliar with basic rules of the road so we took him on a very short loop to get him acclimated. At a stop light he asked, “So you can ride in the road?” Something to consider in future route planning/participation. We missed a call/voicemail from someone else asking about the Friday Ride so we’ll have to keep an eye on the phones going forward, as well.

The forecasted snow on Tuesday probably won’t help business this week. I have the Campus Transportation Advisory Committee to attend on Tuesday but the rest of the week is business as usual. I’ll grab some more salvageable parts from the bike barn for staff-tasks for the week.
The numbers:

Visits: 25

Sales: $339
Memberships: 5 for $150
Tubes/tires: 10 for $50

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Manager, Campus Bike Center

The Telecommuting & Commuter Program intern met with supervisor Sarthak Prasad on Friday, April 16th, 2021 to discuss updates on the program and goals for the upcoming week. Over the past week, they collected the necessary information to contact the employees responsible for telecommuting at the Big 10 Schools, the University of Illinois at Springfield, and Chicago. On Monday, they will email these universities and include the newly made google form to continue to gain more personal insights and research. Also on Monday, they will email the updated questionnaire to the HR department, so that they are ready for their meeting on April 22nd. This week, they will begin creating the final deliverable presentation via powerpoint for the transportation SWATeam.

Happy Earth Day, 2021!!! 

Welcome to the UIUC Solar Sites Open House!

• Nine campus solar power installations are available to visit at this virtual open house.
• Contact people for each site are standing on the yellow stars by their facility, on Earth Day from 9-10:30 AM.
• There are also links for further information about each solar site.

Hints for Using Topia

• Zoom out on your browser to see more of the campus at once.
• Click on a destination to move your avatar to that site, or use the arrow keys to navigate
• Send messages in Topia to people you meet here, with the mailbox icons.

***MAKE SURE TO USE GOOGLE CHROME AS YOUR BROWSER*** 

Invitation - Open to All

Ever wonder how far the university has come in solar energy use? Come out to the UIUC Solar Sites Open House hosted on Topia, an interactive online platform, to learn about different buildings and areas across campus that are producing solar energy! During the Open House, contacts for each location will be available to answer questions about the solar installations at nine locations. Learn more about the amazing solar installations on campus!

This event will take place online from 9-10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 22 (Earth Day!), at https://topia.io/uiuc-solar-sites.*

***MAKE SURE TO USE GOOGLE CHROME AS YOUR BROWSER***