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Project Updates

  1. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Urbana-Champaign

    The City of Urbana has partnered with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) and the Grow Solar Partnership to coordinate a second solar group buy in Champaign County, building on the success of Solar Urbana-Champaign, which took place from December 2015 through June of 2016. The advantage of a group buy is the power of volume purchasing, which can significantly reduce the up-front costs of installing solar on your home or business. You do not need to be a City of Urbana resident to participate – the group buy is open to all Champaign County residents and business owners.

  2. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program [ARCHIVED]

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Here are the zero-waste activities for the week: Morgan, Brent Lewis, and I met with Shawn Hopkins of Bigbelly to discuss possibilities for indoor bins. 

    • I responded some emails about styrofoam recycling.
    • I participated in a CURC listserv discussion about conveyor belt sorting systems. I asked Morgan about any pictures, videos, schematics, and data we might be able to share,
    • I drafted a semesterly report and scope-and-timeline change request for the SSC funding to see if they can give us another year and if we can focus the remaining funds on replacing the outdoor bins with dual bins. Morgan has the draft to review. 
    • I responded to an inquiry from La Casa Cultural Latina about participating in the glove recycling program. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  3. Update from Davey Tree

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Tree Inventory

    Here is an update on the progress of the tree inventory. Tree Count - 1,117

    Progress

    I began on the north side of campus as we discussed in our kickoff meeting, and have started working south. I have completed most everything north of Green St. I will continue to work my way south next week. See attached file.

    Next week I will also start to do some data quality checks and will include some of that reporting in these update emails. If you have any questions, please let me know.

    Reid Gibson, Project Manager, Davey Resource Group, ISA Certified Arborist/Municipal Specialist, IL-5319AM ISA, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified

    Attached Files: 

  7. capacity question for rooftop solar

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar PVs at Idea Garden

    The annual usage of electricity at the Idea Garden shed is much lower than the proposed solar array will provide.  Because this building is currently powered by Ameren and not connected to the campus electrical grid, there will be a loss of any kilowatt-hours not used during the course of one year. 

  8. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar PVs at Idea Garden

    The Master Gardeners are interested in adding rooftop solar PVs to the garden shed to the east of the Idea Garden in the Arboretum. The Idea Garden is a community garden planned, managed and maintained by the Champaign County Master Gardener volunteers.

    The accompanying map shows the layout of the garden, The solar panels would be installed at shed (A) and provide power to building. The power grid would be extended to the garden to power light fixtures and outlets at sites B1-B4, C and D. Remodeling of the Idea Garden to provide access for people with disabilities is scheduled to begin in 2016, so this would be an opportune time to install underground cables. A small parking lot is also to be built at D. Funding for the proposed installation is not available from the grant supporting the remodel.

  10. Spring 2018 meetings summary

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    • The first meeting was held on 1/31/2018 with the full committee, and the agenda focused on the overall plans for 2018. The chair reviewed the responsibilities of the committee and delegated responsibilities to each committee member.
    • At the 2/14/18, 3/7/18, and 3/28/18 meetings, we planned the content and display of the Bee Campus web page. All code and design were done by two student committee members.
    • At the 2/21/18, 3/21/18, and 4/22/18 meetings, we planned the first annual pollinator-awareness event. It was decided that the event would be a film screening and trivia night.
    • The integrated pest management plan was developed via email exchanges.
    • At the 5/10/18 meeting, we planned the habitat plan and permanent signage.

  12. Training program at Parkland

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Infrastructure
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

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    National Green Infrastructure Certification Program

    at Parkland College, Aug. 27-31

     

    Green infrastructure (GI) has become a critical component to comprehensive stormwater management. Successful implementation of green infrastructure requires access to adequately skilled workforce available to perform the installation, inspection, and maintenance tasks.

     

    Landscaping, city planning, public works, and stormwater managing can all benefit from the knowledge and skills to ensure that green infrastructure projects are installed and maintained properly to support long-term performance.

     

    By underscoring your competency in these areas, certification increases your competitiveness in the job market, and provides a pathway to higher paying positions.

     

    • The benefits of becoming certified by the NGICP include: Expansion of your skills and knowledge of building, inspecting and maintaining GI systems
    • Greater awareness of GI career opportunities
    • Proof of your commitment to supporting sustainable performance of GI practices
    • Exposure to employers looking to hire skilled GI workers through the NGICP Certification Database

     

     

    Course begins Aug. 27-31, 8 AM-5 PM. $975 fee only includes training. The $200 certification exam fee is paid directly to WEF. Exam will be administered on August 31. A link to register for the exam will be provided to those who register for the training.

     

    Registration Deadline: August 20

     

    Click here for more information and to register or call 217/351-2235 for more information.

     

    The training is 35-40 hours and includes approximately 25 hours of classroom time (lecture and interactive exercises) and 10 hours of field visits to green infrastructure sites. We provide a class review at the end of the training to help participants prepare for the certification exam. Participants must be in attendance for the entire class. No make-up sessions are available.

     

    While Parkland College provides the NGICP training, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) administers the certification exam. WEF will administer the certification exam at the training site on the last day of the class (Aug. 31). A link to register with WEF for the exam will be provided to those who register for this class on or by August 20, 2018.

     

    If your employer will be paying for your training, please complete this 3rd Party Sponsorship Form and return to our office prior to registration: btce@parkland.edu.

  13. 2017 Water Quality Report available

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water Conservation [ARCHIVED]

    The 2017 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Water Quality Report is available. The report provides information about the source of campus drinking water, contaminant testing, general health precautions, and how the calendar year 2017 sample results compare to regulatory requirements.

    The university has met all U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA drinking water quality standards.

  14. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program [ARCHIVED]

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    This past week, I 

    • Fielded email about the styrofoam recycling drop-off at Dart.
    • Updated the Styrecycle page in the iCAP portal.
    • Rescheduled a meeting with Shawn Hopkins of Big Belly, at his request. He, Morgan, Brent, and I will meet next week.
    • Reviewed my records to estimate how much time I’ve spent on bins/source separation, glove recycling, and other zero-waste activities so that Morgan and I can provide the relevant information in the final SSC report. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  15. Integrated Pest Management program approved

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan
    Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

    The exterior Integrated Pest Management program has been in place for several years, and recently the program was formalized and adopted by F&S Grounds.  This helps meet iCAP objective 7.2 and supports the student-led efforts to achieve Bee Campus USA recognition.

    Attached Files: 

  16. Registration Open for "Sustainable Cities"

    Associated Project(s): 
    iSEE Congress

    Registration has opened for “Sustainable Cities,” and iSEE is inviting instructors to send their classes to one or more of its Congress sessions this fall!

    Congress takes place Oct. 3-5, 2018, in Illini Union Rooms A/B/C. 

    The purpose of iSEE Congress 2018 is to foster critical thinking on the strategies for meeting our growing urban transportation, housing, energy, water, food, health, and safety needs sustainably — and for making our cities more resilient to climate change.

    Read more and find the registration form on the Congress 2018 webpage >>>

    Instructors: If you would like a slide to share with students, please email sustainability@illinois.edu.

    In addition, iSEE will have two evenings for poster presentations at the Congress. Students, postdocs, and other researchers are invited to present their work on one or more of the “Sustainable Cities” themes. To register a poster, fill out the form >>>

  17. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, pretty much same old, same old over here this past week. Sold some bikes, people are coming in with a little more frequency. Donations are still coming in faster than I can strip them, as almost all of them are not worth fixing. Volunteers fell off a little for last week, only had a few come by. The Bike Project and I had a meeting to discuss nuts and bolts of operations here. We tentatively scheduled meetings for every two weeks.

     

    This week I hope to schedule another training with another new staffer if his schedule allows. I’ll also keep culling bikes and building up new ones, per usual. The student staff have requested a template/checklist for bike builds that is a little more in depth than the current tag system checklist and separate from our Shop Build/B-a-B Safety Check form to help them learn the ropes better. I’ll work on a little mock-up for that this week as well.  

     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 84
    Sales: $1,306.00
    Memberships: 6 for $180
    Bikes (refurb): 6 for $1,000
    B-a-B: 1 for $25
    Tire/tube: 13 for $69

     

    Thanks!

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  19. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    [This past week,] I had a few emails with Morgan and Micah about updates to the iCAP portal page on EPS recycling and got a reply from Robert McKim on comments I’d made on a battery recycling program proposal his committee had drafted.

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

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