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Project Updates

  1. Aquaponics Funding Letter

    This project creates an aquaponics system that will work as a demonstrative unit on campus to spread sustainability awareness and illustrate the effectiveness of aquaponics in a small area. The goal of aquaponics is to create a closed ecosystem in which both plants and fish benefit and grow. Aquaponics has the potential to produce large quantities of both vegetables and fish with minimal inputs and nearly no negative outputs. The project teams’s desire is to establish a base system from which the possibility to expand exists. This project is student led and contain an educational element on aquaponics. This proposal is linked with the student sustainability course GCL 127.

  2. Bevier Cafe Reusable Carry Out Program Funding Agreement

    The Bevier Café is a learning laboratory where Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) students get hands on experience running a food service establishment. The goal of this project is to reduce the café’s waste stream by adding reusable to-go containers as an option for customers.

    Customers will have the ability to opt in to the program through a small upfront cost, which will cover all costs associated with cleaning and replacing the containers as needed. In return, they will receive a discount on any meal they take to go in a reusable container as well as the knowledge they helped reduce the campus’s waste footprint.

  3. E37 Lighting - Fall 2015 Funding Agreement

    Parking Lot E37 (near the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and Natural History Survey) currently lacks sufficient lighting to meet minimum light requirements, but unfortunately is located in a low-priority area located away from current electrical access. The use of standalone solar-powered lights for parking is an innovative solution that allows the system to remain off-grid while improving illumination for the lots – which in turn improves campus safety. There are currently no other universities in Illinois utilizing solar-powered parking lot lighting, allowing the University of Illinois to lead the way in one aspect of sustainability.

    Attached Files: 
  4. Urban Farmers - Funding Agreement

    This project provides Illini Urban Farmers with a hydroponics systems for our club to learn more about urban farming and grow student effort on campus. Once an understanding is developed on how the system functions, efforts can be expanded for use within campus dining halls, dorms, or other buildings. The university will benefit from having this system because it will provide a feasibility study of using these systems on a college campus for year round sustainable food production.

  5. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 

    Hello all, last week was great...I was on vacation for most of it.  We were only open the one day but we did well.  We sold 2 bikes for $130, and grossed $318.  Nothing of note happened.

    This week I will be receiving the 2016 LTN lights, storing them somewhere, coordinating with Lily and what I need to get done for the event.  We will be preforming tasks, dividing tasks, and discussing roles roles covering topics as advertising and volunteer coordination since Lily has not work on LTN before.  I will also be getting ready for the students coming back, by assembling new student hand outs and talking to Lily and Officer Hawk about possible what to do after a crash materials. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  6. Dark Sky compliance information

    Associated Project(s): 

    The International Dark Sky Association (http://darksky.org/fsa/fsa-products/) has a Fixture Seal of Approval on certain products. Any outdoor lighting that is fully shielded, reduces blue light, and uses the least amount of energy to achieve the necessary level of visibility would be good to use on campus.  Outdoor lighting also affects sustainability as a matter of energy efficiency, effects on migratory birds, and the emotional connection to the environment fostered by a dark sky.

  7. Niharika Kishore is working on developing a rooftop solar RFP for design

    Today, Morgan Johnston met with Niharika Kishore to discuss the rooftop solar iCAP objective.  Niharika is going to review the work already done, in the iSEE solar box folder, and draft a proposal for getting the engineering design work done for a set of building.  She will be working towards meeting the FY20 on campus generation goal of 12,500 MWh/year, and possibly additional installations for FY25.

  8. Updated Climate Commitment includes Resiliency

    Associated Project(s): 

    Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson signed Second Nature’s Climate Resilience Commitment on Feb. 9, 2016. This makes Illinois one of the Charter Signatory campuses nationwide for Second Nature’s full Climate Commitment, which combines the Resilience Commitment with the Carbon Commitment the campus signed in 2008. Read the full press release at http://sustainability.illinois.edu/ui-remains-green-campus-leader-as-cha....

  9. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 

    Hello all, this past week was interesting.  We have busy mornings and slow, easy open hours.  This was great because it allowed us to get more back end work done during open hours.  We were able to sort hundreds of parts that had recently been donated, clean the shop, and make about 300 new student bike packets during open hours.  We sold 3 bikes for $400, 3 memberships for $90, and grossed $1391.50.  The shop was able to successfully switch over to the new membership cost, membership cards, and pricing structure.  I was able to complete the ordering of the LTN lights and the lights are on their way here.  I was finally able to order the filters for the sandblaster.  I have not been able to get an exact date for shipping, but we should be ready for more intensive use by fall.  We have held 2 basic classes on Thursdays and they have had 2 students apiece.  The topics were ABC Quick Check, and Everything You Wanted to Know About Cables and Housing. 

    This coming week we will be closed Tuesday through Friday so little will be done.  I am arranging for the Thursday class to take place in my absence. 

    Best,
    James Roedl
     

  10. iSEE discussion with iMatterNow representatives

    iSEE Director Evan DeLucia and Associate Director Madhu Khanna met with student representatives from the iMatterNow organization.  iSEE connected these students with on-campus student groups, including the Student Sustainability Leadership Council and the Students for Environmental Concerns.  The original email inquiry is below:

    "Hello, Dr. DeLucia.

    My name is Rebecca Laurent, and I am a sophomore studying NRES and Political Science. I wanted to talk with you about an initiative that I am working on.

    I currently serve as the Regional Organizer for the Central US for an organization called iMatter, which was founded by a 13 year-old with the vision of giving young people a voice on the climate crisis. We recently kicked off a campaign, called iMatterNow, that is focused on achieving progress at the city-level. At the core of the campaign is a "Report Card" that assesses how well a city is doing in reducing emissions to the level needed to prevent the worst effects of climate change (based on a report by Jim Hansen that we must reduce emissions by 6% annually). Students complete the report card with municipal data in categories such as waste, carbon removal, and GHG emissions.

    Eventually, the students present the results of the report card along with petition signatures they have collected in their school and community and ask that they pass a resolution or ordinance. The ultimate aim of the campaign is to have cities adopt a more aggressive Climate Action Plan in the context of achieving a higher grade on the "Report Card".

    Students are doing the iMatterNow campaign in various cities across the US and in Toronto. I am working with high school students at Champaign Central and Urbana High School to bring this campaign to Champaign-Urbana. I hope to get UIUC students involved in this effort in the community as well as on campus. Recently, we have discussed making adjustments to the Report Card to evaluate universities as opposed to cities. 

    If you are interested and available, I would love to speak with you or someone else at the ISEE about the local iMatterNow campaign and your thoughts on the report card and introducing the campaign to college campuses. Please let me know if this is a possibility! I will be on campus all summer, and I'm pretty flexible.

    Thank you,

    Rebecca Laurent

  11. methods for student engagement related to campus infrastructure

    Associated Project(s): 

    Students can participate with campus sustainability projects related to infrastructure in the following ways:

    • Provide concepts and ideas that then go through the formal design and implementation
    • Observe installations, if appropriate for that task
    • Monitor results, if installed in appropriately ADA accessible areas
    • Work with the dept. to provide input to design teams, if allowed by the departmental project leader
    • Propose projects to departments
  12. Professional Science Masters student projects underway

    Two students from the Professional Science Masters (PSM) program are working with sustainability staff this summer.  Chandana Konidala is working with the City of Urbana's Environmental Sustainability Manager Scott Tess to promote the Urbana-Champaign Energy Star Challenge.  Sarthak Prasad is working on developing a Standard Operating Procedure for entering information in the iCAP Portal.

  13. background information from Housing

    Associated Project(s): 

    Housing provided the following information: "The cost is generally considered to be manageable but not neutral- the Family Housing Council contributes renter fees towards the cost of water usage but they do not pay the cost of plowing, clean-up, or general maintenance. That is absorbed into the yearly work of maintaining the land in that area. In regards to education, we (Family and Graduate Housing and Housing Facilities) built a nice shed/work space that allows for gardening sessions tips and discussions to happen. A majority of our gardeners are International and many of them have gardened in extreme weather and land situations that are far more challenging than the rich soil here in Central Illinois.  So oftentimes we allow our International residents to share how they have developed irrigation systems or they discuss how to use various material to create trellis like structures. We have through a collaborative in housing worked with Housing Dining to allow gardeners access to coffee grinds that can be mixed into the soil. In regards to liability, this is a garden at your own risk program. So far we have assisted residents who lost everything in some of our flooding incidents in the past with new seeds or tools but not much in the way of accepting liability for flooding, stealing, or damaging events."

  14. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 

    Hello all, last week was good.  We had a lot of people come in.  We got quite a few donations as well.  We sold 5 bikes for $680, 1 build-a-bike for $40, 3 memberships for $90, and grossed $994.80.  Working Bikes picked up 65-75 bikes that we did not need or have room for.  Baker donated about 400 pounds of various aluminum parts.  We started sorting them Friday.  I started making the packets for ISSS, but ran out of paper clips.  I started the ordering process for LTN.

    This coming week I will finish sorting the new donations, collect more donations from Baker, and finish making the ISSS bike packets.  I will also work on getting us some bikes built.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  15. Article about Bay Area resilience efforts

    Associated Project(s): 

    The attached article includes the following from the Bay Area:

    1. Describe several resilience indicators projects underway in the Bay Area and beyond;

    2. Provide recommendations about how to undertake indicator development; and

    3. Identify preliminary indicators for measuring both community and region-wide resilience to climate change.

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