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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  1. Understanding spring flowers on campus

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Pollinator-Friendly Areas

    Superintendent of Grounds, Ryan Welch, describes the difference in heat tolerance between spring and summer flowers on campus:

    "We plant the early flowers (pansies) because they provide early spring color and are one of the only annuals that prefer cooler temps and will withstand frost.  The early or cool season annuals do not like heat, so they are removed and replaced with the summer annuals.  The summer annuals will not tolerate even a light frost and should not be planted before May 1."

  2. Weekly update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hello all,

    Here are my updates from last week:

    • An email to Morgan to pick up on issues related to glass recycling, recycling for graduate student/family housing, and presentations to promote source separation
    • Attendance at a Campus and University Recycling Coalition webinar on recycling collection logistics on campuses

    Sincerely,

    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

     

  3. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Hello all,

    Last week was reasonably busy. We had 112 visitors. We totaled $638.10 in sales. We sold six memberships for $180; one refurbished bike for $80; one Build-a-Bike for $48; and $101 in both new and used tires/tubes.

    New student hire Dennis started working last week. As a longtime member, he is familiar enough with everything that he’s been able to help right out the gate, which has been great. Additionally, Friday was Logan’s last day.

    This week I will work on student worker scheduling for the summer, strip more old junk bikes that are taking up valuable space, stock all the new parts that arrived last week, attend the Bike Project meeting, and of course, build more bikes.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  4. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All,

    Last week was steady and manageable. We had one or two days of almost no one coming in and days of the summer average of 20 or so people through the human door. Our visitor total for the week was 92.

    We grossed $1,243.81. We sold seven memberships for $210; two refurbished bikes for $385; one build-a-bike for $89; 16 tires and tubes for $73.

    The Bike Project has decided to add a weekday open hours shift on Wednesday evenings for their Urbana location, which was mentioned at the Monthly Members’ Meeting on Wednesday. This will in turn allow those who utilize the CBC an additional resource for working on bikes. On Friday I met Parking out at the warehouse and picked up 16 or so bikes--of which half were worth the effort to rehab or store for B-a-Bs. The rest were promptly taken to the scrap yard on Friday afternoon.

    This week Evan, a new student hire, is going to start working (albeit not daily, due to school conflicts). While it hasn’t been too busy for just Leah and me to handle, having another person around and the chance to train a new staffer when it is slow is definitely a plus.

    This week I will also be working on creating some more wheel storage in the back garage bays. Bike builds and organization will occur per usual. One of the main tables that are home to our truing stands and our vice is falling apart. I will look into procuring a new one from Surplus this week as well.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  5. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Tracy—

    This week, I started getting my head back in the game after my absence but did not accomplish anything substantive. I plan to go over notes and pick up the loose threads of the different projects I had been working on in the coming week. In particular, I have communications I need to make on the battery recycling and graduate student/family housing recycling efforts. 

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  9. ENVS 301 students' presentations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Encourage Course Development or Modification
    Independent Student Projects
    Reduce Foodwaste
    Explore Options for 100 Percent Clean Campus Energy
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

    Attached are the presentations prepared by the students in ENVS 301. The course syllabus is also attached.

    Attached Files: 

  10. ECBS SWATeam meeting minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out
    Building-Level Energy Usage Report
    Green Lab Program
    Eco-Olympics
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam

    On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

    1) Status of our recommendations to iWG;

    2) Review of Illini Lights Out over the past year;

    3) Any final thoughts, recommendations for Eco-Olympics;

    4) Progress on building energy standards;

    5) Updates on the revolving loan fund (RLF) projects;

    6) Turning off computers.  Change in policy, at least at F&S.  Implications for Certified Green Office Program? 

    7) Building level energy consumption report summary;

    8) Good-byes and thanks to departing members.

    Attached Files: 

  11. Revolving Loan Fund projects approved

    Associated Project(s): 
    Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)
    LED Exterior Lights
    LED Campus
    Occupancy and Daylight Sensors
    Steam System Maintenance
    Building Maintenance Department Projects

    The Revolving Loan Fund selection committee has approved funding for all the viable RLF projects.  See attached image for list.

    Attached Files: 

  12. program update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program

    STYRECYCLE: During the spring 2017 semester, student volunteers collected more than 500 pounds of expanded polystyrene for recycling — bringing their total collected to nearly 900 pounds. In addition, this program is saying goodbye to a founding member and longtime leader. Thank you to Marco Tijoe for your two years of steering the ship!

  13. IBI update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    ILLINOIS BIODIESEL INITIATIVE: This past semester, students produced 100 gallons of biodiesel fuel and 2 gallons of soap from waste vegetable oil. The soap-making subgroup is refining its soap recipe for use at campus dining halls, and the diesel subgroup is improving the production process to make higher-quality fuels.

  14. New York Times article on EVs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

    New York Times article on electric vehicles (EVs):

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/automobiles/wheels/plug-in-electric-hybrid-automobiles.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FElectric%20and%20Hybrid%20Vehicles&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection.

  15. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    C-U Bike to Work Day

    All, last week we totaled 99 visitors to the Campus Bike Center (I blame the rain). Our sales were at $1,104. We sold one Build-a-Bike; three refurbished bikes for $570; five memberships for $150; $102  in tires/tubes; and $93 in locks.

    Beyond the numbers, last week was a doozy! We had Bike To Work Day on Tuesday and it was a great success. While I haven’t heard any official numbers, I estimated about 50 or so people at our station. There were 400 official registrants online as of 6am the morning of BTWD. And of course, the chilly and windy weather probably kept a few people home. Lorenzo, a CBC staffer, was interviewed for a Fox Illinois news piece during the event.

    On Wednesday we had a CBC staff meeting/pizza party. 7/8ths of the CBC student staffers were able to make it and we had a  good discussion and reflection on the experiences of working at the Campus Bike Center and how we can improve looking towards the future of the Center.


    On a sad note, Friday I got news that staffer extraordinaire Logan will not be able to work at the CBC this summer, as he’s taking a job up in Minnesota. I will have to scramble a bit to find his replacement (an impossible task, given his skills and familiarity with the Center).

    This week I will be interviewing for summer help, building bikes, checking on our Housing donation racks, and juggling all the weird finals scheduling mess that throws off everyone’s normal shifts for working here.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  16. Illini Gadget Garage podcasts on WEFT 90.1 FM

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Gadget Garage

    Hello all,

    I wanted to let you know that the Illini Gadget Garage now has a podcast made available via WEFT Community Radio (90.1 FM). You can listen to the first episode, featuring Madeleine Wolske discussing cellphone battery myths and tips at https://soundcloud.com/weft-90-1/illini-gadget-garage-episode-1-battery-myths. Great job, Maddie!

    New podcasts will be shared on the IGG Facebook page, and we’ll be adding links to them on the project web site soon. You can also follow the WEFT Podcasts station on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/weft-90-1 to catch this and other podcasts from the community. Topics for the IGG podcast will include tips for device maintenance and information related to repairing, reusing, and properly recycling electronics and electrical equipment.

    The IGG podcast is part of WEFT’s short program series. “Short programs” are weekly 5 minute pieces that are “dropped” into other shows throughout the day, allowing them to reach many different audiences and have greater impact. Our thanks to WEFT for this opportunity to encourage a sustainable relationship with technology throughout the CU community!

    If you have tech topics you’d like to learn more about via the podcast, feel free to send suggestions to illinigadgetgarage@gmail.com.

    Best wishes,

    Joy

     

    Joy Scrogum

    Sustainability Specialist

    LEED Green Associate | ISSP-SA

    Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) | Prairie Research Institute

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    One Hazelwood Drive, Champaign, IL 61820

  17. Weekly update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hello all,

    Here are my updates from last week:

    • Met with Jessica Tran, a resident of Ashton Woods, to discuss graduate and family housing recycling; sent follow-up questions to Morgan.
    • Signed off on the label for glass recycling that Anna Barnes created.
    • Reviewed iWG minutes and draft assessments related to recommendations from the PWR SWATeam related to the CAM paper policy and the recycling component of the ethics training video and paragraph summary thereof; also reviewed a draft assessment of the ECBS SWATeam recommendation to conduct the “Illini Lights Out” program ongoing. The assessments are in draft form and are being circulated for iWG member comments.
    • Updated the iCAP portal with my name and email address for zero-waste staffing.
    • Updated battery recycling description in the iCAP portal.

    Sincerely,

    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

     

  18. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was oddly slow at times. We had 110 visitors.  We grossed $956.60. We sold eight memberships for $275; one refurbished bike for $70; one build-a-bike for $96;  and $144 in tires/tubes.

    Last week I prepped for Bike To Work Day, attended a Bike Project Meeting, built bikes and helped organize an end-of-semester lunch get-together for CBC staffers and the TDM team. I spoke with a Parking employee and he expressed a great interest and appreciation for the Housing bike rack program and as of last week we’ve got one donated bike, but again, it’s still well before graduation.  

    I have been getting a lot of questions about summer hours at the Campus Bike Center, which is a little disconcerting for our publicity and visibility on campus. But then again, can’t fault people for being on the academic calendar at a University.

    On this week’s agenda is Bike To Work Day, which promises to be a great day for sustainability and healthfulness! This week will also be the last official BikeFace-operated Friday Ride. While hopefully they will continue in some fashion, they will no longer be organized and put on by BikeFace UIUC.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

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