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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. Parkland College training program being considered

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Infrastructure

    While Thor Peterson was working at Parkland College as a part-time grant-funded sustainability coordinator, he shared that "Parkland is in the scoping stage of developing a green infrastrucuture and sustainable landscape operations and maintenance certificate."  He further noted, "There are a lot of questions percolating regarding a Green Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance—whether it would start as a certificate, or as a series of business training opportunities, or what." 

    When Thor was leaving town at the end of his appointment, he indicated that Heidi Leuszler, a Natural Sciences professor at Parkland, will be a good contact for this effort, moving forward.  Thor and Professor Leuszler led a day-long workshop for Regional Planning Commission staff on green infrastructure. He said, "My hope is that the training will serve as a pilot for a more in-depth business training course that could be offered to public and private sector grounds staff charged with maintaining green infrastructure elements."

    Eliana Brown, with Illinois Indiana Sea Grant, University of Illinois Extension, and Illinois Water Resources Center, is also interested in helping this program get developed.  She has brought additional stakeholders into the discussions with Parkland, including Carol Hays, Exec Director of Prairie Rivers Network, and Lisa Merrifield, U of I Extension Strategic Operation Analyst.

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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. OMA representatives review stand-alone cooling towers

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use

    Water Station Foreman, Shawn Young, indicated today that there are two remaining stand-alone cooling towers on campus buildings maintained by F&S: Temple Buell Hall and the Personnel Services Building.  One of these (Personnel) is scheduled to be added to the central chilled water loop in 2020, according to the Utilities Energy Production and Distribution Master Plan.  Base on that discussion, Morgan Johnston will be following up with the Water SWATeam to let them know that because there are so few remaining stand-alone cooling towers, this is not a high-priority item to pursue.

  10. New Member on the Project Team!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Building-Level Energy Usage Report

    My name is Chen Zhang, a rising senior studying Civil and Environmental Engineering. As a new member of the project, I am excited to join the team and make contributions! This past week, I obtained access to the Energy Billing System (EBS) and created my account at the iCAP Portal. I learned how to navigate both systems and find useful information for the project. Meanwhile, I read documentations and reports developed previously for this project.

     

    On May 25th, Ms. Morgan Johnston (associate director of Facilities and Services (F&S)), Ms. Ana Barnes (from F&S), and I had a meeting. Ten buildings (listed at the end) on campus were picked for the energy analysis between now and December 2017. Their locations and affiliations to different colleges were taken into account during the decision process to engage more students and faculties in future presentations. Meanwhile, we discussed important information that we will include in the energy report cards to raise awareness of energy conservation.

     

    The first building we will analyze is Lincoln Hall. The next step is to gather data for its energy consumptions, including electricity, chilled water, steam, and gas usage, from the EBS website. An excel spreadsheet and graphs will the be developed to show the trend of energy consumption from 2008 until now.

     

    Ten buildings:

    a. Lincoln Hall

    b.  Admin and Records

    c.  DRES – Rehabilitation Center

    d.  SDRP

    e.  National Soybean Research Center

    f. NCEL

    g. Illini Union

    h. Temple Hoyne Buell Hall

    i.   BIF

    j.   Morrill Hall

       

  13. CRTs and microwaves

    Associated Project(s): 
    Address Electronic Waste (e-waste)

    The old CRT TV’s and CRT monitors are routinely sent to the Surplus warehouses for disposal.  The University utilizes the State of Illinois contracted e-waste recyclers and items are sent directly vs. sent to Springfield.  FYI – starting October 1, 2016, the State and their e-waste recyclers started charging the University for the e-waste of CRT TV’s and CRT monitors.   But, based on a review of alternative paths for these e-waste items, the State e-waste recyclers continue to be the most cost-effective means of disposal of these items at this time.  UIUC can and should continue to let units know those CRT’s should be sent to surplus for processing using the standard equipment disposal request process through FABweb. 

    Because there is no longer a market for the leaded CRT glass, it’s very difficult for collectors and recyclers to sell all of the components of CRTs at this point, so fewer and fewer companies are willing to take them. See the Champaign County Electronics Recycling Guide at http://www.urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/Brochure_Electronics%20Recycling%20Reuse%20Options_113016.pdf. Goodwill accepts CRTs from residents, but there’s no reason to take them there when they can be processed through the electronics recycling system the university has in place; that way they can also be easily/efficiently counted as part of the total amount of electronics that the university is recycling.

    Fully functional microwaves will be sent to Surplus as well, while the broken microwaves will be sent to Twin-City Recycling after the Surplus Coordinator issues a scrap ticket to the unit, after the unit has submitted a disposal request through Fabweb.

  17. Information Letter for Proposed Roadway Lighting Improvements Program

    Associated Project(s): 
    LED Campus
    LED Exterior Lights

    On May 11, 2017, the Public Works Department of City of Urbana issued a letter to the residents informing them about the construction of new street lighting that is planned for Illinois Street, Gregory Street, and Oregon Street and is scheduled to start this spring. The project is expected to end in late October 2017. The new streetlights will resemble the streetlights currently on Goodwin Avenue adjacent to the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts except the lamp will be a LED lamp instead of a metal halide lamp as is installed on Goodwin Avenue.  

    The proposed roadway lighting improvements are located along Oregon Street from Mathews Avenue to Lincoln Avenue, Gregory Street from Oregon Street to Illinois Street, and Illinois Street from Goodwin Avenue to Lincoln Avenue in the City of Urbana. The City of Urbana will oversee the construction of this project, which is presently being competitively bid.

    The project is expected to run from June through October.  Work will commence on Gregory Street, then move to Illinois Street, and finish on Oregon Street.

    Attached Files: 

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