EPA is pleased to launch its 10th annual Campus RainWorks Challenge (Links to an external site.), a green infrastructure design competition for American colleges and universities that seeks to engage with the next generation of environmental professionals and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure practices. Stormwater pollution is a problem that impacts public health and water quality in communities across the country. The Campus RainWorks Challenge invites today’s students to become part of the solution.

To learn more about Campus RainWorks check out the official 2021 Campus RainWorks Challenge Competition Brief (Links to an external site.). The brief contains details on the challenge's design categories, submission requirements, and rules for participation.

Calendar

Registration: September 1 – October 1, 2021

Deadline for Entries: December 10, 2021

Winners Announced: Spring 2022

Please share this announcement with college students and faculty in your networks. If you have questions about the Campus RainWorks Challenge please direct them to RainWorks@epa.gov.

Please note that the Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 25th at 6:30 in the Channing Murray building parking lot. The address is 1209 W. Oregon Street. Disregard any previous date/time as it was incorrectly listed. 

On our campus, we recycle five major commodities: paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, plastic bottles #1 and #2, and scrap metal.  F&S Waste Management coordinates recycling at the campus level, and for the whole system to work, we need everyone to use the recycling bins.  Please pledge now to Use the Bin and support the Illinois Climate Action Plan! 

Morgan White • F&S and iSEE

Recycling on Campus? Use the Bin!

Reservations are again being accepted for UI Ride, the convenient University of Illinois System shuttle service. This service connects the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago universities and the Discovery Partners Institute. For fall 2021, UI Ride makes two daily round trips, three days a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays). The comfortable 18-seat buses offer onboard Wi-Fi and work stations.

Reservations available for UI Ride shuttle service

Kirsten Ruby • Office for University Relations

The Illinois Impact Incubator is a co-curricular incubation program for students (all majors, levels) to develop an idea or early-stage venture focused on social or environmental impact. Includes a startup curriculum with workshops, curated resources, peer feedback, access to mentors and expert advisors. Members are eligible for micro grants and seed funding. Individuals or small teams may apply.

September 10 • Application Deadline

Fall 2021 Applications Open for the Illinois Impact Incubator

Valeri Werpetinski • Origin Ventures Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Gies Business

Sol Systems is looking to present at the AASHE’s Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (GCSHE) sometime from October 12-14 through their request for abstracts on Emerging Issues in the field.

Sol Systems is looking to present on our work expanding the impact of renewable energy projects that would certainly focus on things we did for the U of I project, namely the inclusion of pollinator habitats, zero waste construction and the work with students for their Sustainability Minor Capstone projects.

The eighth iSEE Congress will return to the topic of feeding the world: providing a safe, secure supply of food and fuel to an ever-increasing human population using agricultural practices that are ecologically sustainable and adaptable to climate change. Influential speakers and panelists will offer cutting-edge thinking about advancing the sustainability of our agriculture and food systems. Visit the webpage for the latest details! Register now>>>

Fall iSEE Congress: Circular Food Systems
Oct. 26-27 | Illini Rooms A-C | Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana

iSEE's August edition of this Zoom series will feature Alexandra Gergova, incoming Chair of the Illinois Student Government Committee on Sustainability, showing the video "Greening the Ghetto" by Majora Carter. Gergova will then lead a discussion on environmental activism and the importance of getting involved! 

Next week — ‘TED Talk: Eco Edition’ Aug. 31.

7-8 p.m. | Tuesday, Aug. 31 | Register on Zoom

Purchase request to procure a pair of Eco-Counter bicycle and pedestrian counter has been approved. PO# P2196145.

The attached project list is being considered by the nearly 200 CEE first year students for the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Project Based Learning class this year. The project idea list had been formed over several years and was last updated on August 23, 2021.

This year, the CEE project based learning course transitioned to a requirement for all incoming CEE students and a permanent part of the curriculum.  It has 188 students, meets 4-6 on Mondays and Wednesdays in 0035 CIF, and is still team-taught by CEE faculty with F&S assistance. There are also some online students and a mirrored course that Dr. Art Schmidt is teaching for a partner school in China via Zoom.

All, Last week was absolutely bonkers busy. We sold out of most of our bikes, handed out bike registration stickers, and taken in some drop-off repairs. We were closed on Friday for a staff training so we did all that in two days. We’re really getting to see how our new space handles the crush of people this time of year. Only downside is we’re only able to be open M/W/F since we’re critically low on staffing. Once we hire and onboard more folks, we’ll be able to bump up our hours some more.

Over the weekend we had the Illini Frenzy event which was a great outreach opportunity. We handed out lots of Bike Center stickers, slap bracelets and flyers.

This week will likely be as busy or busier than last. Buckle up!

The numbers:

Sales: $1,848
Bikes: 9 for $1,410
Memberships: 6 for $180
Tire/tubes: 17 for $66

U-locks: 10 for $215

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

Attached are detailed routes that would be a nice ride for students to take to the Kickapoo rail trail. At the moment, I have just provided the Google map directions.

WEEKDAYS:

Basically, the 5 E Green line runs from the Illini Union to the bus stop Main & Brady, in Urbana (EAST&WEST). When you get on at the Union, you'll stay on the same bus for 45 stops(~30  min ride) until reaching Main& Brady. From the stop, it is a 4 minute walk to the trailhead. 

You must not take the 5 Green-Express as it does not reach that far east. This runs just about every 30 minutes. This exact route runs from ~8AM - ~7PM and is the same there and back

WEEKENDS:

Boarding at the Illini Union, take the 50E Green to Lincoln Square garage east. From there, you'll need to transfer (overall unsure if it stays the same bus) to the 70. That will take you directly to Main& Brady. This ride is around 35 minutes. From there it is an approximate 4 min walk. This runs every 30 minutes, from  ~9AM-~5PM

The Facilities and Services- Transportation Demand and Management department is working on performing a Walkability Audit for the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign campus. The area covered in the audit encompasses the pedestrian walkways on UIUC campus, some parts of the cities of Urbana, Champaign, and Savoy located at close proximity to the campus. The site of intervention is bifurcated into 29 divisions with eventual subdivisions for detailed analysis.

The final objective of the audit is to create a Walking Master Plan of the area using best practices of Urban Planning and Design. This will be achieved by documenting the walkability index of the footpaths using surveys filled by volunteers. Volunteers involved in the project will be assigned certain subdivisions and will be trained to identify problems with the help of certain parameters. They will finally fill a questionnaire which will be the starting point of our database. A scoring system will be determined in order to identify the level of service present in each division. Through the scores, the divisions that require the highest priority of intervention will be identified and strategies will be proposed to tackle existing problems.

As a final product, a detailed report will be created that documents the results of the surveys, analyzes the existing scenario, and provides detailed measures to be taken to improve walkability. This report will be proposed to the university and will serve as a starting point to improve the urban walkability infrastructure in the campus and its vicinity.

The members of the Engagement iCAP Team met on Thursday, August 19 for their final meeting of the summer. At this meeting, members discussed three pending recommendations the team has been formulating throughout the summer--a sustainability section on the Illinois Homepage, sustainability sections of individual college websites, and uniform recycling signage for blue bins. Meeting minutes are attached below.