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Projects Updates for collection: Living Lab Facilities / Programs

  1. ECBS SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Energy Dashboard Project

    The SWATeam continued the discussion about its Big Picture Recommendation for energy conservation regarding the Campus Master Plan.  Students reported their findings on what undergraduates want to see on energy displays in campus buildings.  Smaller updates on fume hood efficiency efforts and Illini Lights Out followed.  Green Labs Initiative intern Natalie Pelekh attended this meeting to present her research on Green Labs programs at other schools and to discuss factors that need consideration before launching our own Green Labs program.

    Attached Files: 

  2. Deer excluders at SAW

    Associated Project(s): 
    Native Plants at Arboretum

    Over the weekend student and community members put up 3 deer excluders at the South Arboretum Woods. 

    WE will be continuing with honeysuckle removal and general cleanup. 

    We also now have a decent shed with a lock on site thanks to the Natural History Survey.  We can store items in it including red bison things. 

     

    John C. Marlin PhD.

    Research Affiliate

    Illinois Sustainable Technology Center

    Attached Files: 

  3. ECBS SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Energy Dashboard Project

    The iCAP ECBS Objective 2 consultation group is forming, and the first meeting is planned for the week after spring break.  Karl updated on fume hood efficiency efforts, which have led to several fume hoods being shut down.  The Energy Dashboard project was discussed and give to the Objective 4 Subcommittee as a new item to work on.  The team also discussed ways to advocate for energy conservation funding in the campus master plan and decided to create a proposal to send to the Office of the Provost.

    Attached Files: 

  4. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Education

    Hello all, This past week was good.  We saw steady increases in attendance with relation to the weather.  The weather even allowed us to open the doors which is a great improvement to visibility and atmosphere.  We sold 7 bikes for $750, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $1470.  I was able to build bikes, and organize the shop a bit with the help of volunteers.  We've been able to integrate mobile time cards into shop staff procedure which has already shown dividends in saved time and complication.  I hired Lucas Hsu, an Urbana volunteer, on to the staff to replace Mike who took a degree related internship with the city.  I was able to get some bikes from the warehouse and assess the remaining handful.

    This coming week I will be having America table at the EcoFeminism sustainability event on campus.  I will building bikes for the spring rush.  I will work on removing the rest of the warehouse bikes, and cleaning up the warehouse. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  5. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Departmental Bike Sharing
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all, This past week was great.  We weren't too busy, and we got some cool stuff done.  We sold 5 bikes for $640, 1 build-a-bike for $60, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $1161.10.  We had a lot of volunteers come in and we were able to clean up the shop.  It looks great and is more functional.  I was also able to sort and organize a lot of the parts and we are much better for it.  We scrapped a lot of damaged frames, and low quality parts.  I added a couple of new tools to make things go faster and easier.  I worked on the cargo bike demo program, and am lining up a new department to lend the bike to.  We built several bikes and have about 40 for sale.  I was able to start ordering from the new supplier accounts I setup it was cool and we got some deals on parts.  We scrapped a lot of damaged frames, and low quality parts making some space.  We started using the new registration database.  The database is fully functional and awesome.  I meet with Stacey and Lily we did some pre Bike To Work Day planning.  I had a volunteer get all the advocacy materials organized and setup to be handed over to Lily. 

    This coming week I plan on getting more bikes from the parking warehouse, building more bikes for the spring rush, and continuing to clean and organize.  I'm going to work on setting up more classes for the spring.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  6. Chancellor Signs Resilience Commitment

    Associated Project(s): 
    Resilience Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWATeam)
    Issue Press Releases and Sustainability Reports
    Make Climate Commitments

    http://sustainability.illinois.edu/ui-remains-green-campus-leader-as-cha...

    Illinois a Green Campus Leader as Chancellor Signs Climate Resilience Commitment

    Mar 2, 2016 | News Releases |

    MARCH 3, 2016 — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took on a leadership role to more actively respond to global climate change when Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson signed Second Nature’s Climate Resilience Commitment in February.

    Illinois is a Charter Signatory of the Second Nature Climate Commitment, which combines a Carbon Commitment the campus signed in 2008 with the newly signed Resilience Commitment. The full Climate Commitment formally acknowledges that the effects of climate change are already felt — and that universities and colleges must pursue both mitigation and adaptation to combat the unfolding crisis.

    By adding the Resilience Commitment, Illinois has made a pledge to evaluate campus vulnerabilities to a changing climate in its landscapes, natural resources, and energy production — and to make an action plan that addresses those weaknesses.

    In 2015, Illinois released an updated Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) reporting its progress toward emissions reduction and other campus sustainability goals and outlining a new path to reaching net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2050.

    “While the iCAP is a plan for how campus impacts the atmosphere and climate, the resilience plan will be about how the campus reacts to atmosphere and climate change,” said Evan DeLucia, Director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).

    Resilience is a measure of the ability to react to and recover from difficult circumstances. Resilient communities bend but do not break under pressure, he said.

    Wilson, who signed the document Feb. 9, said: “Signing the Resiliency Commitment is a natural extension of our efforts to carefully steward university resources. By planning ahead, we can prepare for a range of potential challenges presented by climate change — whether social, financial, or ecological.

    “We’re positioning ourselves to be the kind of nimble and responsive university that can deliver on our educational and research missions for generations to come.”

    DeLucia said that carrying out the terms of the commitment will create a more holistic picture of sustainability on campus.

    “I think this commitment will make us think about sustainability in a broader way,” he said. “Rather than only asking, ‘How much renewable energy do we use?’ we’ll also be asking ‘Do we have a diverse enough pool of energy resources so that if one fails, the entire system doesn’t fail?’ It will be less about being ‘green’ and more about being truly sustainable.”

    A PDF of the Resilience Commitment — complete with Wilson’s signature — can be viewed on iSEE’s website.
    Second Nature is a nonprofit organization with more than 20 years of experience mobilizing institutions of higher education to lead the way to a more just, healthy, and sustainable society. It sponsors the Climate, Resilience, and Carbon commitments and oversees reporting of the signatory institutions’ progress toward their goals.

     

  7. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, Last week was a little weird, but great.  We had some strange fluctuations in attendance that went against normal attendance/weather patterns.  We sold 1 bike for $140, 1 build-a-bike for $45, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $768.80.  I ran out of room upfront so I started putting for sale bikes in the back of the shop.  My goal is to have half of the storage area be refurbished bikes by spring so we are ready for the rush.  The hydraulic disc brake class went very well.  Matt Crosby from Neutral came early and helped setup as well as publicized the event.  We have 5 people in attendance and everyone learned a lot.  We may have a second class to go deeper into bleeding and lever modulation adjustment. 

    This week I plan on helping to get Lily up to speed as Stacy sees fit, building bikes, and working on upcoming advocacy events.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  8. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    Hello all, This past week went well.  We sold 2 bikes for $230, one membership for $25, and grossed $475.  We were able to represent the center at the ISSS open house.  The bike registration database is completed and we are seeking approval from all parties to launch!  We built more bikes.  We are at about 40.  I was able to make some head way in organizing the shop.  There are so many built bikes now that they are becoming a nuisance.  I did more work on the blasting cabinet.  It has already proved useful, but the air filter unit that came with it is not working well and we may have to purchase new filters. 

    This week I will be holding a class on disc brakes due to requests by students.  I will send an e-mail about it to membership.  I will work on the air filter unit for the blasting cabinet.  I will also be building more bikes for the spring rush.  There is an international student safety day on the 24th that we will be participating in.  I will be preparing materials for that as well as seeing if we can do some mechanical demos.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  9. ECBS Objective 4 Subcommittee Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam

    The ECBS Objective 4 Subcommittee met Tuesday, February 16 to continue fleshing out the ECBS SWATeam's fourth iCAP objective, which has to do with increasing campus engagement in sustainability.  Discussion continued on ECIP and potential changes for the upcoming year- a major issue is raising awareness of this program and others like it. By the conclusion of the meeting, the focus of the subcommittee shifted to creating and sending recommendations to the iCAP Working Group, such as a Green Labs Initiative proposal as well as continuing Eco-Olympics or initiating a similar program that would serve as dorm resident engagement.  The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23.

    Attached Files: 

  10. iWG meeting agenda February 16, 2016

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Sustainability Working Advisory Teams (SWATeams)
    2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (2015 iCAP)
    Resilience Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWATeam)
    Transportation SWATeam
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam

    see file

    Attached Files: 

  11. iWG meeting minutes February 16, 2016

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Sustainability Working Advisory Teams (SWATeams)
    2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (2015 iCAP)
    Resilience Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWATeam)
    Transportation SWATeam
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam

    see file

    Attached Files: 

  13. ECBS Objective 4 Subcommittee Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)

    The ECBS Objective 4 Subcommittee held its first meeting on Tuesday, February 9.  Discussion revolved around the issue of tying all existing campus engagement programs (e.g., ECIP, Certified Green Office Program, revolving loan fund, etc.) together into one campus-wide brand.

    Attached Files: 

  14. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all,  This past week was way busy.  We got a lot of stuff done.  We sold one build-a-bike for $50, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $523.20.  I brought a couple of new staff members online, and sorted out some payroll issues.  I worked with IT and we are now in the testing phase of the registration database.  If all goes well it will be online this week.  I worked on some details for upcoming advocacy events.  I built a second trailer bike as we have need/requests for a smaller frame bike.  I got the abrasive booth up and running.  It has already proven useful.

    This week I hope to finish the registration database.  I will be attending an advocacy event to table (the ISSS resource fair), and will work on a class I am planning for next week.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James

  15. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all, This past week was busy.  We had a lot of people come in and want help fixing their bikes.  We sold 2 build-a-bikes for $180, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $532.  We have 35 bikes for sale at the shop and are working on more.  I was able to purchase a lot of higher grade tires for a good price and have started to stock these into the inventory. 

    This week I will be working on the registration database a bit more as well as getting ready for upcoming advocacy events.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  16. ECBS SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Energy Dashboard Project

    The ECBS SWATeam's first meeting of the semester took place on Tuesday, February 2.  Key topics of discussion included follow-ups on the Energy Dashboard project, Design Center, space utilization meetings Karl attended in December, and internships developed to help with the Green Labs Initiative and campus engagement in sustainability issues.  Morgan also led a discussion on campus engagement, the 4th objective under ECBS in the iCAP 2015, resulting in the formation of an incentivizing subcommittee within the SWATeam with the purpose of advancing this objective.

    Attached Files: 

  17. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Education
    Departmental Bike Sharing

    Hello all,  This past week was good.  We got a lot done and helped a lot of folks.  The Center sold 3 bikes for $400, and grossed $908.50.  I agreed to provide materials and do some education at a international student bike safety event in February.  I was able to clean the shop up a considerable amount. I built a few bikes and we now have 32 bikes that are for sale or need to be logged and priced.  Rick got his bike share up and running and I was very appreciative for the help.

    This coming week I plan on building bikes and cleaning out the back of the shop.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl
     

  18. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bike Sharing
    Departmental Bike Sharing

    Hello all, This past week was very busy.  We had a lot of people come in and either volunteer to fix their bikes.  The shop grossed $70.  I got a lot done with cleaning the space out.  We had far too many bikes donated that were directed to this shop.  I am not going to be able to accept any more bikes for a while.  I scrapped upwards of 30 bikes sawing them into pieces and putting them in boxes.  It was so bad the boxes themselves made the whole back of the shop inaccessible.  They got removed Friday by Todd so we wont have to deal with that issue any more.  The shop is very well stocked with used parts right now.  I went over to the warehouse and pulled some bikes and cleaned up a bit.  There is more work to be done and 30 or so bikes to dispose of.  I got an account setup with shimano so we can order shifters and bbs.  I helped Rick Langlois haul, build, and accessorize the bike share bikes for his department.  He was very happy, and now we have a 6 bike bike share on campus.  Silver BFU status here we come.  I worked on reinstating Shiqi.  She is returning for spring semester which will help me a lot.  I will have a labor shortage when it gets a little warmer.

    This coming week I plan on getting the shop back into shape after spending the last two weeks not being able to access half of it.  I will also try to get more work done at the warehouse. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  19. weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Bicycle Registration

    Hello all, A lot has happened since the last update.  We sold 2 bikes for $270, 1 build-a-bike for $80, 4 student memberships for $100, 1 community memberships for $40, and grossed $788.50.  We received a truck load of bikes from Neutral, we received a truck and trailer load of bikes from a land lord,  winter break happened, and I applied and got a Shimano account.  We also had a lot of individual donations of bikes.  There was even a very heavily loaded bike trailer of nice parts donated.  We have had a few people in the shop fixing bikes about 5 a day.  I have been able to build some bikes, and do maintenance.  I did some work on the public repair pumps as they have been breaking a lot lately.  I am currently setting up the cargo bike to lend to the library.  I have scrapped about 50 bikes, 20 were sent to the recycling facility, about 30 have been cut up for space saving until they are hauled off.  I did some reworking of the bike center's page on TBP's site.  It now has lots of pictures as was suggested, and goes into more depth about what we do.  I found some language on another co-ops site that I think will help set expectations.  I worked on the registration data base and gave the University IT folks approval to start making the basic site.

    This coming week I plan on dealing with the huge amount of donations.  I will work on getting the cargo bike lent out and everything squared away on this.  I will continue to work with IT to make the database and integrate current data.  Since we got a new supplier, and the current supplier merged with another I will take some time to familiarize myself with the new catalogs and sites.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

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