Hey all!

The competition has begun! It will run until 4/17. We are close to having the live results up so you can check how your hall is doing. I'll send out a link when that is complete.

You are competing for a catered banquet or a $200-500 prize of your choice. Start saving energy, signing people up for Eco-Olympics, and having events.

For your convenience, I have attached the participation outline that specifies how to win points for that $200-500 prize.

Reach out with any questions and good luck!

Best,

Jessica Mondello

Eco-Olympics | Director

Think Globally. Act Locally.

On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

1) Discussion of recommendation process as developed and described in the iCAP;

2) Illini Lights Out final planning for 10th of February;

3) Update on fume hood work;

4) North America Laboratory Freezer Challenge update;   5) Planning for Earth Week.        

On the agenda at the ECBS SWATeam meeting:

1) Associate Director for Campus Sustainability at iSEE replacement;

2) Status of recommendation for Green Lab Coordinator;

3) Discussion: How the SWATeam recommendation process working for us;

4) FYI: Discussions are ongoing on campus about higher expectations for building standards;

5) Illini Light Out” will transition to iSEE and dates for the rest of the year;

6) Certified Green Office Program. How ECBS SWATeam can promote this;

7) Status updates: 2017 Freezer Challenge and Eco-Olympics Planning.

Here is an update of what Lily Wilcock and myself (Logan Ebeling) have accomplished concerning departmental bicycle fleets on campus from late August to late October.

We began with a goal of assessing the health and status of current departmental bicycle fleets on campus. Offhand, Lily knew of the following programs:

• Kinesiology department
• Living Learning Community in LAR
• Urban Planning department
• Building Operations and Maintenance
• Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

In an attempt to reach out to those programs and other ones that we potentially did not know about, we developed a survey for people involved with those programs to take. A link to that survey was sent out in an E-Week advertisement on October 2nd. A screenshot of that blurb in the E-Week is attached to this post. We are still waiting on responses from that survey (so far we have about 3 responses). 

Another goal was to advertise to departments that starting a bicycle fleet was even a possibility. Anecdotally, it seems that many people are unaware that the University is encouraging bicycle use for employees. To address this, we developed a short enrollment form that people could fill out if they wanted more information on starting a departmental bicycle fleet. A link to this enrollment form was also sent out in the October 2nd E-Week advertisement. We had around 10 replies to this enrollment form and sent out an email to the respondents with more information and an offer to meet and discuss possibilities for a bicycle fleet for their department. 

One goal of mine was to develop two checklists to have available to people to aid in sending out information to people. These two checklists are completed and we have been sending them out to people where appropriate. The two checklists are attached to this post and they are:

1. A checklist for maintaining existing bicycle fleets
2. A checklist for starting a bicycle fleet

These checklists drew heavily off of information in the Departmental Bike Sharing Manual from 2014 (attached to this project's main page). 

Prairie Rivers Network, the Illinois affiliate for the National Wildlife Federation, is leading an effort to support monarchs in the local region.  The are also working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) on a plan for protecting monarchs in our state.  IDNR is planning a statewide event in Springfield on September 9 to share the results of initial surveys.

The Champaign County Sustainability Network (CCNet) participated in the Pollinator Palooza on July 16: "Help plant milkweed at Firefighter Park, 305 S Randolph St, Champaign, Saturday July 16  from 9-12, bring gloves -- The Champaign Park District is transforming Firefighter Park (305 S Randolph) into a butterfly habitat. All City Staff are invited to help plant milkweed this Saturday from 9 am to noon.  Champaign joined the Mayor's Monarch Challenge Leadership Circle to save the Monarch Butterfly.  In the last 20 years, the Monarch population has declined by over 94%, shrinking from over 1 billion to just 60 million butterflies. Monarchs rely on Milkweed plants, the only plant that they can use to cocoon. The Midwest is an essential breeding ground for the annual Monarch migration from Canada to Mexico, and habitat loss has contributed to their decline."

CCNet also hosted the Pollinator Pocket Garden Tour on July 28: "Walking Tour Begins at Bresnan Center,706 Kenwood Rd, Champaign -- Moving beyond pollinator week in June and to keep the conversation ongoing, CCNET is hosting a tour with, Randy Hauser, Horticulture and Natural Areas Supervisor for the Champaign Park District to learn about "pocket gardens". This will be a great learning experience for people who love plants and want to help the pollinators and the Monarch, but only have small space for gardens." 

The City of Champaign and other partners in the community such as the Champaign Park District, Prairie Rivers Network and many others have been working to preserve Monarch Butterfly habitat throughout the community. The City of Champaign joined the Mayor's Monarch Challenge Leadership Circle to save the Monarch Butterfly. In the last 20 years, the Monarch population has declined by over 94%, shrinking from over 1 billion to just 60 million butterflies. Monarchs rely on Milkweed plants, the only plant that they can use to cocoon. The Midwest is an essential breeding ground from the annual Monarch migration from Canada to Mexico, and habitat loss has contributed to their decline.  The Champaign Park District hosted a number of Monarch Themed events throughout the summer focused on Monarch Butterfly education and habitat preservation.

City of Urbana staff have planted milkweed seed in landscapes at the Boneyard Creek. They have also designed a butterfly and pollinator garden to be installed south of the City Building next spring. Additionally, Mayor Prussing has signed the Wildlife Federation’s Mayors For Monarchs Pledge. In accordance with the pledge and the Mayor’s interest in supporting monarch populations, staff have assisted in the creation or enhancement of monarch and pollinator gardens with community groups at the Lierman Garden, Urbana Free Library Garden, and Downtown Garden.

see attached report

At the ECBS SWATeam meeting this week, Sam Wilson, a grad student in Communication, presented his ongoing research efforts on fume hood behaviors, which will tie into the development of our Green Labs Initiative.  Big Picture Recommendation discussion continued as the team worked on making clear connections to iCAP 2015 in the document, which is set to be submitted by the end of next week.  The online Energy Dashboard has been updated, courtesy of Mike Marquissee.  Eco-Olympics results indicated competing buildlings across campus achieved up to a 10.6% reduction in energy usage (Lundgren Hall).  Grad student Anna Tanaglia presented the success of public speaking sections (CMN 101) that focused on campus sustainability; students seemed to enjoy these topics and some have expressed interest in getting more involved in campus sustainability efforts.  Claudia presented a social marketing campaign class project on student involvement in campus sustainability efforts, the findings of which may guide future campus engagement efforts.