Greening of Campus

News & Notes
2007-2008

From now until March 22
Green Week celebration 2008 - Get Involved.

ENTER A VIDEO CONTEST!

"What does climate change mean to you, your family, and your world?" Record your answer in a two-minute documentary and enter our video contest. The winning videos will be featured on Earth Day TV. Prizes will be awarded to each of the best films.

Click here for more details!
February 24, 2008
Save the date!

The 2008 Greening of Campus Week will be celebrated April 14th-18th. The theme for 2008 is "Promises and Pitfalls of Greening." Check the Greening of Campus Website for schedule updates.

November 16, 2007
Netty DeGarlais of the IIT Project: Solar Charged Survey put together a quick summary of the results.  65 students from USF participated. Ms. DeGarlais shared the following comment:
 
Something very revealing about the survey were the number of students that leave their laptop, MP3 player, or cell phone on all the time.  There is an opportunity here to save energy by using a surge protector/power strip.  This way it is flipping one switch, and not having to unplug several devices.  Just because a device is powered off doesn't mean it is not consuming energy.  A TV is a great example.  This would be an excellent area for Greening of Campus committee to focus on.  
November 8, 2007
USF received the Ecological Monitoring Volunteer Award from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairieaward because of the support and leadership for the RiverWatch program at Midewin; this summer our students Tiffany Behrens, Jose Tejeda, Ashley Puro, Danielle Ruffatto and Jhoni Lopez (alumni) helped monitor two sites on Prairie Creek and one site on Jackson Creek.  USF provide expertise and training to help Midewin volunteers identify stream macroinvertebrates during two afternoons at Midewin.  USF also hosted RiverWatch training on our campus in the spring and invertebrate identification sessions during the summer.  The unique plaque is in the display case on the first floor of St. Al's.
 
Danielle Ruffatto, a Biology and Environmental Science major, was given the Artist Volunteer Award from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie along with Amy Dombroski from Lewis, for their work on a large portable sign used to direct volunteers to worksites and for their work on a prairie plant pollinator coloring book that is being developed for the US Forest Service.  Danielle was also recognized with Bronze Presidential Volunteer Service Award for more than 100 hours of volunteer time at Midewin in 2007.  Please congratulate Danielle when you see her.
 
Don't feel left out, because there are plenty of opportunities to help restore the largest tallgrass prairie east of the Mississippi.  Besides RiverWatch there other volunteer programs in archeology, administration, heritage, and recreation, but all can be found at the Midewin web site. 
 
USF is adopting the Doyle Lake wetlands at Midewin, under the leadership of Steve Volkening and Frank Pascoe.  The Doyle Lake adoption will provide opportunities for USF students and staff to monitor and restore the site.  If you are interested, please contact Steve Volkening; this would be a wonderful volutneer opportunity for clubs or other groups.
October 23, 2007

P3 Project: People, Prosperity and the Planet

A Student Design Competition for Sustainability - An EPA Grant project
2008-2009

The University of St. Francis (USF) is embarking on a new water conservation project based on water collection from permeable pavers and other water collection systems. The project will also study contaminants in the water collected, as well as the feasibility of recycling rainwater for future use. If successful, the program has the potential to serve over 2000 students and staff on campus, involving students, faculty, staff, and the neighborhood in setting an example to the entire community of the value of conserving water through collection, assessing levels of contaminants, remediating any contamination found, and ultimately reusing the water collected. Due date for grant application is Dec 20, 2008. 
October 11, 2007

Campus Community,

To continue with our campus greening effort, the asphalt removed for the brick pathway was recycled and will be reused to resurface existing driveways.

Greening of Campus Community (GCC)

October 11, 2007

USF Receives $95,946.00 Grant

Illinois Clean Energy Foundation Lighting Grant

  • Grainger begins audit in February 2006 for proposed 2007 Lighting Grant.
  • Lighting Grant would partially fund lighting upgrade on campus.
  • T12 system would be replaced by new energy efficient T8 Fixtures and in some cases, replace with energy efficient ballasts and exit lighting.
  • The upgrade would improve lighting quality on campus and reduce operating and maintenance expenses.
  • The estimated cost of the project is $172,920.96.
  • The total savings is estimated to be approximately $54,896.00 in the first year.  Over ten years, we will save about $629,319.00. 
October 10, 2007
Greetings;
 
Netty DeGarlais, a graduate student at IIT and a mechanical engineer at Braidwood Nuclear Station facility will be conducting a research project on campus on the potential use of solar energy...Here is how she described the project in her survey to our students who live in dorms:
 
"As technology progresses, people continue to consume more and more energy.  One area in which people consume more energy is through the charging of electronic portable devices such as, laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, etc.  Using renewable energy sources such as solar energy is a great way to offset the increase in energy demand without increasing green house gases such as CO2.  An IIT graduate student is evaluating a solar electric project for USF campus dorms.  This survey is information gathering necessary to completing the evaluation.  Your participation in completing the survey is appreciated."

We are very excited about this project and the potential impact it will have on the future use of solar power use in the dorms.

I strongly encourage all the students who live in dorms to participate in this survey. Your participation is critical to the success of the project as well as the residual impact it will have on implementing renewable energy sources on campus - a substantial step in Greening USF! 
 
Thanks,
Greening of Campus Committee (GCC)