Illinois Sustainable Technology Center • Prairie Research Institute
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County recently won an Illinois Association of Park Districts Best Green Practices Award for their sustainability and climate resiliency plan. The plan calls for the Forest Preserve to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2050
ISTC’s technical assistance team collaborated with them to gather information and develop the document.
Lisa Krause recently joined ISTC as a coastal management specialist working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Coastal Management Program. Lisa is happily returning home to Illinois after spending the last decade operating an ecological design/build company in Baltimore, Maryland. In this role, she worked with homeowners to develop landscapes that cycle nutrients, build habitats, and stormwater water interception. She also taught community workshops on these topics at urban farms, garden clubs, and community spaces throughout the state.
Lisa’s passion for resilience planning in communities led her to pursue an M.S. in Ecological Design and Planning at the Conway School of Landscape Design in Massachusetts, which she completed this year. She has authored several master planning projects, including working with the historic coastal village of Mystic, Connecticut on a climate resiliency plan for managing stormwater using green infrastructure, funded through The Nature Conservancy. She created site-specific intervention designs appropriate to the historic village that would mitigate flooding, accommodate increased frequency and severity of storms, and have the greatest impacts on protecting the watershed while creating habitat for wildlife in urban space.
Lisa will be involved in several coastal management projects and programs. She looks forward to providing support to the Calumet Stormwater Collaborative Green Infrastructure Training and Maintenance Workgroup, the Calumet Collaborative Brownfields Working Group, the Sand Management Working Group Regional Demo/Best Management Practices team, and working on the Coastal Water Quality Trends Analysis project. Lisa is enjoying her new role and is looking forward to working collaboratively and helping support sustainable solutions for coastal resilience in our communities all along Lake Michigan.
ISTC’s Shantanu Pai is featured in this story from WNIJ about how towns in rural Illinois are struggling to offer recycling services to their residents.
Fox 55/27 News interviewed ISTC senior chemist John Scott in this story about PFAS found on the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul.
On October 3, participants from seven different food manufacturing companies gathered at Thatcher Woods Pavilion in River Forest to learn how to take sustainability to the next level at a workshop sponsored by ISTC’s Technical Assistance Program, the Forest Preserves of Cook County, ComEd, Peoples Gas, and North Shore Gas.
Speakers updated the attendees on:
Two companies requested a free technical assistance visit during the workshop. If you work for a food or beverage manufacturer and want to improve your operating performance, decrease your costs, and use fewer toxic chemicals, schedule your free on-site assessment today.
ISTC’s Jennifer Martin is quoted in this Recycling Today article about the current solar panel recycling landscape.
Read the full story from NPR. ISTC researchers are analyzing the samples for this project.
Missouri waters are polluted with microplastics, small pieces of plastic smaller than a pencil eraser.
Microplastics can come from large pieces of plastic that degrade into smaller pieces and consumer products, like toothpaste and cosmetics, that contain microbeads. While research has shown that plastic pollution can threaten aquatic life, scientists are still trying to understand how microplastics could affect human health.
Understanding the impact of microplastics starts by knowing how much is in local waters, said Rachel Bartels, co-founder of the nonprofit Missouri Confluence Waterkeeper.
The online registration for the fall Illinois EPA-Sponsored One-Day Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event in Champaign County will open on Monday, September 23, at 8 a.m. The link to the online registration system is http://hhwevent.simplybook.me/. The collection event will take place on Saturday, October 26, in Champaign. Residents can find drop-off location information on the registration website.
This drop-off event is open to all Illinois residents. Residents must register for an appointment in order to attend. On September 23, residents can reserve one of the available 15-minute time slots between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Immediately upon reserving a time, a confirmation email and/or text message will be sent. The resident will also receive a postcard in the U.S. Mail five to seven days before the event which serves as their “ticket” into the event.
A complete list of household hazardous wastes that are and are not accepted is available online at https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/household-hazardous-waste/Pages/acceptable-wastes.aspx
The online registration will remain open until all 15-minute time slots are full.
If residents need assistance registering for the event, they can contact Nichole Millage, Environmental Sustainability Specialist by email at recycling@champaignil.gov or call 217-403-4780.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director John J. Kim has announced that the Agency’s Office of Energy has issued a $900,000 grant award to SIU Carbondale for a unique solar photovoltaic plus energy storage and communication resiliency project.
The SIU Solar + Storage project will feature more than 150kW of solar generation and 310kWh of storage capacity in a highly-visible section of campus at the SIU College of Engineering.
As proposed, this project will:
The SIU Solar + Storage project is the first investment of its kind by Illinois EPA’s Office of Energy and designed to be replicated and applied to other contexts and potential future investments across Illinois in and out of the higher education setting.
“The SIU Solar + Storage project will provide energy savings and emergency communications resiliency for the campus and Carbondale community as well as enhance educational opportunities for the University’s College of Engineering,” said Director Kim. “Illinois EPA looks forward to watching the
project evolve as students engage with the technology from different perspectives.”
There are two other important components of the project. First, solar powered long-term evolution (LTE) communication modules will sustain cellular communication for the SIU police department, the Carbondale police department, and the Carbondale fire department in the event of power disruption.
Second, the project intends to demonstrate that photovoltaic (PV) systems with energy storage provide a viable alternative when selecting backup power sources for small-scale applications. This will be achieved by closely monitoring the operation of the battery storage backup in response to utility power disruption.
The Office of Energy is working closely with the SIU Office of Sponsored Programs, the SIU Physical Plant Engineering Services, and the College of Engineering to design an impactful project with meaningful educational opportunities for engineering and communications students.
April Janssen is a Sustainability Specialist at ISTC’S Oak Brook Office, where she works with businesses and communities improve their waste management practices.
How old were you when you first became interested in sustainability? What sparked your interest?
Growing up in Wisconsin on a river, I’ve always had a connection to nature and sustainability. I recall saving my modest childhood allowance to adopt an acre of rainforest through the Nature Conservancy so I could somehow be part of this wonderous ecosystem. Living in Chicago that has manifested to personal actions, studying and professionally pursing sustainability.
Who or what drew you to study sustainability?
While initiating and growing the Chicago Marathon’s Sustainability Program, I began applying my personal practices professionally and acknowledged my passion for topic, as well as the need for a more formal foundation.
What is your background prior to working at ISTC?
I worked on the Chicago Marathon (Chicago Event Management) for 7 years, managing the Volunteer Program and developing the Sustainability Program. As an event invested in health and fitness, the community hosting the 26.2 mile course and the dozens of charities who use the event to raise millions of dollars, an environmental aspect was the next natural step. We utilized the Council for Responsible Sport’s certification as a framework to guide the program and our initiatives, as well as earn certification. I left to pursue a Master’s in Sustainable Urban Development and began working at Bright Beat, a sustainability consultancy, where I was able to gain more experience in sustainable operations, facilities, communication and engagement through a variety of projects.
What are you looking forward to the most in your new role at ISTC?
I am looking forward to supporting and learning more about the many diverse sustainability applications ISTC’s project partners are seeking – from waste characterization studies aimed at achieving zero waste, to renewable energy generation recommendations in support of net zero commitments, and everything in between. I am excited to be here!
What are common misconceptions about your career? OR What question do you get asked most frequently about your career?
The most common misconception is that sustainability is ‘too difficult’ or ‘too costly’, when often small changes make big impacts, at little to no cost, or there’s a cost savings. The most common question I am asked is, ‘Can I recycle this?’
What are some challenges you’ve faced in your career?
People who don’t care. I take the carrot rather than the stick approach, ultimately educating, inspiring, and enticing people to care.
What advice would you give to future sustainability professionals?
Stick with it! There are many approaches to sustainability and paths to where you want to be.
If you could switch jobs with someone, who would it be?
I would love to work on the sustainability program of an Olympic Games. Years in the making, the world stage, excellence in sport, a time of peace and camaraderie – the Olympics exemplify the best humanity has to offer.