Workshops

Track A: Energy

1. Energy Conservation: Energy Audits and Energy Cost Reduction Measures CM I l

Brian Deal, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign & co-director of Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC)

Ben Sliwinski, Technical Director at Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Tremendous amounts of energy are wasted by buildings and infrastructure.  Find out how local governments can save energy and money through energy audits and retrofits.  Topics will include lighting, HVAC, insulation, habits and municipal infrastructure including street lights and stop lights.

2. Fleet Operations: Smart Strategies to Reduce Pollution
CM I l

John Walton, Vice President Marketing, Advance Fuel Systems, Corp. AFCS

Karen Rozmus, Village of Oak Park

Fleet vehicles use a lot of gas – costing money and adding to air pollution. Learn how to adopt new practices and use alternative fuels to improve air quality and create other benefits. Information will be provided on natural gas, propane, E-85, biodiesel, electric and hybrid vehicles. Learn about anti-idling and fuel use reduction ideas to make your fleet green and to save money.

3. Energy Sources: Alternative and Renewable Energy CM I l

Philip Krein, Professor and Director of the Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Brita Pagels

There are many sources of energy beyond coal and nuclear.  Learn about renewable energy so local governments and agencies can be prepared for the new opportunities available through the federal stimulus package.

Track B: Green Building

1. Leading by Example: Building and Renovating Green Municipal Building CM I l

Erin Lavin Cabonargi

Vuk Vujovic, Director of Sustainable Design, Legat Architects

Towns of all sizes are taking leadership for designing and renovating municipal buildings that are practical, energy-efficient, healthy and green. Learn from their experiences. Case studies will be presented.

2. Encouraging Green: Incentives and Policies to Encourage Green Building in the Private Sector CM I l

Don Fournier, Senior Research Specialist, Building Research Council, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign & co-director of Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC)

Chris Choi, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region V

Green buildings create healthy, efficient environments at work and at home.  How can municipalities encourage the private sector to build green?  This session will explore incentives and policies that encourage green building and compare the different certification systems for green buildings.

3. Roofs that Carry Their Weight: Reflective, Solar, Insulated, and Vegetated Roofs CM I l

Michael Berkshire, Green Projects Administrator, City of Chicago

Jean Ascoli, Building Research Council, University of Illinois

A “green roof” can be many things: a vegetated roof, an energy producing roof, a reflective roof, an insulated roof, an outdoor room.  Learn about the many ways to green the roof of a public or private building, saving energy and money starting at the top.

Track C:  Stormwater

1. Stormwater Design for Sustainable Stormwater Systems CM I l

James Patchett, President, Conservation Design Forum

Stormwater management begins in the landscape. Learn about design and development strategies, with a focus on sustainable water management measures. This includes a wide range of case studies—including bioswales, permeable pavement, rain gardens, and native vegetation—that illustrate cost-effective planning and design techniques at various scales of development (site, neighborhood, campus, even agriculture). Learn how communities can develop and implement design guidelines, codes, and ordinances to encourage better stormwater management.

2. Stormwater Water Conservation in Every Yard CM I l

Brook McDonald, President/CEO, The Conservation Foundation

Amy Ando, Associate Professor of Environmental Economics, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Learn how you can play a leadership role in promoting water conservation and stormwater management with examples from The Conservation Foundation including rain barrels and rainwater harvesting, native landscaping, and the successful Conservation @ Home program.  Find out about research on response to Chicago’s rain barrel subsidy program to understand which households are most likely to respond to voluntary green infrastructure initiatives and how to design programs to encourage other households to participate.

3. Forecast Your Community’s Future: A GIS- based Support Tool for Watershed Planning CM I l

Martin Jaffe, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Jill Tenebrini, Graduate Student, Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois, Chicago

Learn about a new, free, visually compelling web-based tool to model how rainwater management measures, from backyards to large commercial districts, affect stormwater flow and flood risk. The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program, in collaboration with the Land Use Evolution and Impact Assessment Model (LEAM) Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Lake Michigan Watershed Ecosystem Partnership, is promoting an interactive GIS-based model that has the capabilities to forecast future growth in northeastern Illinois out to the year 2050 and to assess the water quality impacts of such growth on adjacent waterways.  See the model in action with an online demonstration.

Track D: Sustainable Landscape

1. Guiding Sustainable Landscape Planning CM I l

Lynne M. Westphal, Research Social Scientist & Project Leader, US Forest Service Northern Research Station

Learn about the new landscape guidelines being developed by the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI), an interdisciplinary effort by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the US Botanic Garden. The goal is to create voluntary guidelines and performance benchmarks to guide sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. These tools can help those who influence land development and management practices and can address increasingly urgent global concerns such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and resource depletion. They can be used by planners, landscape architects, engineers, developers, builders, maintenance crews, horticulturists, and governments.

2. Better Students and Revitalized Neighborhoods: The Surprising Economic, Social and Health Benefits of Greening the Landscape CM I l

Rod Matsuoka, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Laurel Berman, Environmental Health Scientist with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Your community’s future depends on its children, and your landscape makes a difference for them.
Learn about the positive relationships that views of nature from cafeteria and classroom windows have with academic achievement and classroom behavior. As brownfields are redeveloped, many issues have to be considered, including public health, environmental conservation and greening.  Hear about a pilot program that encourages a public health focus through community participation in land reuse projects.

3. Working Together for Healthy Lawns and a Healthy Environment: Is Your Community on Board? CM I l

Richard Hentschel, Extension Specialist Green Industry Programming, University of Illinois Extension

Stephen McCracken, Director, Watershed Protection, The Conservation Foundation, Naperville

Amy Mysz, Environmental Health Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Rusty Stachlewitz, Program Director, The Lawn Institute

Please join us to discuss how we can work together to reach your community and reduce adverse impacts of improper lawn care practices on people and the environment. In the quest to maintain a lush green lawn, many residents and municipalities unknowingly overuse or misuse pesticides and fertilizers, and water. These common approaches affect water quality and the health of people, pets, and the environment.  These impacts can be reduced or prevented through responsible, environmentally-friendly lawn care practices. The University of Illinois Extension, the U.S. E.P.A. and The Lawn Institute have formed a partnership to promote environmentally friendly lawn practices. This interactive session will give your town or village an opportunity to join this collaborative effort and explore how to best work within your community.

Track E: Solid Waste

1. What Is Waste? Understanding the Waste Stream and the Terminology of Recycled Products CM I l

Paula Levin, Associate at the Delta Institute

Mike Mitchell, Executive Director, Illinois Recycling Association

Chris Martel, Principal Engineer, CDM Consulting Firm

To build an effective waste management program, you have to know what you're dealing with. The Illinois Recycling Association conducted a study of the waste streams and commodity streams in Illinois; see the results and learn what is in the waste stream and what can be recycled. To complete the recycling loop, you have to understand recycled products. Terms like recyclable, recycled and biodegradable will be explained, to help you make good decisions and avoid greenwashing.

2. Beyond the Basics: How to Handle Compost, Pharmaceutical Waste and Electronic Waste CM I l

Susan Ask, University of Illinois Extension

Joe Shacter, Consultant to Western Illinois Regional Council and Illinois EPA

Jennifer Walling, Chief of Staff for State Senator Heather Steans

Most towns and residents are accustomed to curbside collection. But some parts of the waste stream are left behind. Learn how to handle what’s left out. There are programs and new legislation to help deal with compost, pharmaceutical waste and electronic waste throughout the region.

3. Solid Waste Construction and Demolition Debris CM I l

Otis Omenazu, Chief Air Engineer, Chicago Department of Environment

Elise Zelechowski, Deputy Executive Director, Delta Institute

Construction and remodeling generate a huge amount of waste.  Learn how to divert that waste from the landfill through recycling and recovery.  Find out about innovative programs to repurpose discarded building supplies and new legislation that will expand the options for construction and demolition recycling. 

General session: Round-table panel discussion

“Leading Your Community to a Green Recovery: Tools, Technical Advice and Funding to Regenerate Your Town or Village”

Panelists
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP)
ComEd
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
University of Illinois Extension
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region V