What's Happening Around Illinois

College Highlights
11. Danville Goes Green with Rainwater Collection System
12. DACC Hosts a Visit From The "Recycling Raven"
13. Heartland Offers Green Business Courses
14. Heartland Offers Wind Site Assessor Course from March 26 - March 29
15. John A. Logan Create New Marketing Pieces for Sustainability Center
16. John A. Logan Opens Pervious Parking Lot
17. Richland Staff, Faculty and Students Go On Bio-Refinery Tour
18. SWIC Honored in St. Lewis Green Challenge

Upcoming Events
19. Go Green and Save Money (Green Business Practices), Richland Community College, Feb. 23rd
20. Save the Date: John A. Logan Hosting Infrared Technology Class, Feb. 23rd
21. TEMT Targeted Event: Get A Midwest Perspective on the Regional Wind Energy Market, March 6th-7th
22. Save the Date: John A. Logan Hosting River Watch Training Class, March 24th
23. Save the Date: 5th Annual Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit, April 12th, 2012
24. Job Opportunity: Associate Director, Green Economy Initiative, Heartland Community College

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#11 Danville Goes Green with Rainwater Collection System

Danville Area Community College, in its continuing sustainability efforts, installed a revolutionary RainXchange System for capturing, filtering, and re-using rainwater on the DACC campus. Installed in July 2011 at the DACC Greenhouse, the RainXchange System collects rainwater to subsidize water usage for watering greenhouse plants and turf greens. The rainwater collection system was funded by a $5,000 grant from the Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN).

The RainXchange System combines a decorative bubbling rock water recirculation feature with a sub-surface rainwater harvest storage system, capable of holding 1000 gallons of rainwater. The RainXchange system stores the collected water underground to maintain the integrity and beauty of the landscape. By reusing rainwater, the College will reduce water bills which include sewer charges and will alleviate demand on municipal water systems. Rainwater is extremely rich in nutrients to irrigate landscape, reducing the need for fertilizer and chemicals. Finally, reusing rainwater limits the waste of the planet’s freshwater resources through usage and pollution.

#12 DACC Hosts a Visit From The "Recycling Raven"

Danville Area Community College and the Middlefork Audubon Society hosted the 13th Annual Eagle Day Event on February 8th with over 1000 onlookers this year. The event was presented by the Office of Wildlife Learning World Bird Sanctuary of St. Louis, which has a captive breeding program of endangered birds, rehabilitates injured birds and conducts avian field studies. The educational program provided an excellent opportunity for local area school children and the community to view some endangered birds up-close as well as raise awareness of bird characteristics, behaviors and habitats. This year’s event displayed the inherent grace and agility of the peregrine falcon, various owls, buzzards, hawks, and our national symbol, the bald eagle. There was also a spectacular “recycling raven” named Mischief who landed on volunteers arms to retrieve an empty aluminum can and fly away to place the can into a recycling container!
The most anticipated highlight of the program was when various birds were allowed to fly free over the heads of the audience members.

#13 Heartland Offers Green Business Courses

Recognizing Green Businesses (Feb 28, 6pm-8pm, $50) covers the importance of green business practices and how to identify a green business. Green businesses focus on raising sustainability, lowering environmental toxins and "greening" their policies and procedures. Kendra Wise from Living Green Locally will offer insight about how to decipher between green and green washing and will highlight several local organizations that are truly focused on
green or socially responsible business practices. To register call 309-268-8160 or go online.

Green Business is Smart Business (April 10, 8am-12pm, $65) Learn from the professionals with the Illinois Green Business Association about the nine basic areas of business sustainability, available incentives, sustainable business implementation strategies, result tracking and employee engagement. Topics covered will include energy conservation, water conservation, water reduction, pollution prevention, sustainable purchasing, transportation metrics, performance and tracking methods, and sustainable landscaping. Walk away with the tools you need to make the company you own or work for more environmentally sustainable.
To register call 309-268-8160 or go online.

#14 Heartland Offers Wind Site Assessor Course from March 26 - March 29

This course is recommended for those wishing to begin a career in the wind business, wind system dealers/installers, educators,
homeowners considering installing a wind system or anyone interested in further understanding small wind system (less than 100 kiloWatt) siting.
The core material presented in Introduction to Wind Systems will be expanded to train participants to evaluate a site's wind energy potential and will guide them through the process normally required to perform wind site assessments for stakeholders' programs. Prerequisite: The prerequisite, Introduction to Wind Systems will be offered the Saturday before (March 24). The Wind Site Assessor course cost is $500 and the Introduction to Wind Systems is $140.
To register call 309-268-8160 or go online.

#15 John A. Logan Create New Marketing Pieces for Sustainability Center

John A. Logan College has developed ads to help promote their Sustainability Center. A small banner ad (picturedabove ) will be put
in a magazine called Life and Style that is circulated to 18,000 people in So. Illinois; equating to minimum of 30,000 readers.
A larger ad will appear in the Southern Business Journal, published by the Southern Illinoisan newspaper and inserted into a paper
each month; this will reach 60,000 readers. To check out JALC's full page ad, visit the Southern Business Journal at:
issuu.com/thesouthern/docs/sbj_february_2012-opt/1.

#16 John A. Logan Opens Pervious Parking Lot

JALC recently completed a new pervious concrete parking lot on campus. This lot has space for eighty-nine vehicles and serves a new wing of the communications building which opened with the spring semester. The new lot has been designated lot “P,” and the stripes on the lot have been painted green. Six inches of pervious concrete was poured over a base of eighteen inches of coarse gravel and another six inches of small, clean gravel.

In case some people are wondering, here is how pervious concrete works (from the ConcreteNetwork.com): "Essentially, pervious concrete is a structural concrete pavement with a large volume (15 to 35 percent) of interconnected voids. Like conventional concrete, it’s made from a mixture of cement, coarse aggregates, and water. However, it contains little or no sand, which results in a porous open-cell structure that water passes through readily. Pervious concretecan take in storm water at a rapid rate of 3 to 5 gallons per minute per square foot of surface area, which exceeds the flow rate needed to prevent runoff in most rain events. The coarse gravel layer underneath the pavement stores the rainwater and allows it to percolate slowly into the underlying soil. Because the pavement itself acts as a retention area, it helps to prevent much of the polluted runoff that normally occurs with impervious pavements. The filtration process also helps to purify the water. As the water percolates through the open cells of the pavement, aerobic bacteria in the voids help to break down harmful pollutants and chemicals."

#17 Richland Staff, Faculty and Students Go On Bio-Refinery Tour

Richland Community College Sustainability Program Director Andy Perry, Sustainability Program Coordinator Ben Newton, and students recently participated in the ADM Pilot Bio-Refinery tour in Decatur, IL. The integrated pilot plant can convert 1 dry ton per day of corn stover to cellulosic ethanol and ethyl acrylate.

#18 SWIC Honored in St. Lewis Green Challenge

Southwestern Illinois College was recently honored at the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association’s Green Business Challenge Awards Ceremony. SWIC was awarded the Circle of Excellence for green initiatives in 2011. Nearly 70 organizations from the St. Louis region participated in this year's challenge.

#19 Go Green and Save Money (Green Business Practices), Richland Community College, Feb. 23rd

Richland Community College will be hosting a workshop on Thursday Feb. 23rd from 8 AM-12 PM, Go Green and Save Money
(Green Business Practices), delivered by Laura Barnes of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. Cost $90. Please
call 217.875.7211, ext. 265 to register.

In the evening on Thursday Feb. 23rd Laura Barnes will be hosting Going Green at Home- a free class from 6 PM-7PM at the Decatur Public Library.

#20 Save the Date: John A. Logan Hosting Infrared Technology Class, Feb. 23rd

John A. Logan College will be hosting a class on the use of thermal imaging in buildings on February 23rd, 2012. 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. This full-day course will introduce participants to the science of thermal analysis using infrared imaging in buildings. Basic IR theory will be discussed and how it is used in building inspection to lower maintenance costs and save energy. In addition, the class will show how IR imaging is used for moisture and leak detection, electrical distribution and equipment inspection, and mechanical surveys. The class will include demonstrations and hands-on equipment use. This class is funded by a grant from the Illinois Green Economy Network, and is free to participants. Seating will be limited. Click here to register.
If you have any questions, please contact: Time Gibson at timgibson@jalc.edu.

Location will be JALC Workforce Development and Construction Management Building "H", Room H-128
Instructor: Brian Kumer, owner of Thermal Imaging Services of Central Illinois.

Who: This class will be of interest to energy auditors, building operators and maintenance staff, building inspectors, building trades professionals and contractors.

#21 TEMT Targeted Event: Get A Midwest Perspective on the Regional Wind Energy Market, March 6th-7th

FREE to IGEN College employees through the IGEN Targeted program! Spread the word and tell the appropriate college staff and faculty to mark their calendars for AWEA's first regional event focusing on critical wind power issues in the Midwest.

Providing a comprehensive view of the wind energy markets in the Midwest region of the United States, the AWEA Regional Wind Energy Summit - Midwest is AWEA's first regional event focusing on critical wind power issues. The U.S. Department of Energy “20% Wind Energy by 2030” report provides a scenario for the country to get 20% of its electricity from wind power, and the Midwest would provide more than its share of wind energy under that scenario, powering electricity demand from wind turbines to neighboring regions.

This event analyzes the wind markets that impact growth and expansion of the wind industry on a local and regional scale, and how this smaller scale relates to the national effort to increase wind production in the United States. Using experts in the field of siting, policy, manufacturing, supply chain, transmission, and utility power, this event gets to the heart of the issues most influential in the success of the Midwest wind energy markets today.

Sign up today to find out about registration.

#22 Save the Date: John A. Logan Hosting River Watch Training Class, March 24th

This training is provided by the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center and prepares folks to be volunteer “citizen scientists” in monitoring water quality by teaching them to take samples from local streams and rivers. There is a $ 50 fee for the class.

Location will be JALC Workforce Development and Construction Management Building "H", Room H-127, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. For more information, contact Nate Keener atnkeener@lc.edu or by phone at (618) 468-2782.

#23 Save the Date: 5th Annual Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit, April 12th, 2012

TheChicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative, Illinois Green Economy Network and The Greenforce Initiativeare happy to invite you to attend our 5th annual summit! Five years ago, the Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative was started by leaders in our region, committed to making our communities a hub for environmentally sustainable economic development, and the creation of new, green jobs for historically disadvantaged populations. Since 2007, the Chicagoland region has experienced many successes related to green economic and community development, including a proliferation of green jobs training programs for workers from the most severely disadvantaged groups, and an increased role for environmental issues within political agendas both in the City of Chicago and municipalities in the surrounding counties. While we have collectively accomplished a great deal in the past five years, there is much more work to do. This year's summit is about developing targeted action plans that account for our current challenges and political landscape, and will help guide the region in the future.

Click to Register

Date:	Thursday, April 12, 2012
Time:	8:00am-5:00pm
Location:	Arturo Velasquez Institute (2800 S. Western Avenue)
Registration Cost:	$60 for staff at partner entities $70 for non-partners *Registrations are transferable, but non-refundable

#24 Job Opportunity: Associate Director, Green Economy Initiative, Heartland Community College

This position will work closely with other Green Economy Centers, HCC's Green Institute, and Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN) administrators to advance local economic development initiatives, programs, and services which benefit the region’s emerging green economy. A primary focus of the Green Economy Initiative is community based food systems as a foundation for economic growth.
www.heartland.edu.