Provide Feedback on Local Transportation
By Melanie Stewart
Omaha and the surrounding areas are expanding and changing and with those changes there are new opportunities.
You may have attending last week’s open house for Bus Rapid Transit; a new way to move people in the metro, akin to “Rail on Wheels”. BRT will launch in Omaha in 2018, with a stop at the Med Center. If you were unable to attend but would like to provide input on the bus, amenities, stations, etc. please take the following survey; the survey link is located on this page:
Link to Bus Rapid Transit Feedback Survey
In the meantime, you may already be or have thought about riding the bus as part of TravelSmart. The “92 Express bus” currently departs the med center on Dodge Street at 4 times in the afternoon. While it stops at 62nd, 74th, 84th, and 90th, it ultimately takes riders to the park and rides at 144th (FNB) and 175th (Village Point).
Metro has been reviewing ridership and are considering making changes to accommodate more people. If you currently take the 92 or have ever considered riding this route, please take the following survey by this Friday, the 24th.
As long as you are taking surveys, please consider taking the Metro Area Planning Agency (MAPA) long range transportation survey. MAPA is currently seeking public feedback on scenarios that will directly affect Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie counties, but will still affect those traveling in from Washington, Dodge, Saunders, Cass, Mills and Harrison counties. You will be asked to rank scenarios that will ultimately provide a vision for transportation development over the next several decades; affecting how you commute to work, how others are employed and get to their jobs, travel around the metro, and your tax dollars.
Link to MAPA Long Range Transportation Survey
Your input on these items will affect transportation options in the metro area, thank you for taking the time to share your comments.
Why is my space cold when it’s hot out?
Once again, the heat and humidity have come earlier than we would like, which means we are in energy curtailment.
Many have asked, “Why is my office so dang cold? Aren’t we wasting energy by keeping spaces cold when it’s so hot?” That’s true of your home, where the system adds cool air and then turns off, waits for the temperature to rise, and then adds cooling again.
Patient care areas and research spaces require a constant rate of air flow. In buildings with these activities we combine both heated and chilled air, regulating temperature the way we adjust the water in a shower – adding both hot and cold to create a comfortable temperature. During curtailment, we produce less heated air because nature does that for us. This means some spaces will feel cold.
We also save energy by “pre-cooling.” Spaces are cooled just a little bit extra before it gets hot and the sun is beating down, which makes it easier for the system to keep up once the heat and humidity are in full force.
Buildings without research or patient care may feel warmer than usual, as less energy will be used to cool them. Please call 9-4050 (UNMC) or 2-3347 (Nebraska Medicine) to report spaces colder than 66 degrees or warmer than 75 degrees.
Why put ourselves through this? Lower energy use means better air quality, which means a healthier community, and better health is our mission.
Our utility rates are based on our peak use. The maximum amount of energy we use at a given time determines the rate we pay for the entire next year. We want to keep that peak as low as possible.
We need your help! When the outside temperature becomes unbearable, we’ll ask you to turn lights off where ambient light is adequate, unplug electrical devices when not in use, and to close your window blinds to keep the sun out. These easy steps combine to have a huge impact – during the hot days and in the year ahead.
So, counterintuitive as it seems, when the mercury climbs this summer, be prepared – dress in layers. Stow a sweater, closed-toe shoes, and some socks in a desk drawer. Help improve community health by keeping your lights off and your window blinds closed.
If improving health, reducing pollution, and saving money aren’t enough incentives, the TREAT PATROL will make the rounds, randomly showing up in spaces to reward people for these efforts:
To help ease the energy load:
- close shades, blinds and curtains whenever possible to reduce solar heat gain;
- lower lighting levels where possible, turn off lights in unoccupied areas and when leaving a room;
- turn off and unplug all electrical equipment not in use (computers, coffee makers, printers, chargers, etc.), especially in offices;
- shut fume hood sashes when not in use; and
- open doors manually instead of using the ADA buttons.
30×30 Nature Challenge
By Melanie Stewart
You may not have heard of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), but you’ve probably heard of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for buildings, which is the credentialing the USGBC provides for building construction. Here, we are covered by the USGBC Nebraska Flatwater Chapter.
The USGBC understands that the built environment is important, but it envisions “buildings and communities that will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation.” Essentially, the built environment needs to work with nature instead of against it, or by dominating it. Working against nature can negatively affect our health and overall wellbeing.
The USGBC is asking everybody to spend 30 minutes outside in nature for the 30 days in June, hence the 30×30 challenge. That can’t be hard, right? Just 30 minutes of your day outside? You can take the dog for a walk, read in the shade of a tree, spend time in the garden, explore a new walking path, take the kids to a park and/or admire the sights, sounds and smells from anyplace—just get outside!
Benefits to you include:
- Decreased stress
- Exercise
- Stronger relationships
- Lowers blood pressure
- Reduces fatigue and helps children focus and control impulses
- Greater productivity, at home and work
- Increased satisfaction
- Improved memory, problem solving, creativity, and attention span
- Building community/camaraderie among neighbors
- Have a heightened sense of well-being
You can do this before work, on your lunch or break, or after work. Don’t forget that some of your favorite places are different in the dark, and that’s worth exploring too.
Like trees? Studies show heading to a forest can have additional benefits, and Fontenelle Forest is a great local attraction, (and they have Nature Discovery Day Camps for kids!).
After your 30 days are up, take stock of how you feel (bonus points for keeping a journal along the way). What benefits have you observed in your own life? Do you take a walk at lunch and find that you get more done in the afternoon? Did you have more or deeper conversations with your kids? Did your overall stress diminish? Maybe you lost a few pounds? Is your dog less destructive indoors?
Whatever it is, everybody will benefit from the 30×30 challenge. So what are you waiting for?
Up for a Challenge?
By Melanie Stewart
Do you like to bike? Maybe it’s for exercise, something fun to do with your kids, or part of your daily commute (hopefully as part of TravelSmart!). Whatever the reason, consider participating in the National Bike Challenge. Signing up is free, it allows you to track your cycling miles whether for transportation or recreation, and can promote improvements to cycling infrastructure in our community.
In 2014 our community created a mega-team, Omaha VeloCity, to compete with mega-teams created in other cities across the country. Omaha VeloCity finished #2 in the nation in 2014 and #5 last year, with 399 area cyclists participating. Let’s increase that number and move our ranking back up!
Many of you may remember Jack Mayfield, an avid cyclist who worked on campus and with UNeMed. Jack was instrumental in starting and promoting team Omaha VeloCity, and you can read about him here.
The National Bike Challenge began May 1st and concludes September 30th. Sign up today and begin tracking your miles (each trip of a mile or more gets 10 points and an additional point for every mile ridden). Indicate your team as Omaha VeloCity and your employer as Nebraska Medical Center. By demonstrating that cycling matters, you can help our community and city leaders understand the need for better infrastructure and safer streets. If that’s not enough, you can also win prizes!
While you’re at it, sign up for the Live Well Omaha Commuter Challenge. It occurs in conjunction with the National Bike Challenge and encourages all of us to use active transportation. Sign up for the Omaha Commuter Challenge here and log bus, bike, walking, and carpooling trips. Oh, did I mention you can win prizes here too?
Walking, cycling, carpooling, and taking the bus are great ways to become healthier, improve the air quality in Omaha, and even win prizes! So what are you waiting for? Clink the links above to sign up and we’ll see you out there.
Other Resources:
The Omaha Metropolitan Area Bicycle Map
Paths of Discovery – Metro Area Trails Map
Zimride; Med Center Carpool Matching
Sustainability Master Plan Update, conclusion
By Melanie Stewart
This is the final installment of this year’s Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) update. Click on these links to read past articles on the changing of a few baselines, Engagement/Planning/Food Service goals, and the incredible achievements in the energy, water, and emission goals.
The Transportation goal is to have 20% of campus employees and students commuting to campus via active transportation instead of using single occupant vehicles. This reduces parking demand on campus, reduces traffic congestion around the area, saves participants money, and improves community and personal health by increasing activity and reducing pollution. The baseline for this goal is 12.7% and our current participation is at 18.6%. This is a fantastic increase and largely due to TravelSmart. I’m hoping you’ve heard of TravelSmart, but please visit our website if you have ever considered carpooling, biking, walking, or taking the bus to work. This will help to clear up any misconceptions surrounding some of these options. As always, if you have questions, please email TravelSmart@unmc.edu
Last but certainly not least is Materials. While all focus areas have a primary and secondary goal, these are equally important when it comes to Materials. The first goal is to reduce the total amount of outgoing materials (waste and recycling) by 25%. Our baseline weight was 7,459,002 pounds per year and we have reduced this by 8.5%, to 6,828,384 pounds. This is good progress and we’ll need to work hard to keep up that pace as we open new buildings and have more people on campus. The second goal is to increase the amount of material diverted from the landfill to 35%. Our baseline was 22.9% and unfortunately we went down to 19.3%. However, there is a good reason for this: we used less materials in general; and “reduce” is always a better alternative than recycling. One of the largest reductions is in paper use, as fewer items are being printed and more items are printed double-sided. Paper is something we all recycle as part of HIPAA/FERPA policy, but by not printing as much, there’s less to recycle, resulting in a reduction of recycled materials. While this is the best possible reason for this reduction we still have a long way to go to meet our goal. Look for more information soon on recycling on campus.
This concludes the SMP update for this year. To read the plan, strategies to meet our goals, or to look at secondary metrics, please see the SMP webpage.
Sustainability Master Plan Update, part deux
By Melanie Stewart
In last week’s article I promised to provide updates in each of the goal areas of the Sustainability Master Plan. We’ve already discussed the changes to a few baselines and the incredible achievements in the energy, water, and emission goals here.
One goal you may not have heard much about is Campus Engagement. Campus Engagement is a rated score of how much the campus population knows about and is involved in sustainability efforts on campus. We determine this score via survey results, plus interaction and participation at events. Our baseline score was 45, the goal is 75, and our newly updated score is 52. While I’m pleased with the increase in score, I look forward to the campus at large learning more about sustainability on campus and how it directly ties to UNMC/Nebraska Medicine and the work that we do.
The Campus Planning goal is to maintain the baseline campus density of 73,327 square feet per developed acre. Makes perfect sense, right? I didn’t think so. In a nutshell, this goal encompasses the entire campus footprint: building up instead of sprawling out, planning and maintaining quality greenspace, designing avenues for safe, active transportation on campus, and incorporating high-quality public spaces to encourage interaction and support healing. Deconstruction processes when buildings are replaced involve recycling used materials instead of sending them to the landfill. These efforts encourage interaction and support healing, making this a better place to work, go to school, and receive care. We have moved away from this goal, but this is largely due in part to the current amount of construction taking place on campus.
The Food Services goal is ambitious: to remove 90% of the materials, by weight, from the waste stream. Currently cafeteria/food prep staff is recycling behind the scenes; large tin cans, oversized bottles, and consumer materials are recycled if possible. Styrofoam will be phased out as a part of this goal. The students helped to kick this off by passing a Styrofoam-free resolution and Sodexo has already started the transition by replacing cups and soup bowls with paper versions. Multiple options are being considered for clam shells and other items, helping to meet this goal but still maintaining safe food temperature and infection control standards while allowing food to be transported.
Sustainability Master Plan Update
By Melanie Stewart
If you have been reading this column, we know you are already aware that the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine 42nd and Dewey campus is working to meet goals outlined in the Sustainability Master Plan (SMP).
As we move forward, it’s important to provide you with a report on the progress we have made in all areas. The next few articles that are written here will provide updates and explanations in all eight areas of focus.
Before we can do that, it’s important to note that several baselines in the SMP have been updated. I bring this up because we want to be 100% transparent about what is happening.
One of the goals of the SMP is to improve on-going data tracking. The outcome of these improvements is more accurate data tracking and newly available data to inform progress toward meeting SMP goals. The baselines were changed because this new, more accurate data recently became available. Baseline changes were made in a unit of measure: the original water baseline showed that we used 206,130,100 gallons of water per year. With improved data our new baseline is 225,164,787 gallons per year, a 9.2% increase. The goal of reducing by 10% has not and will not change, but technically this makes the goal more difficult to achieve as the volume of water we need to “save” is larger.
New, more accurate data resulted in updates to five of the 2010 baselines: energy, emissions, water, materials, and recycling. Transportation and engagement baselines remained the same. The food services goal does not have a specific baseline.
We’ve already provided you with the first update on energy, water, and emissions.
You can read about these achievements in UNMC Today and Nebraska Medicine NOW, as well as the Omaha World Herald. In addition, the Chancellor’s video with Chad Doane discusses why sustainability is important for us to attain as a school, business, healthcare provider, and community leader, and how important it is that we meet these specific goals.
This is a fantastic accomplishment and something for everyone to be proud of. We will continue to strive to meet the secondary goals in these categories.
RePurpose It Contest Winners Announced, Feedback sought
By Melanie Stewart
This year brought us an extended version of Earth Week, with an extra day of fun! We celebrated goals, saw how creative and resourceful people can be in the RePurpose It contest, collected items from your home for appropriate recycling, brought you lots of subject matter experts to answer your questions and provide you with information (and free stuff!), planted a tree, gave away free trees and seeds, and last but not least, helped a local charity plant seeds so families in need have access to fresh veggies.
So, we want to know what you thought! Please click on the link below to take our 2 minute survey. Your feedback will help us to know what to do, or not do, next Earth Week and what changes we can make so it’s even better.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G25YWQ2
RePurpose It Contest Winners:
- Grand Prize, Winner of Popular Vote:
- #18 Grace Johnson, Physical Therapy Education; Copy paper box into standing desk and storage
- Receives a 20 minute chair massage from the Wellness Center ($20 Value) and $25 Gift Card to Union Junktion Store.
- Second Place:
- #1 Nichole Niehus, Interventional Radiology; Pallet into wine rack
- Receives a $25 Gift Card from Paradigm Gardens
- Winner selected by Habitat for Humanity Restore:
- # 24 EVS “Brighten Your Day Committee” Debra Duke, Olga Echevarria, Tami Howell, Louis Liddick, Peter McClure, Debra Roberts, Kathy Struck, Annette Traurig, & Marie Weilandt; Wooden hangers into a lamp
- Receives a Habitat Restore $25 gift certificate
- 2 Winners selected by LiveGreen Committee:
- #10, Rachel Meyer, OHSCU; Chest of drawers/shelving systems into dollhouse with carport
- Receives a gift certificate to The Company Store
- #5, Saralyn Fisher, INBRE Program; Old door, table, shelves, and trim into potting bench
- Receive a UNMC Bookstore Prize Pack
- Winner selected by Verdis Group:
- #19 Cassandra Recek, General Supply; Cardboard packing material into seed starting trays
- Receives an ALTER EGO personal water filtration duo, courtesy of Pulp–Paperie and Gifts
We’ll get information gathered from our recycling event, the rest of Earth Week and the effect it had, and bring that to you in a future article.
Thanks for helping to make Earth Week a success and for your valuable feedback.
Earth Week is Here
By Melanie Stewart
Earth Week is finally here! Start the week off with Earth Day this Friday the 22nd and end on a high note with Arbor Day on the 29th.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Friday, April 22nd
We’ve made phenomenal progress on the energy and water goals in our Sustainability Master Plan and we are excited to tell you about it! Look for more information in Nebraska Medicine Now and then visit us in front of the Nebraska Café or Storz Pavilion for a fun demonstration and pick up a free item that will help you save energy at home.
Monday, April 25th:
The RePurpose It Contest has some really great projects to show off. Your colleagues are incredibly talented and creative! Many entries will inspire you to look at items you have in your home a different way; helping to save you money and reduce waste. Pages are not open yet, but you will be able to see the entries here and vote here.
Tuesday, April 26th 12pm-6pm and Wednesday, April 27th 6am-12pm:
Have items at home you need to get dispose of, and can’t put in the trash? We will accept:
- Personal electronics to recycle; hard drives will be shredded. Most items will be free, but there will be a nominal cost for tube TVs, CRT monitors, and hard drives.
- Free personal document shredding.
- Free personal single use alkaline battery recycling.
- Free ‘techno trash’ recycling
- Eyeglasses will be collected for donation to those in need.
- Have pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House? Bring those too!
Click here for complete information
Thursday, April 28th 11:30am-1:30pm, in Lower Storz:
The Sustainability Expo will give you the opportunity to talk to representatives from over 30 different groups. Ask a master gardener a question, find out about B-Cycle plans, learn more about recycling, rain barrels, or even bee keeping. We’ll have door prizes, attendance prizes, and free food to taste-test. Check our webpage for a complete list.
Friday, April 29th 11:30am, Michael Sorrell Green Space
We will celebrate Arbor Day and our status as a Tree Campus USA by planting a tree, giving away free trees and wildflower seeds, and helping City Sprouts plant veggies for the food bank! Check our website for more info.
No matter what your interests are, there will be something for everyone at this year’s Earth Week Celebration and we hope to see you there!
Hugelkultur
By Anne Rivas
When we moved here four years ago, I was excited about Omaha sending yard waste to a composting facility. I put my sticks out for pickup with a clear conscience, and composted almost everything else at home. Now the city is considering an amended contract with the waste hauling that will permanently send yard waste to the landfill. The methane generated by the landfill is used to create power, but I’d rather not create that power with something that can nourish life. Watching organic waste become rich soil deepens my faith in the transformative power of rot, and being part of a city that values the production of fertile soil is important to me. I am deeply disappointed by this suggested change in direction.
So what do we do now with our sticks, branches, and woody prunings? We can run them through chippers to create our own mulch. Or, as self-appointed Compost Queen, I suggest we use them in hugelkultur garden beds.
Hugelkultur means “hill mound,” or “hill culture.” It’s a form of composting that allows us to use leftover firewood, the branches and sticks that fall from our trees every time the wind blows (and when isn’t the wind blowing?), kitchen scraps, yard waste, and garden waste. Start with a layer of logs on the bottom, and then build a lasagna pile of sticks, leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps, paper, and compost, ending with a layer of dirt covered by a layer of mulch. You can plant in it immediately.
Piling the materials into a mound gives you a larger gardening surface without taking more horizontal space. The branches aerate the soil as they decompose, and the wood holds moisture that is released as the bed dries out, reducing the need for irrigation. The mound will diminish as it decomposes. A well-built hugelkultur bed can last 20 years or so without irrigation or fertilizer. Some intensive work at the beginning will pay dividends for years to come.
I love reading well-written homesteading blogs and have watched this movement grow over the years, but there are limits to what we can each accomplish alone. By working together on the municipal level through city composting, community gardens, seed libraries, and other common efforts, we will accomplish more than any of us can do by ourselves.
