Blogs

Project Tap That is a student campaign to educate UW students about the harmful effects of plastic bottles and promote the use of reusable bottles with tap water.

They'll be kicking off their education and outreach campaign during the Earth Day celebrations on Red Square. Stop by the UW Earth Club or UW Sustainability tables to learn about the benefits of using a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water, and you might have a chance to pick up a Tap That reusable water bottle of your own!

Hello! I’m Caroline Beightol. I came to Seattle three years ago from my much smaller hometown of Santa Barbara, CA. When I get time away from school, I like to get outdoors, road trip, and dabble in food tourism.

As a third-year Urban Planning student, I focus on the sustainable and ethical design of places, so I am thrilled to have gotten involved with UW Sustainability. As the new Green Office Certification Coordinator, I look forward to encouraging different groups on campus to think and act in more environmentally-conscious ways.

For the second year in a row, University of Washington's Seattle campus came in first among its Pac-12 competitors in overall waste reduction during RecycleMania, a national collegiate waste diversion tournament. With an overall reduction rate of 55%, the University ranked number 25 on a list of 207 competing institutions.

Tali Haller has been a student at the University of Washington for less than two years, and she's already won two Husky Green Awards – an accomplishment no one else has achieved.

"It's very motivating, and it also gives some validity to the things that I'm doing," she said about the Husky Green Award wins. "It's really nice to be recognized for work that I'm doing on campus."

Tali has already been able to make a big impact promoting sustainability in the UW Greek system, as well as being involved in many other environmental and sustainability projects on campus and off.

Coming up on May 6 and 7, the UW Botanic Gardens invites you to join our 2016 BioBlitz at the Washington Park Arboretum! A BioBlitz is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area.

Rebeca Rivera has gone above and beyond to involve students, faculty and staff in sustainability efforts across the UW Bothell campus. She is in the process of trying to start a garden at the UW Bothell campus, which is pending approval from the university. If all goes well, Rivera will begin the garden as soon as possible.

By Tali Haller

After a few wild days of recycle basketball, trash Minute-To-Win-It, sustainability trivia, and green pledging last weekend, the 2016 Green Greek Competition was a success. More than 180 students signed a Green Pledge and 29 Greek Chapters participated.

Whether it's composting and recycling at work or being mindful of what type of products to purchase – Ken Yasuhara is dedicated to sustainability both in the workplace and in everyday activities.

As a research scientist for the Center for Engineering Learning & Teaching and an instructional consultant with the Office for Advancement of Engineering Learning, Yasuhara makes sure his students are incorporating sustainability in their work as well.

Veronica Guenther has gone above and beyond in her role as outreach coordinator for the Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF). Currently, she is coming up with innovative ways to bring in more small sustainability projects around campus. She has begun reaching out to students and faculty in the Dance program, GIS, ROTC, and American Indian Studies.

There are thousands of light bulbs on campus, which use energy and regularly burn out or fail. The UW's maintenance electricians are addressing both issues with a program to upgrade campus lights to LED bulbs, which are more efficient and longer-lasting than traditional lights.

The team recently swapped out more than 200 lights on the IMA's squash and racquetball courts, which will reduce power consumption by 78%. Kane and Meany halls have also gotten LED upgrades.