In Our Nature

Are you committed to being "green" in your office? Are you the person who always turns off the lights in the conference room after people have used it? How about the one who goes through the trash and sifts out the compost and recycle? OK, you probably don’t take it that far. But if you find yourself thinking about small ways to reduce your environmental impact in your office you should take the initiative to certify your workplace as a Green Office and you can become a Paper Reduction Pro!

Why become a...

Hundreds of community members and students gathered on red square in honor of the 46^th anniversary of Earth Day at the University of Washington.

"It's important to spread awareness about how involved the UW is in making our campus more environmentally friendly," said junior Itzel Medina, one of the many students who came to celebrate the event. "Sustainability really matters."

The day's events were powered by the Northwest Solar Rover, a trailer-sized solar station that provided energy to a live performance by the band...

The Green Office Certification Program encourages and recognizes environmentally-friendly behavior in UW office spaces. It also exists to facilitate sharing of best practices between offices. The main goal of the program, however, is to simply get office members thinking more frequently about their environmental impact.

This quarter, we had great participation in the program, with offices throughout campus applying. In fact, 13 offices either certified for the first time or re-certified. On average, offices scored 77% overall on the Green Office...

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!

Tap That is organized by UW Earth Club and was...

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.

During the...

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.

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.

The Green Office Certification program ...

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.

The garden will be a common space for growing sustainable food, independent study, and putting on class demonstrations. In an effort to make the future garden as best as it can be, Rivera has collaborated with the UW Farm and other community leaders in...

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.

One chapter was outstanding in their commitment to the Green Greek Competition: PI KAPPA PHI (commonly known as Pi Kapps), led by Green Greek Representative Gavin Forster, won the competition and will receive $250 - and “green” bragging rights, of course. This chapter had 48 members take a Green pledge...

UW Transportation Services has introduced a new Bike Buddy program to help new bikers gain confidence in bike commuting - just in time for Bike Month and the Bike Everywhere Challenge in May.

Bike Buddies are UW students, faculty, and staff who have bike commuting figured out and want to help others who live near them bike commute to campus. Often, figuring out a comfortable bike route from your neighborhood to the UW is...