Seattle City Light logo

The first rebates for labs which have purchased Stirling Ultra Low Freezers rebates have arrived.

If you haven’t heard, Seattle City Light has partnered up with the University to offer a $600 rebate per freezer that each lab purchases. Facilities Services found that these freezers are 6 times more energy efficient than other brands and saves $208 a year in electricity costs. The Burke Museum's Genetic Resources Collection replaced five of their freezers with the Stirling Ultra Low Temperature Freezers in 2015, and appreciate the design for space efficiency and ergonomics as well as...

Read more
Category: Energy | Green Certifications
Tags: freezers | Green Labs | rebate

If you're interested in working in the green building industry, you may want to become certified as a LEED Green Associate. This credential shows you have taken the training and have knowledge of the LEED ratings system.

LeadingGreen will be on campus on April 16 for a LEED Green Associate training session in Loew 102 from 1-5 p.m., which will provide an overview of LEED and information designed to help you pass the LEED GA exam administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. 

From LeadingGreen's event information:

Just as Buildings can be LEED...

Read more
Category: Buildings & Grounds | Events
Tags: LEED | LeadingGreen

The UW Sustainability team is honored to have been nominated for a 2016 UW Distinguished Staff Award. We recently took part in the annual reception honoring all nominees, and came away very inspired by all the great work happening on campus.

The reception included remarks by President Ana Mari Cauce before all of the nominees were introduced and brought on stage. Check out the photo above of our team preparing for our introduction. Pictured are, from left: Renewable Energy Liaison Marilyn Ostergren, Project Manager Elise...

Read more
Category: Awards & Recognition
Tags: Distinguished Staff Award
Sqwatch Secrets promo: leave no trace.

You’re standing in front of three large bins (recycle, compost, and trash), trying to figure out where exactly to throw away a milk carton. You're pretty sure it shouldn't go in the compost, but you're not sure if it should be recycled. Should you throw it in the landfill bin just to be safe? 

Deciding what to recycle can be tricky – we’ve all been there. Luckily, Sqwatch is here to help.

Those milk cartons can go in the recycling, along with most cans, bottles, paper and plastic containers....

Read more
Category: Recycling, Compost & Waste
Tags: Sqwatch | Sqwatch secrets

A handful of students make their way to the University of Washington’s Forest Club Room as Todd Woodard stands in front, getting ready to discuss land preservation in Coast Salish country.   

Restoration projects are an integral part of Samish Native American culture  – whether it’s restoring ecosystems in the Samish river watershed or reviving landscapes in Cypress Island.

“The heart of restoration is getting things back to the way they are,” began Woodard, director of the Samish Nation Natural Resources Department.

Woodward works directly with the...

Read more
Category: Environmental Health | Events
Tags: restoration
Sqwatch Secrets promo: leave no trace.

We're lucky in Seattle to have city-wide composting, which makes it easy to keep food scraps out of the landfill. Choosing compost instead of the landfill bin reduces methane emissions and allows for the material to be reused to increase soil nutrients. However, the city still sends about 100,000 tons of waste to the landfill each year which could be composted.

You can even compost items in the city compost bins that...

Read more
Category: Recycling, Compost & Waste
Tags: Sqwatch | Sqwatch secrets

UW Organizational Excellence is hosting a Showcase on March 8 from 1-3 p.m. in the HUB Lyceum, featuring work from departments across the UW. This event will showcase how schools, colleges, and administrative units are making the UW better – together. UW Sustainability is excited to be there as a presenter and to see the outstanding work from other areas of the university.

We're giving you a sneak peek of some of the projects we'll be presenting at the showcase. Click on the images below to see a full-size PDF of the posters detailing our projects, and stop by the OE Showcase next...

Read more
Category: Events | Green Certifications
Tags: Organizational Excellence | Showcase | Green Labs | Green Office | Transforming Administrative Policy
Environmental Studies department logo

ENVIR 280: Natural History of the Puget Sound is open to students of all majors. 

In this course you will:

  • Explore and understand the landscape of Western Washington and the species that inhabit it. Take an integrated look at climate, geomorphology and vegetation through a natural and social science lens. 
  • Connect to nature and gain valuable hands-on field experience. Students will go on field trips to the Olympic Peninsula, Whidbey Island and the east slopes of the Cascades and identify indicator species for different habitats...
Read more
Category: Academics
Tags: Sustainability Courses | Environmental Studies

The 2016 MobilizeGreen Annual Conference and Diversity Career Fair will be held at the University of Washington on April 7-8, 2016. Speakers for the event include Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Leslie Weldon, the Deputy Chief for National Forest System with the USDA Forest Service. 

The theme of this year’s event is Equity & the Environment:  Mobilizing the Next Generation of Leaders.  The goal of the event is to inspire, engage, and mobilize the next generation of diverse green leaders to help communities solve equity...

Read more
Category: Events
Tags: MobilizeGreen
Environmental Studies department logo

ENVIR 300: Analysis of Environmental Cases is open to Environmental Studies majors only. 

In this course you will:

  • Use natural and social sciences to address environmental issues. Learn to use data to inform how environmental decisions are made.
  • Review environmental cases. Dive deep into the sociocultural, socioeconomic and ecological contexts of environmental decisions and understand how and why facts can be critical in addressing environmental problems.

General Education Requirements: Counts for I&S/NW...

Read more
Category: Academics
Tags: Sustainability Courses | Environmental Studies