Consider speaking to:
Campus Architecture & Planning
UW Facilities
Transportation Services
Potential projects:
- Bioswales on Rainier Vista
- Living buildings (living-future.org)
Do you want to start a sustainability project at UW? Use this list to spark project ideas and learn which departments may need to be involved in your project, then work with those departments and the CSF to make your project a reality!
Do you have an idea to share on this list? Submit it here to share it with others who may be interested in picking up your project idea.
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- Student/faculty-led habitat restoration and endangered species surveys
- Outdoor education opportunities off campus
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- Installation of new energy-metering equipment on campus buildings
- Energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings and campus structures
- Biogas reactor
- Creation of campus "dashboard" energy management systems
- Bottle refill stations
- Electric car charging stations
- Solar: expansion of UW Solar - look at housing projects where the infrastructure is already in place
- Dashboard collaborations with students (graphics, public locations to view data of building energy consumption)
- Charge non-ADA students for use of handicap door buttons (card swipe required)
- Outreach/incentive funding for departments to replace inefficient equipment
- Solartubes
- Install phase change materials in ceilings/walls
- Green roofs
- Methane recapture
- Description of building operations
- Anything contributing to approaching net-zero on HFS structure
- Audits of existing HFS buildings to see what steps should next be taken to increase sustainability with future funding, priority given to high visibility areas
- Installation of efficient surge protectors in campus residence halls
- Installation of motion-sensor lighting wherever feasible
- Composting or other waterless toilet fixtures
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- An anaerobic digester to turn food waste into methane for energy
- Extensive compostable product labeling
- Expanding the reusable mug program for campus vendors
- Farmer’s market on campus (partner with UW Farm?)
- Permaculture education spaces on campus
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- Implementing green chemistry on a large scale at UW
- Distribution and study of effectiveness of fume-hood sash stickers
- Establishment of laboratory equipment exchanges to reduce waste
- Create a shared equipment inventory (and/or map) for research equipment
- Work to integrate information on Green Labs into the orientation of new labs on campus and Green Labs checklist for labs just starting out
- Require all labs to be Green Lab Certified
- Green Lab Outreach program
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- Increase CSF funding
- Granting awards to students, staff, or faculty committed to the environment
- Reducing "junk mail" in campus mail services
- Safety training procedure for students who would like to work on/with Facilities
- Collaboration between HFS and UW Recycling: tackling the Compost Conundrum
- Installation of wind turbines on campus
- Green pool cleaning technology (moss)
- Get rid of leaf blowers
- Permanent student position on Energy Conservation Team
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- Implement a system for tracking bicycle trips to campus to be used for bicycling promotion, such as Dero’s Zap system
- Fund bicycle ambassador student positions to promote bicycling and encourage safe riding
- Create special parking spaces proximate to pedestrian exits from parking lots for commuters that carpool and vanpool
- Purchase and place practice bike racks for bus riders: put more on campus so students can learn how to load bikes onto busses
- Fund commute ambassador student positions to promote and educate students about their sustainable transportation options
- Educate new students on how to use transit with promotional activities during Try Transit Month in October
- Bike-share programs- focus on cargo bikes, "bike-library" set up
- Assisting in the purchase of electric vehicles for campus fleet
- On-campus car share program(s)
- Install real-time transit information signs at campus bus stops
- Enhance bus waiting areas with art, thereby improving the user experience
- Develop art to enhance the aesthetics of bicycle lockers
- Conduct interview research with people who bicycle commute to identify triggers for cycling and produce corresponding educational content
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- Waste reduction campaign (Recycling education day)
- Student surplus/re-sale location (a Husky Closet, similar to Husky Pantry)
- Textile recycling equipment on campus
- Textile collection for reuse at Maker Spaces
- Additional ideas in the Atlas Zero Waste Assessment
Consider speaking to:
Potential projects:
- Use of waste water in toilets
- Use of waste water in lawn irrigation
- Water recovering from cooling coils
- Wastewater heat recapture
- Solar heating for hot-water
- Lake sourced cooling
- Move parking lot stormwater control structures to within the parking lot
- Installation of low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators
- Installation of "shower-minders" to notify users of water consumption
- Rainwater harvesting
- Grey water recycling
- Permeable pavement on all new parking lots