In Our Nature

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...

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...

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...

ENVIR 495 C: Socio-Environmental Data Analysis Workshop is open to Juniors, Seniors and Graduate Students in all majors.

• Do you want to tell a convincing story with your data? Are you interested in exploring methods for data interpretation and visualization? This course will teach students to explore methods for analyzing quantitative and qualitative data on environmental topics.
• Analyze socio-environmental data in this practical application workshop course. Students will gain hands-on experience through working on their own research...

ENVIR 480: Sustainability Studio class is open to all majors and has no prerequisite courses. This quarters topic is greening health at UW.

In this course:

• Understand what it takes to green the healthcare industry. The healthcare industry contributes to a large environmental footprint regarding its facilities and operations. What are the cost constraints and how can we move the dial on reducing the footprint of hospitals and healthcare facilities
• How can UW Health become more environmentally conscious? In winter quarter,...

ENVIR 495 A: Crimes against Nature is open to Juniors, Seniors and Graduate Students in all majors. 

In this course you will explore the questions:

• Why are some human activities that harm nature considered criminal acts, while others are not? Students will consider various forms of environmental crimes, from toxic waste disposal to destruction of public natural resources to poaching, and explore how cases are pursued.
• Do people behave differently in the face of criminal penalties? Learn the basics of the U.S. criminal law...

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending a lecture as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series from the College of Built Environments. The speaker was world renowned architect James Cheng, who has helped to shape the skyine of Vancouver, B.C., and the outlying areas. Cheng takes a humanized approach to architecture, often asking how people will interact in spaces, which in my opinion is part of what makes him such an incredible and influential designer and has enabled him to impact...

A group of UW faculty is considering a university-community applied research and teaching program called Sustainable City Year. It originated at the U of Oregon and now many universities, including WWU, are running similar programs. The program pairs a city and a university with a budget of $200-300K each year paid by the partner city. The university then utilizes multiple classes across the university to serve and advise the city.

The Department of Urban Design and Planning, with the College of Built Environments, and UW Sustainability have...

During Winter Quarter 2016, many offices have achieved Green Office certification by going above and beyond the criteria on the Green Office application. The following are just a few of the cool innovations found in Green Offices across campus:

• Office of Research (Gold): This office promotes environmentally-focused charities for the UW Combined Fund Drive and switched from paper to electronic versions of reports to campus. By promoting certain charities, the Office of Research is able to help others solve important environmental issues.
• ...

The UW student chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration’s (SER-UW) native plant nursery is located on campus at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH). It is a student run operation that provides plants to the on-campus restoration projects that SER-UW manages. This year, with the support of a Campus Sustainability Fund grant, the nursery is expanding by building a new hoop house, growing more plants from seed and cuttings, and increasing its opportunities for volunteer involvement.

The...