the UW Sustainability blog
UW Sustainability, UW Recycling, Campus Sustainability Fund, Livable City Year and many partners from around campus had the privilege to attend the 2017 Washington Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WAHESC) last week at Gonzaga University.
This week, sustainability events around the University of Washington include talks on green business, food equity, impacts of the changing climate on fisheries and indigenous archaeologies - and that's just on Thursday! Other events include the year's first volunteer hours at the UW Farm, student group meetings, RecycleMania and more! Check out some of the highlights below, and visit our Sustainability Events calendar for the full list.
There's a lot happening around campus this week, starting with a volunteer opportunity for Monday's MLK Day of Service:
MLK Day of Service with the UW Farm and UW Society for Ecological Restoration
Join the UW Farm for a day of planting, weeding, and mulching around our hederow of native trees and shrubs just south of the UW Farm's Center for Urban Horticulture location.
One aspect of the UW Sustainability in the Arts (SITA) initiative involves looking at art as a way to communicate about sustainability. Art can play a huge role in sustainability through embodying environmental themes and supporting activism as well as bringing people together on these issues. One event I was particularly interested in that effectively brought together art and activism was the recent DeFund from DAPL mass action.
The 2017 Washington Higher Education Sustainability Conference will be February 16-17 in Spokane, hosted by Gonzaga University. This year’s conference promises to strengthen our commitment to advancing sustainability in higher education institutions across Washington state.
Early bird registration for the conference - a $40 savings - ends January 10.
The Clean Energy Institute is hosting Jonathan Pershing, Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. Department of State, on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 12-1 p.m. in Anderson Hall 223 for a talk on "The Paris Agreement and the Path Forward." He will discuss global efforts to combat climate change, including the outcomes of the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that recently concluded in Marrakech, Morocco.
Last month's SustainableUW Festival brought together people from across the University of Washington to celebrate our many sustainability efforts, and talk about what's next. There were many inspirational discussions and connections - relive some of the festival highlights with this video:
Tuesday night, the UW Honors Program is hosting a faculty discussion on Climate Change, part of their annual "Global Challenges - Interdisciplinary Answers" series. Honors Program Director Vicky Lawson will join three passionate UW faculty thought leaders from seemingly disparate disciplines in a fast-paced conversation demonstrating how interdisciplinary collaboration can impact Climate Change.
This weekend Husky football is hosting one of the biggest games of the year, trying to stay undefeated against Southern Cal. While you're in the stands cheering the Huskies to victory, you can also do your part to help UW win another competition.
Ever wanted to ride an electric bike? Interested in Sustainablity Jobs? Want to learn more about sustainability at the University of Washington?