UW Earth Day 2021 events banner

The University of Washington recognized Earth Day 2021 with events, resources and activities hosted by many different departments, student organizations and other groups. See below for videos of selected events, as well as the full event listing.

Gardening at home: a tri-campus event

Experts from UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma provided tips and information on gardening at home and on campus. Recorded on April 14, 2021.

Sustainability stories: waste reduction

This Sustainability Stories event had two presentations around waste reduction: Julia Deák Sandler on "Ditching the diapers for environmental justice," and Madeline Schroeder of UW Recycling on what a waste audit found at the University of Washington, and how we have addressed the findings.

Sustaining Our World lecture: "Lessons from Plants: Insight for Human Thriving"

Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery, a writer, science communicator and Michigan State University Foundation Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, was the speaker for this year's Sustaining Our World lecture sponsored by the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and PR2ISM at UW.

UW Solar presentation

Did you know you can earn 1-2 ENGR or URBDP credits for working on solar projects? Watch this presentation from students in UW Solar, an interdisciplinary team passionate about developing PV/EV infrastructure and other solar projects on UW property. UW Solar's efforts in the past have involved implementing solar on Elm, Maple, and Alder Hall as well as the Life Sciences Building to name a few, and today they are developing managed EV Charging Systems for bikes, initiating the electrification of the entire UW Transportation Fleet, performing solar policy analysis, and generating solar design for a multitude of UW buildings. UW Solar would love to share more and are always open to expanding our efforts, so come get involved and join them in the sustainability movement.

Climate Dialog: Sustainable Food Systems

UW Bothell and Cascadia College invited speakers to discuss food justice and climate change issues impacting our region and beyond. Recorded on April 21, 2021.

Trivia with a twist: pie in the face challenge

University of Washington faculty and staff answered sustainability trivia questions with a twist: wrong answers got a pie in the face! Answering questions were faculty Kristi Straus of Environmental Studies and Rebecca Neumann of Civil & Environmental Engineering, along with UW Sustainability Director Claudia Frere-Anderson. This event was a fundraiser for the UW Campus Food Pantry. To support hunger relief at the UW, donate here. The event was recorded on April 22, 2021.


Full event listing

Wednesday April 14

watercolor of plantsGardening at home: a tri-campus event

12:30 p.m. (Zoom)
Join gardeners from UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma to learn about sustainable gardening at home! We will have a brief presentation followed by a fabulous Q&A session.

Sustaining Our World lecture: “Lessons from Plants: Insight for Human Thriving”

Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery, a writer, science communicator and Michigan State University Foundation Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, was the speaker for this year's Sustaining Our World lecture sponsored by the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and PR2ISM at UW.

Careers with Impact: Sustainability and Tackling the Climate Crisis

4 p.m. (Handshake)
Are you interested in working for an organization focused on fighting climate change? What about careers that seek to increase our energy efficiency or sustainability as a society? If so, join us for a conversation with UW alumni who have spent their years post-grad pursuing careers that are tackling the climate crisis. This will be a moderated panel to start and then move into an open Q&A with the audience, so come ready with questions! This panel will likely not be recorded and is only available live.

Thursday April 15

Sustainability Stories: Waste reductionSustainability Stories: Studying waste sorting at UW & Ditching the diapers for environmental justice

11 a.m. (Zoom)
Join us for two presentations about waste reduction. UW Recycling will dig into the University's waste sorting habits. Learn what a waste audit found at UW, and how we have addressed the findings. This will be followed by "Ditching the Diapers for Environmental Justice." Anthropological inquiry and quantitative surveys of diapering practices across subcultures in Seattle informed this grant-funded project, which has introduced more than 300 families to elimination communication and potty training methods that reduce waste, reduce costs for struggling families, and lighten our impact on the environment. What you don't know about diapers will shock you!

Monday April 19

Heating up: The ethics of climate change

11:15 a.m. (Zoom - registration required)

In this presentation, ethicist Brian G. Henning discusses how global warming itself is not the only problem—it’s a symptom of a larger issue concerning how we conceive of ourselves and our relationship to the natural world. This Earth Week event is sponsored by Humanities Washington and Cascadia College's Global Education Committee, as part of UW Bothell's Earth Week.

Tuesday April 20

UW Solar Earth Day eventUW Solar information session

2 p.m. (Zoom)
Did you know you can earn 1-2 ENGR or URBDP credits for working on solar projects? Come meet your fellow students in UW Solar, an interdisciplinary team passionate about developing PV / EV infrastructure and other solar projects on UW property! Our efforts in the past have involved implementing solar on Elm, Maple, and Alder Hall as well as the Life Sciences Building to name a few, and today we are developing managed EV Charging Systems for bikes, initiating the electrification of the entire UW Transportation Fleet, performing solar policy analysis, and generating solar design for a multitude of UW buildings. We would love to share more and are always open to expanding our efforts, so come get involved and join us in the sustainability movement!

"Sovereignty, Scarcity, and Soylent Green: Food in the ecocritical cinema of Bong Joon-ho"

3:30 p.m. (Registration required)
This Geography colloquium with Dr. LeiLani Nishime will explore themes of environmental degradation and its uneven impact on disempowered populations present in the films of Bong Joon-ho. This talk will use the representation of food in three of Bong’s films Parasite, Snowpiercer, and Okja to think through alternative and conflicting ways we might imagine the relationship of food and environmental threat. Along the way, Dr. Nishime argues for the value of both film and film criticism for environmental studies.
Colloquium talks are passcode-protected for security purposes. In order to obtain the Zoom passcode for this event, members of the public wishing to attend must reach out to tsdav@uw.edu with the exact subject line (without quotations): “UW Geography Colloquium Passcode Access” with a short message in the body indicating their interest. Emails without this exact subject line may be marked as spam and might not reach the colloquium committee.

Wednesday April 21

Climate Dialog flyerClimate dialog: Food sustainability

1 - 3 p.m. (Registration required)
 Sustainable Food Systems talk on climate change, and the effects in our state. Join experts on climate change and food in the area for a discussion on climate change, food choice, and sustainable agriculture. Hosted by UW Bothell.

UW Solar Earth Day eventUW Solar information session

2 p.m. (Zoom)
Did you know you can earn 1-2 ENGR or URBDP credits for working on solar projects? Come meet your fellow students in UW Solar, an interdisciplinary team passionate about developing PV / EV infrastructure and other solar projects on UW property! Our efforts in the past have involved implementing solar on Elm, Maple, and Alder Hall as well as the Life Sciences Building to name a few, and today we are developing managed EV Charging Systems for bikes, initiating the electrification of the entire UW Transportation Fleet, performing solar policy analysis, and generating solar design for a multitude of UW buildings. We would love to share more and are always open to expanding our efforts, so come get involved and join us in the sustainability movement!

Sustainable Crafting: Crotchet with Plarn (Plastic Yarn)

5:45 p.m. (RSVP for link)
Join The Whole U for this crafting session. Learn how to make yarn out of plastic bags, and how to crochet in the round and use the "plarn" to make a reusable can koozie to keep your drinks cold and your hands warm. Click the registration link for more information and the materials you'll need.

UW Earth Day logoThursday April 22 (EARTH DAY)

Green Eating: Tips for Sustainably Buying, Growing and Cooking Our Food

12 p.m. (RSVP for link)
Sustainable eating is about choosing foods that are healthful for our bodies and our environment. In agriculture, sustainability refers to the production of plant and animal products (foods) using farming techniques and practices that help to conserve natural resources with minimal impact on the environment. Sustainable agriculture enables us to produce healthful food without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same.

The Whole U is hosting this workshop with Kristine Carlson (MS, RD, CD, CNSC), a registered Clinical Dietitian at UWMC. Explore some of the clean and green ways in which we can sustainability shop for, grow and cook our foods in urban environments!

Going digital - online records management training

11 a.m. (Zoom: UW NetID required)
Join Records Management for an online training about managing records in your office.  This session, hosted by UW Bothell campus, will include an overview of records management at the University and the resources available to all of you as we move to fully digital offices. In 2020, Records Management created new resources to support the initiative Fetch the Future – Rethink the Ink.  The initiative came about because over the past few years, it has become clear that the UW is on a fast track to going digital. With Workday and other central systems, with online forms, with e-signatures – more and more records that were traditionally on paper are now being created and received electronically. We will tell you all about these resources and answer any questions you may have about maintaining your records.

UW Seattle trivia with pie eventUW Seattle sustainability trivia (with a twist!)

12 p.m. (Zoom)
This Earth Day, watch UW faculty and staff answer sustainability questions, with a twist: Wrong answers get a pie in the face! Faculty Kristi Straus of Environmental Studies and Rebecca Neumann of Civil & Environmental Engineering are joined by UW Sustainability Director Claudia Frere-Anderson to take on the challenge. This event is a fundraiser for the UW Campus Food Pantry. We'll be competing with UW Tacoma's event to see who can raise more! Donate to the UW Food Pantry here.

UW Tacoma trivia with pie eventUW Tacoma sustainability trivia (with a twist!)

12:30 p.m. (Zoom: UW NetID required)
See some brave UWT professors get a pie in the face for UW Tacoma's Pantry! UW Tacoma students ask the profs questions about sustainability: if they get it right, nothing happens; if they get it wrong, they get a pie in the face. Repeatedly.  Each pie = a donation to The Pantry. This event is part of a challenge between the Tacoma and Seattle campuses to raise money for the respective pantries.

Screening and discussion of "Fantastic Fungi"

6 p.m. (Registration required)
UW Tacoma is hosting this screening of the award-winning film "Fantastic Fungi" for all UW faculty, staff and students. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with fungi experts Erica Cline, UW Tacoma associate professor, and Renee Davis, Fungi Perfecti director of research/development.

Friday April 23

painting of Mt. RainierPainting Mt Rainier with Claire Giordano

4 p.m. (RSVP required)
The Graduate and Professional Student Senate is hosting a free, beginner-friendly online Mount Rainier Painting with Claire Giordano. Claire Giordano is an environmental artist and writer creatively exploring stories of science, climate change, and the modern experience of nature. Through art created outside and in the studio, Claire strives to forge emotional connections between people and place, and to invite others to approach science and our changing world with curiosity and empathy. Please contact gpssevnt@uw.edu for questions.

April 19-25

"Kiss the Ground" screening

Join the UW Future Rivers program for a free screening of the film Kiss the Ground, which discusses solutions to balancing our climate, replenishing our freshwater supplies and feeding the world. Register for a link to watch the movie at your convenience anytime during Earth Week, April 19-25.  

April 22-29

Get growing with the HUBGet Growing with the HUB

Kick off spring with a green thumb! Swing by the HUB to pick up planting materials and cultivate a garden of your very own. Starter materials and instructions will be provided, but it will be up to you to upcycle or reuse a few materials to give your plant a new home. For more information, contact thehub@uw.edu.