UW Sustainability's "In Our Nature" podcast features the people working to make the University of Washington a leader in sustainability.

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UW Tacoma sustainability with Genevieve Conley

Genevieve Conley, the UW Tacoma Student Sustainability Coordinator, talks about the new UW Tacoma Husky Sustainability Fund and how it will impact sustainability efforts on the Tacoma campus. May 15, 2023

UW Recycling with Adam Fehn

Adam Fehn, Program Coordinator with UW Recycling, joins us for a discussion on how to properly recycle and compost, as well as waste reduction goals and efforts at the University of Washington.
February 28, 2023

UW Energy Conservation with Norm Menter

Norm Menter is the Assistant Director for Energy, Utilities and Operations with UW Facilities. Since 2013, Norm has managed the UW's Energy Conservation program. He talks about what the UW is doing around energy conservation, why it's important, and how it is the foundation for the university's strategy for decarbonization.
December 22, 2022

UW Sustainability Director Lisa Dulude

We're back! We're re-launching the podcast by talking to the new director of UW Sustainability. Lisa Dulude joined the UW Sustainability office in May 2022. Prior to starting at UW, she served for 12 years as the Energy and Sustainability Manager for Snohomish County. In this episode, Lisa talks about her sustainability background, some of the big sustainability opportunities at UW and ways for students, faculty and staff to get involved.
November 2, 2022

CSF Spotlight #7: Interview with exiting UW Sustainability Director, Claudia Frere-Anderson

On this episode of the CSF Spotlight, we are joined by UW Sustainability director, Claudia Frere-Anderson. Claudia joined the University of Washington in 2009 and she has led huge Sustainability efforts since then, working as a pioneer of sustainability. Listen to learn about University of Washington's history in sustainability advancements and the critical role Claudia played in it, and to hear about her successes in the sustainability space. As well as, join us to say a warm goodbye to Claudia as she is parting with the university after 12 years of service. In her new endeavors, Claudia is taking on a position with ISOS Group, a woman-owned sustainability consulting firm focusing on environmental, social and governance work with corporations.
September 27, 2021

Tri-campus Q&A

Daimon Eklund and Toren Elste of UW Sustainability are joined by UW Bothell's Alexa Russo and UW Tacoma's Allan Cortina to answer questions about sustainability on all three UW campuses.
April 2, 2021

CSF Spotlight # 6 Interview with the U of Arizona Green Fund

On this episode of the CSF Spotlight, we were joined by Stella and Ryan from the University of Arizona’s Green Fund program. Tune in to listen to our conversation about university green funds and the different roles they play. We exchanged some great feedback and ideas. We hope you can learn as much as we did from this very fruitful conversation!
January 14, 2021

CSF Spotlight #5: David Frantz, Committee Chair

On today's episode, Yahia Ali is joined with David Frantz. David is a senior at the University of Washington and is the current CSF Committee Chair. During the talk, they discuss both of their experiences coming from rural towns to Seattle, how David went from not attending CSF meetings to now being the chair, and how the Associated Students at UW (ASUW) is structured.
November 20, 2020

Kate Simonen - 2020 Husky Green Award winner

Kate Simonen is the executive director of the Carbon Leadership Forum and Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington. Her research has focused on the innovation of construction materials and practices that will go a long way in creating a low-carbon future. For her work, she was one of the recipients of the 2020 Husky Green Awards which recognize people at the University of Washington who show dedication, leadership and initiative around sustainability. UW Sustainability's Marilyn Ostergren talked with Kate Simonen about why she is a self-described "embodied carbon nerd," why she started working on reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings and more.
November 5, 2020

CSF Spotlight #4: Ronnie Fang w/ Interactive Biogas Foodcart

On this episode of CSF Spotlight, Yahia Ali and Fotima Ibrokhim interview Ronnie Fang, A former UW Environmental Studies student and current Seattle Outreach Specialist at Waste Management. Ronnie is a part of the Interactive Biogas Foodcart project team which received $21,176 from the CSF in 2016-2017. This project incorporates a vast variety of disciplines such as Mechanical Engineering, Communications, Environmental Engineering, and Biology to create a cool way to reduce waste on campus. Listen to this episode to learn more about biogas, the present and future of renewable energies, waste management practices, and how the Biogas Foodcart works.
October 23, 2020

Ursula Valdez - 2020 Husky Green Award winner

UW Sustainability student intern Annika Prom talks with Ursula Valdez, a faculty member in UW Bothell's School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. Ursula Valdez is a 2020 Husky Green Award winner for her work promoting sustainability and conservation on and off the UW Bothell campus. She actively encourages students and other researchers to document avian diversity and natural history in urban spaces and educates them on how to restore these habitats. She also created a “Sustainability on a Student Budget” course to teach students how to embrace affordable, sustainable practices for everyday life. Outside of the university, she co-founded the Tambopata Center for Education, Science, and Conservation (CECCOT, acronym in Spanish), an organization that promotes the conservation of tropical diversity in the Peruvian Amazon.
October 19, 2020

CSF Spotlight #3: Africa Now

In this week’s podcast, we have guests from the Africa Now Project. Tune in to hear from Program Director Michelle Mvundura and ANA Board Member Kemi Akinlosotu about their experience working with Africa Now . In the past 3 years of collaboration, the Africa Now team has been awarded over $48,000 in CSF funding. On an annual basis, Africa Now mobilizes a community of passionate and active young professionals that are committed to building a sustainable future for Africa and enriching their global perspective through panels, workshops, resource fairs, and networking. The conference exists to educate, organize, and mobilize youth to imagine and create a sustainable future for the global African community.
October 5, 2020

CSF Spotlight #2: Anaerobic Digester

On this episode of CSF Spotlight, Fotima and Yahia talk to Aaron Flaster, the project lead for the Anaerobic Digester project and current Research Study Coordinator at UW. This project was funded twice in 2018 for a total of $45,000 and received a $5,000 class gift from the College of the Environment. On the podcast, Aaron talks about how working on a horse ranch inspired them to pursue this project, the struggles they had during the process, and how today they are focused on the sustainability of this project.

CSF Spotlight #1: Meet the team!

In the first episode of "CSF Spotlight," the Campus Sustainability Fund’s student staff members Fotima Ibrokhim (Outreach Coordinator) and Yahia Ali (Project Development Specialist) discuss their individual journeys to the CSF, what their personal experience has been with CSF, and how their views on sustainability has evolved through their experiences. Tune in for more episodes in the future to hear about CSF projects from the students who lead them, as well as hear from other people in the sustainability world at UW.

Plastic Free July with UW Recycling

Each year, millions of people around the globe take the Plastic Free July challenge and choose to refuse single-use plastics. UW Recycling was leading the charge this month to provide the UW community with resources, encouragement and tips to reduce plastic use.

We talk with UW Recycling Manager Liz Gignilliat about why it's important to reduce plastic consumption, the state of plastic at UW and why increased recycling efforts isn't the answer to our plastic problem, followed by a discussion (starting at 15:10) with UW Recycling Program Coordinator Adam Fehn, who took a personal challenge to cut his plastic consumption for the month.

Follow UW Recycling on Instagram or Facebook.

UW Creative Communications

Katy Folk-Way, Director of Creative Communications, and Steven Roberts, Assistant Director of Mailing, Safety and Building Services, join us. The discussion starts with information on how Creative Communications integrates sustainability into its printing and copying operations, and then we talk about how the Mailing Services team has moved toward delivering almost all campus mail via electric-assist cargo bikes instead of trucks.
Learn more about Creative Communications.

UW Green Greek Representative Program

The University of Washington's Green Greek Representative Program works to engage UW fraternity and sororities on topics of sustainability. Members work on projects to improve sustainability in the Greek chapters as well as promoting sustainability in the community. On this podcast, Green Greek Director Shelby Carroll and Vice President of Membership Bibi Contreras discuss the Green Greeks program, some of the group's projects and how UW students can get involved.

For more info on the Green Greek Representative Program, visit their Instagram.

WOHESC plenary: "Campus Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion"

Students and executive leaders from Washington and Oregon shared perspectives on integrating social sustainability across academic systems in this opening plenary at the 2019 Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC), hosted by the University of Washington on February 26-27. For more information on WOHESC: wohesc.org/program/

Moderator: Terryl Ross | Assistant Dean of Diversity for College of the Environment, University of Washington

Speakers:
Jeanne Allen | Chair, Campus Sustainability Fund & Graduate Student Representative, Environmental Stewardship Committee, University of Washington
Teri Fane | ASPCC Student Body President, Portland Community College Cascade Campus
Angel Mandujano-Guevara | Graduate Student, Human Services Resource Center, Oregon State University
Taylor McHolm | Program Director, Student Sustainability Center, University of Oregon
Natasha Martin | Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Professor at the School of Law, Seattle University

WOHESC opening keynote by Dean Lisa Graumlich

College of the Environment Dean Lisa Graumlich gave the opening keynote at the 2019 Washington & Oregon Higher Education Conference, hosted by the University of Washington.

Episode 6 - UW Bothell sustainability coordinator Alexa Russo

UW Bothell's sustainability coordinator Alexa Russo discusses sustainability features on the Bothell campus and ways the UWB community and others can get involved.

Learn more about UW Bothell's sustainability efforts.

Episode 5 - Beth Wheat

Program on the Environment lecturer Beth Wheat owns and operates SkyRoot Farm, practicing regenerative agriculture on Whidbey Island. She is the recipient of a 2018 UW Husky Green Award and a 2010 Excellence in Teaching Award. On this podcast, she talks with UW Sustainability's Jayna Milan about regenerative agriculture, our food systems, and her personal experiences as a farmer and educator.
Read more about Beth Wheat at her Whole U Faculty Spotlight.
August 14, 2018

Episode 4 - Student business sustainability

UW Foster School of Business students Sydney Solis (Net Impact) and Serena Allendorfer (ReThink) talk with UW Sustainability's Jayna Milan about the importance of corporate social responsibility, and the different UW student groups working on connecting sustainability and business.
July 17, 2018

Episode 3 - Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF)

The University of Washington's Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) funds student-led sustainability projects at UW. The CSF has granted more than $2.2 million to over 100 projects since it started in 2010. This episode of the "In Our Nature" podcast features CSF coordinator Kyle McDermott.
Learn more about the CSF: csf.uw.edu
May 23, 2018

Episode 2 - ASUW Student Food Co-op

The ASUW Student Food Cooperative supports access to healthy and affordable food for students. In this episode, we sat down with Co-Manager Tiara Adler and Co-op member,Emma D’Orazio to discuss how the ASUW Student Food Co-op operates and how students can get involved.
Learn more about the Co-op: sfc.asuw.org
May 4, 2018

Episode 1 - UW Sustainability

The first podcast from UW Sustainability! UW Sustainability director Claudia Frere-Anderson, program specialist Toren Elste and communications coordinator Daimon Eklund give an overview of UW Sustainability's programs and resources for students, faculty and staff at the University of Washington. (originally released in September 2017)