In Our Nature

If you're moving out or doing a deep clean of your north campus housing at the end of the Summer, UW Recycling is hosting a Husky Neighborhood Cleanup. All students can stop by the cleanup station to drop off recycling (including scrap metal and painted or unpainted wood) or items in poor conditions, including mattresses and furniture.

The cleanup dates will be Thursday, August 31; Monday, Sept. 25 and Tuesday, Sept. 26. The station will be at 17th Ave NE & NE 47th St. from 1-5 p.m. each day (or until the...

UW Athletics is looking for a few people to lead clean-up groups on Sunday mornings after home football games during the 2023 season. People can sign up for all games or just some. This will be about a three-hour commitment on the Sunday mornings helping to clean up Husky Stadium and will help UW Athletics work toward its waste diversion goals.

The dates volunteers are needed are:

• September 3...

It’s been just over a year since I joined UW Sustainability. The last year has been a full one, as I’ve been learning about the sustainability efforts taking place all across our University, as well as opportunities to go even further.

The month of June is a special one at the UW, as graduates celebrate their accomplishments and look toward the next chapter of their lives. It also brings an end to the academic year, and for many of our staff is an opportunity to take stock of the year’s accomplishments while planning for the year ahead.

For UW Sustainability, we have several...

UW students living in the North campus neighborhood can get rid of unwanted items for free during the Husky Neighborhood Cleanup. On Thursday, June 8; Monday, June 12 and Tuesday, June 13 trucks will be on site accepting items for recycling or disposal. Trucks will be parked at 17th Ave NE & NE 47th St. from 1-5 p.m. on those days, or until the trucks are full. 

A UW student Husky card will be required to drop off material.

Accepted items include:

• Recyclable materials, including scrap metal and painted or unpainted wood...

The 2023 Husky Sustainability Awards have been awarded to eight recipients, as well as three Husky Sustainability Legacy Award honorees.

The winners will be recognized at an award ceremony on Tuesday, May 9 at 3 p.m. in the Kane Hall Walker-Ames Room. All are invited to attend, and the ceremony will be followed by an informal reception with light snacks.

This year's winners include students, faculty and staff who have demonstrated impact, leadership, initiative and dedication to sustainability. This is the 14th year the ...

On Tuesday, April 18, at 11 a.m. join us for a virtual presentation on the University of Washington's Energy Transformation strategy and the steps we can take to transition the Seattle campus away from fossil fuels.

Dave Woodson, the UW's Executive Director of Campus Energy, Utilities and Operations, will walk through the steps needed to move the campus energy system to 100% clean energy, and why we need to act. There will be a Q&A session after the presentation.

This event will be held virtually via Zoom...

This April, there are many opportunities to volunteer on campus. Both the UW Farm and Society for Ecological Restoration have multiple volunteer sessions each week providing opportunities to get your hands in the dirt. The UW Botanic Gardens are co-hosting the annual Arboretum Earth Day restoration event, and you can also find many other organizations throughout Seattle and our region hosting volunteer events as well.

Here are a few of the ways to volunteer this month at the UW:

The UW Farm...

Artists from around the UW created astounding art pieces from trash in the fourth annual Trash Art Contest. UW Recycling received 23 submissions from UW students, faculty and staff. Five winning pieces were selected in three categories. The artwork needed to be created from items normally thought of as trash or a written work about waste and sustainability. Artists were asked to express feelings or ideas about waste, or a sustainability topic that relates to waste.

Click below to see the full list of winners, descriptions of the artworks and the stories behind the pieces from the...

Earlier this month, several members of the UW Sustainability and Campus Sustainabilty Fund teams traveled to Oregon State University for the 2023 Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC). Around 400 people from across the region, including students, staff, faculty and community partners, came together to discuss the sustainability challenges we face and share ideas.

This was the first in-person conference for WOHESC since 2020, with the past two years being held virtually. The chance to meet people from other...

Our campus is defined largely by its buildings: the neo-gothic halls surrounding the quad, brutalist landmarks of cast-in-place concrete, new mass timber structures floating warmly by Denny lawn. Each new construction operates more efficiently than the last as Seattle’s energy and water codes and the University’s requirements continue to push for a more sustainable built environment. Each building consumes less electricity,...