In Our Nature

From taking showers to eating breakfast, individual actions can contribute to making UW more sustainable.

UW Students, faculty and staff are putting sustainability at the forefront, continuing to set the bar high for universities around the country. UW takes conservation of any kind seriously. So much that it has decreased its water usage by over 770,000 gallons per day since 2001. UW is also proud to source local food – 53 percent of food purchases...

What was once a bustling sawmill in the late 1800s is now home to more than 100 species of birds, turtles, ducks, and even a beaver family.

I’m talking about Yesler Swamp, one of the few true swamps remaining in Seattle and a unique part of Washington’s vanishing urban forest. It’s hidden in a grove of trees just east of the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, remaining a fairly unknown public area to this day.

Two UW students hope to change that. Back in 2013, Carolyn Foster and Tyler Licata started the...

At one end of the Prairie Line Trail running through UW Tacoma's campus is an innovative rain water treatment facility, although it may not be immediately apparent to the casual eye.

The rain garden uses plants, soil, steel troughs and an underground tank to keep pollutants washed off Tacoma's streets from entering the stormwater system. Stormwater is collected and run through six treatment cells which use soil to filter out pollutants before returning the treated water to the...

UW labs are proud to be national leaders in sustainability. Whether it’s diverting waste or cutting down on energy use, sustainability is a way of life for many lab members. 

Ever since the Green Laboratory Certification program was implemented in the spring of 2013, tracking sustainability in UW labs has never been easier or more effective. By the end of the 2014-2015 school year,...

This week we finish out our “Meet the EcoReps” segment with our Green Greek Coordinator, Kiyomi Morris!

Kiyomi is a junior at UW in the Program on the Environment and is a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. Kiyomi is from Monroe, WA where she enjoys spending time with family and friends and just being outside as much as possible in her free time. After she graduates, she wants to travel and work for a...

The Odegaard Undergraduate Library recently revamped its restroom and public area waste diversion practices in order to help support sustainability on campus.

In an effort to reduce paper consumption within Odegaard, a total of 23 paper towel containers were removed from all restrooms. Thirty hand dryer units have been installed this year, and seven were installed in By George Café restrooms in 2014. The transition to dryers has also helped to eliminate costs associated with keeping restrooms stocked. In 2014 a total of $8,388 was spent on paper towels and $1,152 went towards the...

Volunteers needed to give away free compost bins during student move-in! 

Looking to make a difference in UW campus sustainability? Volunteer with UW Recycling to give away free compost bins to incoming students at the UW campus apartments. UW Recycling will be tabling outside of Mercer Court, Stevens Court, and Cedar apartments during student move-in. We need volunteers to help educate new and returning apartment residents about recycling and composting at UW and offer residents a free compost bin for their apartment.

Dates and times of the compost bin...

Photos courtesy of UW Botanic Gardens and Larry Howard

The UW Botanic Gardens was recently voted as one of the best university gardens in the nation. With more than 20,000 plants from around the world, it has become an international hub for plant science and ecosystem research, teaching and stewardship.

The Botanic Garden's dynamic assortment of...

Photo by Wikimedia user Sage Ross

One of the most visible buildings on campus is also one of the most sustainable. The Husky Union Building (HUB) is recognized with LEED Gold status for its sustainable features both large – such as the cooling system – and small, like the materials in the bowling alley.

Most of the sustainability features were part of the renovation that turned the HUB from a dark and...

Today we continue our “Meet the Ecoreps” segment with our Marketing and Outreach Coordinator, Alex Huff! Alex is from Woodinville, WA and is a Senior in the Program on the Environment here at UW. He is also a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity where he holds the position of philanthropy chair. In his free time Alex enjoys playing music and exploring the vast world around him. He is passionate about traveling and doing hands-on work in the environment, so it makes sense that he...