V'Ella Warren, Senior Vice President of UW Finance & Facilities and Board of Regents Treasurer, was recently nominated in the Sustainability Hero category for the 2015 Sustainable Seattle Leadership Awards. Warren has been a champion, advocate, and sponsor of social responsibility cross campus for many years.

A few of Warren's key accomplishments include establishing the Lean in Finance...

Did you know there are more than seven miles of tunnels running under the UW campus? The tunnels are used to deliver steam and chilled water from the UW power plant to buildings across the university, providing heating and cooling throughout the year.

The power plant switched from coal to natural gas in 1988 and has several features in place to maximize efficiency and conserve resources while providing steam heat, emergency power and chilled water air conditioning....

Even in winter, there are plenty of good hikes which are easy to get to from Seattle and are usually snow free. If you're looking for suggestions, the Seattle Times features 10 local trails to try this winter picked by the Trail Mix hiking club.

For example:

South Tiger Mountain

This hike is better in winter than in summer and offers views of Seattle, the Olympics and the Cascades. There’s not much hiker traffic. We do it as a loop, which makes it...

Interested in getting out and working in the dirt this weekend? You're in luck! Saturday and Sunday there are ways for you to get out and help with campus efforts.

On Saturday, the UW Farm is having a work party at their Center for Urban Horticulture site, and just a stone's throw away the Yesler Swamp Project is also going to be working on restoration of the swamp area. Both events start at 10 a.m. Learn more about this event and the Yesler Swamp project:

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Here are some highlights from our Sustainability Events calendar for the week of Jan. 19, 2015. If you know of any events which should be added, let us know.

Want to know how UW Athletics is working toward sustainability? For the long weekend, here's a video of the Husky Highlight keynote address during the SustainableUW Festival detailing the sustainability efforts of the athletic department. Karen Baebler, assistant athletic director for sport operations, takes us through some of the green features of the new Husky Stadium and other facilities, discusses why these actions are important to UW Athletics and brings in a few special guests.

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There are several opportunities to study at the UW's Friday Harbor Labs on San Juan Island this spring and summer, but application deadlines are coming up fast.

The deadline to apply for spring courses is Jan. 25 and the summer course deadline is Feb. 1. For more information, see the Friday Harbor Labs' student information page. You can find the...

The Daily took a look at what Seattle's new composting ordinance means for the University of Washington.

The law prohibiting food waste and compostable items from trash headed to the landfill went into effect on Jan. 1, as part of Seattle's push to divert 60% of the city's waste away from the landfill. UW is already at 60% diversion, but the campus has a goal of 70% waste diversion by 2020.

“To have local legislation that helps that process is something we really welcome and really support,” Housing and Food Services' Business and Sustainability Manager Michael Meyering told...

Here are some highlights from our Sustainability Events calendar for the week of Jan. 12, 2015. If you know of any events which should be added, let us know.

If you're a sustainability-minded UW employee, chances are you've heard of the Green Office Certification program. If you're really lucky, perhaps you already work in a certified office and have the swag to show off your green cred! If you're unfamiliar with the program, or daunted by the requirements for certification, read on - it's easier than you think! Over the next few months, I will be profiling a section of the application with...