Daimon Eklund's blog

It's Earth Day! The main celebrations are happening from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Red Square. Student, academic and community organizations will be on hand to talk about their sustainability efforts and provide tips for environmental living. Some will have free sustainable food samples or other giveaways, while music and speakers will add to the festivities. At 1:15 p.m., the Husky Green Award ceremony will recognize and honor the top environmental leaders on campus.

Earth Week events really get going on Tuesday, leading up to Wednesday's big Earth Day celebration on Red Square.

To recognize Earth Day, the UW Combined Fund Drive and the Whole U are hosting the second annual Earth Day Challenge for UW faculty, staff, students and retirees from April 13-24. 

You can support 35 environmental nonprofits that work to preserve our planet by making a gift, donating your time and pledging to help the environment. The goal is to raise $2,000 by the April 24th deadline 

There are three ways to get involved:

This spring, EcoReps Coordinator Merrick Calder and Green Greek Coordinator Kiyomi Morris both were given the opportunity to present the Excellence in Environmental Awareness awards to the top green houses in the greek community as part of the 2015 Greek Excellence Awards. The winners were Alpha Delta Pi, Kappa Delta, Sigma Kappa, and Zeta Tau Alpha.

The Whole U and UW Sustainability are celebrating National Walk at Work Day at noon this Friday, April 3, with a 45-minute walk highlighting some of UW's environmental efforts on campus.

The walk will start at the north side of Drumheller Fountain. UW Sustainability staff will lead the stroll, highlighting some of the sustainable features on campus, such as LEED buildings, the UW Farm, and more.

There's a new way to deliver the mail at the University of Washington.

UW Mailing Services has recently rolled out a pair of bicycles to use in moving mail around campus. Mailing Services Manager Steven Roberts said the bikes will help most with small or express jobs which come in after the usual daily routes are finished. In the past, these tasks would have required a driver to use a truck. Even though the Mailing Services fleet is all hybrid-electric vehicles, using a truck still means using some gas.

The UW Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration teamed up with the UW Carpentry Fabrication Shop to transform a dead cedar tree on campus into a bench where the UW community can enjoy the surroundings of the restored forest.

The Washington State Recycling Association has scholarships available for student who would like to attend the organization's annual conference and trade show. This year the conference is in Spokane on May 17-20. The deadline to apply is Monday, March 23 at 5 p.m.

The UW Farm has released its 2014 annual report. Read about the Farm's education initiatives, events, the first on-campus CSA and the volunteers who made it all possible.

Read the full report here.

The unseasonably warm February means there are plenty of opportunities to get outside and see sights which normally aren't available until later in the year.

The Seattle Times has a list of several good options for garden walks around Seattle (many flowers are already starting to bloom) and waterfalls further afield. 

For example, Franklin Falls near Snoqualmie Pass: