UW Sustainability's blog

The UW Botanic Gardens is hosting the 8th annual Urban Forest Symposium on May 17: "Sustaining the Urban Forest During Densification."

Jessica Kaminsky is an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Washington. A scholar of engineering projects and organizations, she conducts research on infrastructure for developing communities with a particular interest in topics of social sustainability. As part of the UW's Earth Day celebration, she gave a talk on how cultural values impact sustainability. Read the text below:

The UW Society for Ecological Restoration's Native Plant Nursery is hosting a Native Plant Sale this weekend. On Sunday, May 1, come out to the Douglas Research Conservatory at the Center for Urban Horticulture from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and support your local, student-run nursery. They will be selling a variety of native plants, including Douglas Fir, Vanilla Leaf, Salmonberry and many more!

UW Earth Club president Aaron Tam introduced the club's "Tap That" campaign during the Earth Day celebration, a project that is working to reduce the use of plastic water bottles on campus. Tam is a currently a senior at the University of Washington studying Environmental Science: Wildlife Conservation and Political Science. He's passionate about environmental and socioeconomic justice, and is proud to have contributed greatly to climate action in Washington and campus sustainability efforts.

By Mishu Pham-Whipple

Barbara Clabots of the Seattle Surfrider Foundation was the introductory presenter at the University of Washington's Earth Day celebration. Clabots is a social scientist focused on improving ocean conservation. Locally, she serves the community as Seattle Surfrider's Volunteer Coordinator to improve water quality in the Puget Sound, leading a program to eliminate cigarette litter.

Coming up on May 6 and 7, the UW Botanic Gardens invites you to join our 2016 BioBlitz at the Washington Park Arboretum! A BioBlitz is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area.

By Tali Haller

After a few wild days of recycle basketball, trash Minute-To-Win-It, sustainability trivia, and green pledging last weekend, the 2016 Green Greek Competition was a success. More than 180 students signed a Green Pledge and 29 Greek Chapters participated.

As the manager of Cultivate, James Windau makes sustainability a top priority. The on-campus, full-service restaurant works to incorporate local and seasonal food, including serving produce grown on the UW Farm. Windau and Cultivate have recently signed up for Smart Catch, a chef-driven, sustainable seafood program. The program works to support environmentally sustainable fishing practices.

Carolyn Hartman has worked diligently to promote environmental education and campus sustainability in numerous leadership capacities throughout her time at UW.