Sustainable Building Materials Internship opening

UW Sustainability is hiring a Sustainable Building Materials intern. This internship position will help UW Sustainability research and develop draft sustainability guidelines for materials used in UW building construction. Many materials commonly used in building and construction, such as concrete, steel, timber, and expanded polystyrene (EPS) have high embodied carbon, contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, and present additional challenges with respect to sustainability.

Sustainability is at the center of Parrington Hall's renovation

front exterior of Parrington Hall

A full renovation of Parrington Hall is now complete, bringing one of the oldest buildings on campus up to date and creating an improved learning experience for students in the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. 

The renovation also used the principles of reusing, recycling and reducing for a sustainable process and making it a much more sustainable building. 

Society for Ecological Restoration starts socially-distanced volunteer work parties

Society for Ecological Restoration - UW chapter

The Society for Ecological Restoration - UW Chapter works to promote ecological restoration and bring students together around this goal at the UW. SER-UW organizes restoration volunteer work parties across campus. This quarter, they're able to hold work parties in groups of five people or less.

You can follow SER-UW on Instagram or visit their website to learn about these as they are scheduled.

Subtle, sustainable living on North Campus

Residents of the new North campus dorms may not notice the many sustainability features of their buildings. If they take a closer look, they’ll find the residence halls are rich with hidden touches that save energy and make living easier. 

All residence halls on North Campus are LEED certified, meaning they were built with sustainability in mind. Students, though, might not be aware of some features that Housing & Food Services (HFS) implemented.

Happening this week: May 14-20

UW Sustainability's weekly events banner

This week is forecast to be sunny and we hope you're excited to get outside! The sustainability events calendar includes all sustainability related events, but below we've listed a few of the top options for this week. Also, check out our calendar for a comprehensive listing of events. You can even subscribe to get weekly emails to keep up to date on all the sustainability events happening around UW!

Solar-powered innovation on the Life Sciences Building

Life Sciences Building solar fins

Photos by Rosemary Reyes

The new Life Sciences Building under construction next to the Burke Gilman Trail features floor-to-ceiling windows all along the south side. The windows allow the sun to naturally light the space, but that sunlight also presents a problem.

In the summer, direct sunlight would overheat the building. Instead of relying on air conditioning, the team behind the building’s design found a unique solution.