Campus Sustainability Fund

Danny Arguetty has joined the Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) as Program Director. CSF, housed within and closely collaborating with UW Sustainability, is thrilled to welcome him. Danny is excited to co-lead the fund with CSF’s student staff and committee, championing the mission of justice-centered sustainability, recognizing the disproportionate negative impact of climate change on communities of color, particularly Black and Indigenous peoples.

At the recent UW Decarbonization Town Hall, one of the major questions posed from the audience was, "How can I get involved and help decarbonize our campuses?"

There are many different ways students, staff and faculty can get involved at the UW. We've put together just a few here. You can also email sustainability@uw.edu with questions or for information on other options.

Boe Zhou is the Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) Grant and Project Coordinator, working with students who have received CSF grants and those in the application process. Boe is pursuing a double degree in Computer Science and Environmental Studies at UW. He is enthusiastic about utilizing AI and data to create impartial and accessible solutions for environmental and societal challenges. Boe perceives CSF as the central hub for student engagement in all things sustainability, serving as the catalyst for building a resilient UW community.

Earlier this month, several members of the UW Sustainability and Campus Sustainabilty Fund teams traveled to Oregon State University for the 2023 Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC). Around 400 people from across the region, including students, staff, faculty and community partners, came together to discuss the sustainability challenges we face and share ideas.

The Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) and UW Resilience Lab are hosting a grant-writing workshop for UW students on Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. At this event, participants will have the opportunity to build their grant-writing skills and learn more about the diverse pool of on-campus grants available for projects and initiatives at the UW, including CSF and Resilience Lab Seed Grants.

The Campus Sustainability Fund's winter funding cycle is now open for proposals from the UW campus community. The CSF grants over $400,000 per year to student-led projects that advance sustainability on UW's campus. The CSF supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals and encourages project teams to align with these diverse goals. 

With over 80,000 students, faculty, and staff on campus, it's difficult to comprehend the sheer number of packages, textbooks, course packets and dorm mail UW Mailing Services delivers on a daily basis. Thankfully, those deliveries are now a lot more efficient and environmentally friendly.

The latest episode of the "In Our Nature" podcast features Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF) coordinator Kyle McDermott. The CSF provides grants to student-driven sustainability projects at UW, and has granted more than $2.2 million to over 100 projects since it started in 2010.

On this podcast episode, Kyle talks about some of the projects around campus that were funded by the CSF, how students can make their own idea a reality by using CSF grants, and other ways for students to get involved.

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.

As we all fall into our usual routines for Winter quarter, jazz up your schedule and check out the sustainability events calendar! We've listed a few of the top options for this week below, and you can always 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!

Some highlights coming up this week: