Events

The UW Law, Societies, and Justice (LSJ) program held a panel last week to encourage students to think about ways of alleviating our collective carbon footprint. More than a dozen students gathered in Smith Hall to dive deep into the widely debated topic of climate change.

“Climate change is a reality,” said Trace Chaplin, a doctoral student in the Jackson School of International Studies and one of the panel facilitators. “Not only is it here, it’s going to continue.”

Get ready for the 4th annual "The Living Breath of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ: Indigenous Foods and Ecological Knowledge Symposium" this Friday and Saturday. The event starts at 9 a.m. each day in the Intellectual House.

There's a whole new lineup of sustainability events this week, ranging from discussions on climate change to bike to campus month and UW Farm volunteer hours. Some of the week's highlights are listed below, and you can find out even more items happening on campus with our full Sustainability events calendar, which is the best place to find the most up-to-date listings and details on all events. If you know of any events which should be added to the calendar, please let us know.

The Daily was on Red Square for Earth Day and put together this video of the festivities, featuring UW Earth Club president (and Husky Green Award winner) Aaron Tam. 

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.

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.

Hundreds of community members and students gathered on red square in honor of the 46^th anniversary of Earth Day at the University of Washington.

"It's important to spread awareness about how involved the UW is in making our campus more environmentally friendly," said junior Itzel Medina, one of the many students who came to celebrate the event. "Sustainability really matters."