the UW Sustainability blog
UW graduate student Jonathan Chen has created a UW Food System COVID-19 Survey to better understand how COVID-19 has impacted people's access to food on UW Seattle’s campus. Anyone affiliated with UW Seattle who is 18 or over is invited to participate and enter a drawing to win a $50 gift card to the University Bookstore. Documenting your experience during this difficult time can help improve things for the future.
Civil and Environmental Engineering students got hands-on experience with energy conservation and renewable energy this winter.
A class taught by assistant professor Amy Kim used a small solar-power installation on More Hall to power everyday office equipment, such as a computer and table lamp. The course looks at developing sustainability strategies for buildings which promote the health and wellness of the occupants.
And just like that...we're almost halfway into winter quarter! If you haven't already, check out the sustainabilty events calendar, which is full of lectures, student organization meetings, volunteer opportunities and more. We've listed a few of the top options 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!
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:
Christoph Strouse is working with our office helping with sustainability reporting and strategic planning. Christoph is studying Urban Planning and Public Policy to understand how cities can become innovative systems for transitioning toward a more equitable and sustainable society. He’s learning how campus sustainability master planning can be applied to district level community planning centered around public transportation and affordable housing.
Students planning to enter the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challege can apply for funding to help create a prototype to help develop their idea. The funding can be used to purchase materials, rent equipment, or hire short-term workers with high level skills beyond the team’s capacity, in order to create a physical model, object or device.
The application deadline for the funds is Dec. 19, 2016 at 5 p.m. See the full details and apply here.
As a major research institution, the UW has a global impact, and many faculty and staff members regularly travel by air. Just how far, and the carbon impact of all that travel, was until recently something the UW could only estimate. Over the past year, the Sustainability Office has been working with student teams to gather the UW's travel data, quantify our air travel carbon footprint, and make recommendations. The student teams also interviewed faculty and staff to learn about campus attitudes towards travel.
A group of UW students, working with the UW Sustainability office, created a short video with animation explaining the research of Dr. Daniel Kirschen of the UW's Clean Energy Institute, who works on using batteries to address the challenges of incorporating renewable energy into the grid. Enjoy!
The UW relies primarily on freshwater purchased from Seattle Public Utilities to water landscaped areas on campus. A group on campus wants that to change.
A team of students, faculty and staff are proposing to alter the existing irrigation system to distribute rainwater as opposed to fresh drinking water, and they received a Green Seed Fund grant to help make it happen.
The Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship is again offering two practicum courses this fall focusing on innovation - the Environmental Innovation Challenge and the Health Innovation Challenge practicums.