In Our Nature

By Lindsey Boisvin, Facilities Services’ Sustainability Communications Intern

Sean Schmidt takes “going green” to a whole new level.

In an emerald button-down vest, Schmidt waited for a crowd of bikers to gather outside Hansee Hall. While college students passed by — backpacks slung over their shoulders, sneakers drifting over pavement — it...

Update: The application deadline for the RecycleMania planning committee has been extended to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19. To apply, please send the following to Jessica Lisiewski at recycle@uw.edu with "RecycleMania Committee" in the subject title, and in the email include your name, phone number, email, academic program, school year and a brief written statement (200 words or less) explaining why you are interested in being a member of the committee and what skills, experience, and/or passions you plan to bring to the committee....

The University of Washington was honored this week by the Intelligent Transportation Services of America, along with the Washington State Department of Transprotation and Gov. Jay Inslee's administration, for leadership in advancing the use of electric vehicles.

The National Smart Solutions Spotlight Award serves to "shine a spotlight on the things that are changing our future," said Sabrina Sussman, vice president for membership and development at ITS America. UW Fleet Services has added 14 electric vehicles this year and expects to have a total of 42 by June 2016. The UW has also...

The centerpiece of the SustainableUW Festival, the sustainability exhibitor fair on Red Square last Wednesday gave thousands of UW students, faculty and staff a look at the sustainability efforts of organizations across the university and the community.

Despite rain and cool temperatures, there was a constant crowd of people expoloring the tables of more than 50 exhibitors - including nine food vendors, who provided tastes of sustainable food items which are available on campus. This year's fair featured exhibitors such as Seattle City Light and their MobE (Mobile solar kiosk), a T-...

Photo courtesy of the Center for Penguins as Ocean Sentinels

A tourist, a camera and a good eye may just be the trick to saving the endangered Galapagos penguins.

Tourists and the photographs they take can provide valuable information about the health of the Galapagos penguins and their surrounding environment. From a single shot, UW researchers can determine whether a penguin is breeding, molting or migrating, as well as the bird's age, health status and other information.

"It’s really expensive to go to the Galapagos...

This year, EcoReps is unveiling the Green Greek Representative Program, a brand new outreach program aimed at increasing sustainable operations in the Greek Community. The program is currently run by Kiyomi Morris and Tali Haller, who have been working nonstop for the past couple months to create it.

In the Green Greek Representative Program, a member from each fraternity and sorority in the UW Greek Community attends monthly meetings that will teach them about sustainable chapter operations and resources available to chapters. The representative is then responsible for installing...

Help keep Seattle green this Saturday!

The 10th annual Green Seattle Day starts Saturday, Nov. 7, at 9 a.m. in parks throughout Seattle. The event brings together hundreds of volunteers to plant thousands of trees and other plants in parks throughout Seattle. Green Seattle Day is a celebration of the forest that makes this the Emerald City. Help us keep it that way!

The day is family-friendly - all ages are welcome, and no experience is necessary. The Green Seattle Partnership will supply all the plants,...

The SustainableUW Festival has come to an end, with two big chances to cheer on the Huskies, in athletics and sustainability!

The cap to the SustainableUW Festival is Saturday night's Husky football game against Arizona. The competition isn't only on the field -  the UW is participating in the GameDay Recycling Challenge, a friendly competition for colleges and universities to promote waste reduction at football games. The University of Washington will be tracking how much waste ends up...

It's been a great week of SustainableUW Festival events, and we've loved seeing everyone get involved with campus sustainability. The festival is winding down, but it's not over yet.

Come celebrate with us this afternoon at the Bullitt Center - the greenest commercial building in the world - for the opening reception of the "Campus as a Living Lab" exhibit, co-hosted by UW Sustainability and the UW Center for Integrated Design. Explore the presentations on a variety of innovative campus sustainability projects while enjoying...

The SustainableUW Festival kicks off day four with volunteering opportunities and a wide variety of seminars and discussions to choose from, along with a careers event and poster session at Odegaard Library in the afternoon.

Stop by Mercer Court and volunteer with the UW Farm from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Or head down to Harborview Medical Center at noon and hear King County’s Tom Watson discuss...