In Our Nature

There's a new way to deliver the mail at the University of Washington.

UW Mailing Services has recently rolled out a pair of bicycles to use in moving mail around campus. Mailing Services Manager Steven Roberts said the bikes will help most with small or express jobs which come in after the usual daily routes are finished. In the past, these tasks would have required a driver to use a truck. Even though the Mailing Services fleet is all hybrid-electric vehicles, using a truck still means using some gas.

"The ultimate goal is to use the trucks as sparingly as possible, and...

A Green Seed Fund project team hopes to save medical equipment from the landfill and give wheelchairs and walkers a second life, by examining opportunities for the UW Medical Center (UWMC) and Harborview Medical Center (HMC) to connect with community reuse programs and patients in need. Dr. Jennifer S. Pitonyak, an assistant professor in the Division of Occupational Therapy at UW and member of the project team, said that as a healthcare provider, she knew that sustainability and recycling of equipment is often overlooked in the face of maintaining patient...

With the City of Seattle’s new compost ordinance in effect, UW Recycling is, more than ever, a pivotal waste diversion resource on campus.

As of January 1, Seattle prohibits food waste from garbage destined for the landfill. The University of Washington is dedicated to waste reduction, and composting and recycling at the University is designed to be visible, convenient and to maximize the recovery of waste. UW Recycling's MiniMax program, the desk-side, self-service waste collection system,...

The UW Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration teamed up with the UW Carpentry Fabrication Shop to transform a dead cedar tree on campus into a bench where the UW community can enjoy the surroundings of the restored forest.

The Washington State Recycling Association has scholarships available for student who would like to attend the organization's annual conference and trade show. This year the conference is in Spokane on May 17-20. The deadline to apply is Monday, March 23 at 5 p.m.

All undergraduate and graduate students who are currently enrolled or who graduated in the last year are eligible to apply. The scholarships include all registration and lodging costs, allowing students to attend educational sessions, workshops, exhibits, tours of recycling facilities, social events, meals...

It's a slow week for events on campus as UW concentrates on finals, but there are still a handful of sustainability talks and meetings happening. And if you're looking to get outside and work off any lingering finals stress, the UW Farm is still holding volunteer hours.

All of these events and more are listed on our Sustainability Events calendar, where you can find the full details for all events and any last-minute additions. If you'd like to get a weekly email of all the upcoming sustainability events,...

Members of the UW’s Electrical Engineering Department hope to make strides to solve the issue of electronic waste with funding from a Green Seed Fund grant. Awarded $50,433 by the Fund, this group is focused on the sustainability of electronic waste and how to better divert the waste flow to more renewable options.

Denise Wilson, a professor in UW’s Electrical Engineering, described an experience that led to the creation of the proposal. She had asked an electrical engineer to bring by any waste he was holding on to. When she returned to her office,...

Each spring, students in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences take advantage of a unique opportunity to help shape the University of Washington's Pack Forest.

The UW Farm has released its 2014 annual report. Read about the Farm's education initiatives, events, the first on-campus CSA and the volunteers who made it all possible.

Read the full report here.

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We are excited to share that UW Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability is now UW Sustainability! We updated our name to help us make better connections with the UW community while keeping sustainability as the focal point of our name and consistent with the University’s sustainability brand, “Sustainability: It's in our nature.”

We continue to promote sustainability across the University of Washington by engaging, connecting and informing members of the UW community. Our office provides sustainability resources for students, faculty and staff. We work to encourage...