The UW campus would look naked without its towering pines, hardy cedars and luscious cherry blossoms. These trees, as well as the 800 other distinct tree species on campus, have helped the university become recognized as a “Tree Campus USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation for the third consecutive year.
Recognizing excellence in campus tree management, Tree Campus USA engages both the student body and the wider community in the establishment and maintenance of community forests. Since 2010 the University of Washington has held the proud distinction of Tree Campus USA recognition.
Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Toyota helped launch the program and continues its generous financial support this year.
When I think Cleantech, my mind goes straight to the triangular logo on my waste container at work: “reduce, reuse, recycle.” These three words are central to most enduring cleantech innovations, though sometimes in paradoxical ways. “Reduce” is the most prone to paradox, since reducing one thing generally happens by increasing another. Let’s explore this “reduce” paradox via two well-known examples in that space.
Shelly Carpenter’s lab in the Marine Sciences building was a perfect test site for UW’s new Green Lab Certification Program, which officially launched Monday.
A lab manager in the School of Oceanography, Carpenter described herself as an aggressive recycler. Packing peanuts, bubble wrap, plastic packaging — she keeps it all out of the trash.
Since it opened in 1934, the Washington Park Arboretum has been home to thousands of plant collections and species, each with a meticulously kept record and history. A computerized database for record keeping was established in the early 1990s but more than 55 years of the earlier records have remained preserved solely on paper, scribbled on grid maps or recorded in countless handwritten notes.
Student program works to improve life for north of 45th residents
Through thick fog and temperatures in the mid-30s, Elaine Tran’s voice welcomed a crowd of student volunteers to the North of 45th Neighborhood Clean-Up on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
One volunteer sported a T-shirt with a quote from Dr. King.
“Life’s most urgent question is,” it read, “what are you doing for others?”
For Tran and the other students in the Husky Neighborhood Interns (HNI) program, the answer to this urgent question is simple: assisting others living in the UW community.
Twenty-five cities across the United States, including Seattle, have banned single-use plastic bags. Disposable packaging made of compostable materials is becoming more and more prevalent. An entire industry of reusable water bottles has risen up in opposition to disposable plastic water bottles.