Learning and community engagement

2050 vision

A University where every student, across all disciplines, has opportunities to learn about sustainability and contribute directly to sustainability solutions through coursework, living lab projects and community partnerships. Students are empowered as collaborators, leaders and changemakers who help drive the UW’s progress toward its sustainability goals.

Actions

Flagship action: Online project platform

LCE1 Flagship action: Launch an online platform of ready-to-implement sustainability engagement project opportunities.

This action is centered on the development and launch of a new Sustainability Engagement and Project Portal. This online platform will make it easier for students to find sustainability engagement opportunities on campus that match their interests.

Throughout the community engagement process, we heard that students want to make an impact around sustainability during their time on campus. Student feedback revealed the need for a centralized location to find volunteer opportunities, class project ideas and capstone projects that could help make an impact across the University. The Sustainability Engagement and Project Portal responds to this feedback through an organized and curated “clearing house” of opportunities, with project templates and guidance for faculty and staff to describe each new project or volunteer opportunity. Search and filtering tools will allow students to find opportunities aligned with their interests, skills, availability, and academic pursuits.

The Sustainability Project and Engagement Portal is intended to be a step toward the broader Sustainability Changemaker Collaborative action (LCE2).

Timeline: Launch by the end of FY29

2027 - Develop the Sustainability Engagement and Project Portal, create submission templates and guidance, and curate an initial set of ready-to-implement opportunities.
2028 - Pilot the portal with students, faculty, and staff, and refine based on feedback.
On-going - Continue to add new opportunities, track participation, and connect portal activity to the broader Sustainability Changemaker Collaborative.

Tracked metrics:

Status of launch
Number of sustainability engagement opportunities listed in the Project Portal
Number of student participants using the platform
Number of faculty, staff, or partner mentors contributing projects
Percent of opportunities aligned with SAP goals or actions
Repeat use or ongoing engagement by students and mentors

Funding needs: Staff to maintain the Sustainability Engagement and Project Portal and any costs associated with the chosen platform. Recommend creating a staff position to support the Sustainability Changemaker Collaborative and this initiative.

Campus connections: The Sustainability Engagement and Project Portal will serve all UW campuses, ensuring opportunities from Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma are visible and accessible through a shared platform.

Lead partners: Partners for this action will span academic, operational and student-facing units across the University.

Changemaker collaborative

LCE2: Develop the goals and framework needed to establish a Sustainability Changemaker Collaborative.

The Changemaker Collaborative concept brings together students, faculty, staff and community committed to positive system change around sustainability and climate issues. It is intended to serve as a new umbrella program that increases practical and hands-on sustainability learning opportunities on campus.

Similar programs exist at many other higher education institutions, and examples of programmatic elements include: on-campus student fellowship positions in sustainability, developing a faculty cohort to support integration of sustainability into curriculum and learning, identifying living-lab learning projects that address a campus sustainability issue and more. UW’s Environmental Stewardship Committee is in the early stages of exploring frameworks and feasibility, but more work is needed to develop the concept into a program. This action is centered on the development of a program framework, including the desired goals and outcomes for a Changemaker Collaborative, and opportunities to build new program pathways over time.

Timeline: Complete by the end of FY31

2028 - Map existing internal programs and potential partners. Develop goals, program pathways and governance structure to inform a Changemaker Collaborative model for review and endorsement by the Environmental Stewardship Committee.
2029 - Ongoing program development; solidify funding, develop programmatic materials and processes in preparation for implementation.
2030 - Begin program implementation of one or more program offerings.

Tracked metrics:

Status of goals and framework proposal

Funding needs: Staff participation time.

Campus connections:

This action will be implemented as a coordinated effort with all UW campuses and UW Medicine contributing to and benefiting from a shared structure for sustainability project engagement.
Aligns with UW Bothell’s sustainability goal to expand sustainability internships and course-based projects, support faculty engagement in sustainability teaching, and elevate student and faculty sustainability research.

Lead partners: Consult with UW resources and expertise, such as the Center for Teaching and Learning, Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center and others.

Overview

Sustainability learning emerges from interconnections between academic coursework, campus operations, student leadership and community collaboration.Across the University, students already engage in hands-on sustainability work through their classes, student-led projects and various Registered Student Organizations (RSOs). These efforts reflect a high level of interest from students and faculty in applying classroom learning to real campus needs.

The actions in this focus area strengthen institutional structures that help students connect with hands-on sustainability opportunities. A new Sustainability Changemaker Collaborative will serve as an umbrella program that provides a variety of pathways for students, faculty and staff to engage in interdisciplinary sustainability learning. A new centralized platform will include “ready-to-implement” student projects, capstone course project ideas and volunteer opportunities that elevate student leadership and align learning opportunities with a campus sustainability issue or need. The Changemaker Collaborative is intended to grow over time and elevate students as partners in advancing the UW’s goals.