2010-2011

The purpose of this project is to complete the tree inventory database for the University of Washington Seattle campus and to develop a comprehensive urban forest management plan. The campus tree data currently available is incomplete and outdated, making management challenging and evaluation of tree resources impossible. The goals are to capture the ecosystem benefits provided by the urban forest, effectively manage the urban canopy, and provide a database resource for future research and educational opportunities. 

The Biodiversity Green Wall, Edible Green Screen and Water Harvesting Demonstration Project is a two-Phase project to be constructed at Gould Hall. Phase I is a Feasibility and Design Study and Phase II is Construction and Documentation. This proposal is to fund Phase I with work to be completed by the end of August, 2011. A student Design Team will lead the project from initial building assessment through construction and monitoring stages.

The proposed solution is a web-based tool which allows people toindicate the start and end-points of their commute and be provided with a “Commuter Profile” which gives them information about their commuting options including suggested routes (provided by Google Maps), estimated costs and benefits (money spent, calories burned, carbon emissions produced), resources available to UW commuters (e.g.

The UW Housing and Food Services (HFS) spends $8.5 million annually on food from 40 vendors. This is a huge fiscal sum that has a major impact on Washington State food economy, especially producer and process sectors. HFS currently lacks clear measurable definitions and standards to qualify “sustainable” and “local” food. When our RSO, Real Food Challenge (RFC), conducted a preliminary review of HFS purchases, we found ambiguity in definitions of local, when Coca Cola products were labeled locally based because processing plants are in King County.

Project: Zimtervention will establish Zimride, an online ridesharing system, as a viable option to single-occupancy vehicle(SOV) trips to and from the UW campus. This will achieve goals of reducing campus-related carbon emissions and promoting sustainable behavior change.

The principle component of the project is to fund a new student position, Campus Rideshare Coordinator (CRC) to:

The UW Farm is applying for $80,000 to support its expansion on ground near the Center for Urban Horticulture. This expansion will allow us to meet our goals of developing community (in UW and beyond), building connections (between people, land, and our future) and achieving a more sustainable food system. In its expansion, the farm will provide the campus with sustainably grown produce through programs such as a student-run cooperative kitchen, dining facilities run by Housing and Food Services (HFS), and donations to local food banks.

We will host nationally renowned author and farmer Dan Imhoff speak about the 2012 Farm Bill.

The environmental problem we want to solve is lack of student awareness and involvement in the Farm Bill and in overall issues of land use and food. By engaging students in action around the Farm Bill, they will also be more knowledgeable and capable of action about food on the UW campus.

The U.S. produces almost 600 billion pounds of food each year and a 25-50% of it is wasted — left in fields, thrown out at the grocery store, left in the fridge until it spoils, or scraped into the garbage at the end of a meal.

We will be playing the movie "TAPPED" in the residence hall to inform people about drinking water & the nature.

This project is being run by the Husky Neighborhood Assistants, an organization run out of the University of Washington’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards that works with students to work on issues in the greater University District Community. The tree project is meant to beautify the neighborhood, improve the canopy habitat, improve water drainage in the planter strips, and to provide students both as residents at planting sites and as volunteers at the planting event an opportunity to connect with nature in the urban environment.