2014-2015

Our awesome service learners from the Carlson Center at UW have been busy doing some reporting on CSF projects and sustainability events. Check out their three newest stories below: 

Tucked behind the Washington Arboretum, the Yesler Swamp might be overlooked by the casual passerby at first glance. However, the swamp is host to a multitude of environmental restoration and education projects that UW students are engaging in to bring more attention to this hidden gem. Carolyn Foster and Tyler Licata are two Community, Environment, and Planning (CEP) students who are leading restoration efforts at the Yesler Swamp under the Yesler Swamp Project (YSP), which is a student-led restoration project. The main focus of YSP is environmental restoration and community building.

On Wednesday, October 22nd, a group of six speakers from across the University of Washington came together to discuss sustainability, especially as it relates  to their personal research and projects, as part of the SustainableUW Festival. Comprised of three different UW schools (College of the Environment, Foster School of Business, and the School of Public Health), the panel focused on identifying and addressing the barriers to solving the largest issues currently affecting sustainability.   

Think of what you ate for lunch today. Do you know where your food came from? This is a difficult question for most people to answer due to the complexities and lack of transparency in the food system. Don’t fret yet; passionate students that are a part of the Real Food Challenge are aiming to address these gaps in knowledge to create a more sustainable and transparent food system. The Real Food Challenge (RFC) at the University of Washington is a chapter of a larger national organization committed to working with universities to supply real food to their students.

The due dates for the first funding round have been determined! Please electronically submit your Letter of Intent (LOI) by Tuesday, November 18th by 11:59pm, and your full proposal by Tuesday, January 20th by 11:59pm. You can access the application page by clicking here or via the "Apply" link in the menu bar above. 

The UW Solar project finished installing its 128 solar panels on top of the Mercer Court A dorms in April 2013. There is a great data visualization tool that tracks the hour by hour energy production of the panels. You can view the number of watt-hours produced by hours, days, or months HERE. The UW Solar team has also been featured on an episode of UW 360, see HERE. 

The grant writing practicum is a course offered to all students on campus who are interested in honing their grant writing skills. You will get to develop skills in grant-writing, project development, and project management for projects targeting sustainability goals. For more information visit the link and contact uwcsf@uw.edu for further inquiries. 
http://poe.washington.edu/undergraduate_programs/courses/index.php

Construction continues down at the Center for Urban Horticulture, as volunteers from the UW Farm and Engineers Without Borders team up to build a new greenhouse. The greenhouse will provide the farm with additional space during the colder months to continue growing food. Earlier this summer volunteers leveled the plot and acquired temporary electricity access for the power tools with the help of UW Grounds and Facilities. The greenhouse is projected to be completed by the end of September, so stay tuned for more updates!