Restoration Planting with Stewardship Partners (March 5)

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March 5th from 10am-2pm at 1202 W Snoqualmie River Rd Ne Carnation, WA 98014 It’s that time of the year again, planting season! Come join Stewardship Partners in completing mile 9 of stream side restoration plantings along the Snoqualmie River. Bring the family and get your hands dirty while learning about the importance of restoring vegetation to the stream banks of the Snoqualmie; the home of some of the biggest wild Salmon runs in the State and the producer of the majority of wild Coho. Please RSVP to Kristin at kk@stewardshippartners.org or call 206-292-9875 We will provide tools, and snacks please bring warm clothes, boots, and gloves! 

Education for Sustainability seminar

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Interested in K-12 environmental education?Want to gain first hand experience volunteering in an environmental ed organization or classroom while receiving academic credit?Then, this UW Inner Pipeline seminar might be of interest to you:

EDUC 401L:  “Education for Sustainability”

EDUC 401L SLN: 13011 Dates: Mondays, 4/4, 4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23
Time: 12:30-1:20pm 
Location: Mary Gates Hall, room 248 What is environmental education all about? How do educators teach young people about the earth’s ecosystems and foster an ethic of environmental stewardship? This seminar will examine the past and current state of K-12 environmental education in the U.S. and Washington State. We will explore various philosophies, models and approaches to K-12 environmental education. Students will attend weekly seminars and volunteer in related school classrooms and community organizations in Seattle for at least 2 ½ (2 credits) hours a week. Credits: 2 EDUC 401credits: 2.5 hours tutoring/week (20 hours/quarter)
3 EDUC 401 credits: 5 hours tutoring/week (40 hours/quarter)
For more information and to view other Pipeline seminar offerings, please visit our website: http://www.washington.edu/uwired/pipeline/___________________________

Fostering Sustainable Behavior in the Residence Halls

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Please join us for the public presentation of student projects from the Program on the Environment’s Sustainability Studio…


Fostering Sustainable Behavior in the Residence Halls:
Student research on environmental behavior change opportunities for Housing & Food Services

Friday, March 11
 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Wallace Hall, POE Commons
(formerly the Academic Computing Center)
3737 Brooklyn Ave NE

Students in POE’s Sustainability Studio spent this quarter researching options for sustainability through behavior change in the residence halls, and developing comprehensive proposals for HFS and the University to foster more sustainable behavior. ! This presentation is your opportunity to learn from their work. Projects include:

  • Tools for Reducing Electricity Use in Residence Hall Rooms
  • Making Residence Hall Floor Composting Cost-Effective
  • Using Incentives to Promote Re-Usable 


Please contact Justin Hellier, hellier@uw.edu, with any questions, and we hope to see you there!

Double Majors vs. Double Degrees

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Interested in doing a double major or double degree with Environmental Studies?  More information available from the UAA Advising site:

http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/majors/double.php

  • You will earn a double major when both majors lead to the same degree name (e.g., B.A., B.S., B.F.A.), even if the two majors are in different colleges or schools. For example, if you complete the requirements for the B.A. degree with a major in American Ethnic Studies (College of Arts and Sciences) and the B.A. degree with a major in Architectural Studies (College of Built Environments), you will earn a single B.A. degree with a double major. You cannot earn a double degree when the two majors lead to the same degree name.
  • You will earn a double degree when the two majors lead to differently-named degrees (e.g., B.A. vs. B.S.). For example, if you complete the requirements for the B.A. degree with a major in Geography and the B.S. degree with a major in Earth and Space Sciences, you will earn a double degree. Another example: if you complete the requirements for the B.A. in Business Administration degree and the B.A. degree with a major in Political Science, you will earn a double degree. Although these are both Bachelors of Arts, the Business Administration major is a named degree and so does not have the same degree name as the Political Science degree.

From Andes to Amazon: great exploration seminar

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Looking for a great way to study abroad without taking a full quarter off? See the following for more information about an exploration seminar that has run regularly each year. This course will count as a perspectives course in either the ‘natural sciences’ or ‘international’ categories. Let Joe or Stanley know if you have questions about this.

Course website

Program Description

2011 Exploration Seminar in Peru

From Andes to Amazon: Biodiversity, conservation, and sustainability

An ecological and cultural exploration from the high mountains to the rainforest of southeastern Peru

Program Directors: Eileen O’Connor, Ursula Valdez, and Tim Billo

Dates of instruction: August 28th-September 20th, 2011

The eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes ranges from altitudes of over 20,000 feet among rugged, glacier-clad peaks, to altitudes of under 500 feet in the hot, humid forests of the Amazon Basin, one of the most biologically diverse place on Earth. This region is also known for a diverse array of indigenous and modernized cultures, with an expanding population that threatens to alter the ecology and sheer beauty of this landscape forever. In this seminar, we will explore the fascinating diversity of organisms and ecosystems from the Andes to the Amazon of southeastern Peru, while studying the conservation challenges confronting this region. Through surveys of the biodiversity itself, and meetings with indigenous people, land-use managers, conservationists, and other stakeholders, we will analyze sustainable alternatives for the conservation of this world biodiversity hotspot.

Our program will begin in the mountains of Cusco where we will visit Quechuan communities, descendants of the Incas, to learn about traditional agriculture and resource use in practice. From here, we will also visit the world famous ruins of Machu Picchu, where we will learn about the historical relationship of the Incas to their environment, and the effects of present-day tourism on neighboring cloud forest ecosystems. Six days will be spent in the cool highlands of the Manu Biosphere Reserve, where we will spend time in protected grasslands and cloud forests identifying plants, insects, birds, and mammals using a variety of study techniques (including mistnetting for birds). There are many unique species to see here including some of the last remnants of Polylepis forests, ancient cycads, dozens of orchid species, and animals like the spectacular Andean Condor, Andean Cock of the Rock, Golden Headed Quetzal, and the rare Spectacled Bear.

During the second half of our course, we will stay at a remote field station on the Madre de Dios River, a tributary of the Amazon. The sheer number of species and the complexity of ecological interactions here are mind-boggling. Colorful fruit-eating birds, raucous macaws, monkeys and other arboreal mammals, butterflies, and an astonishing number of insects will be some of the many species you will see day to day. Boating trips on the river and a nearby oxbow lake may provide glimpses of the threatened Giant River Otter, rare Harpy Eagles, and large caimans. We will also be aware of intense pressures from currently expanding “modern-day” human activities such as cattle ranching, deforestation, gold mining, and road building, all of which threaten this great forested region.

In this seminar, you will be working closely with peers from the UW, applying your personal curiosity or expertise to two small-group projects, one each in the Andes and the Amazon, relating to biological resources and/or conservation. The program directors and Peruvian researchers, will guide you and share their combined expertise in ecological, sociological, and anthropological methods to gather relevant data, as well as their perspectives on conservation in the region. Be prepared to learn more, however, from the experiences we will have in the field as we travel through stunning landscapes full of natural and cultural wonders!

Students will earn 5 graded credits from the Biology department (BIOL 493) or the Program on the Environment (ENVIR 496). Participants will be evaluated on a daily journal of observations and reflections, a written report, and a presentation at a symposium, as well as positive participation throughout the course. The skills learned and applied in this program will be invaluable for any future endeavor – whether the student pursues a career in natural and social sciences, conservation, or any kind of work requiring a multidisciplinary approach and cross-cultural skills.

This Program Includes: All in-country transportation after arrival in Cusco, Peru international airport tax, all housing, 3 meals per day, and all field trips and visits during the program (including Machu Picchu).

Student costs:

$ 3,300 Program Fee

$ ~250 IPE Fee

Additional costs: Round trip travel to Cusco, immunizations, ISIC card, insurance, and personal spending money.

More information on the program, including financial aid, can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/explore/

Wasting Food – panel discussion!

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Wasting Food: Why so much food ends up in the trash and what we can do about it.

Did you know that America wastes enough food each day to fill the Rose Bowl? Food waste occurs at every point from field to fork, with steep environmental, economic and social costs.

Please join the UW Evans School Graduate Environmental Policy Forum and the UW Program on the Environment for a panel discussion about the sources of and solutions to the problem food waste in Seattle and across the country.

Tuesday March 8, 2011
7pm to 9pm
William H. Gates Hall (UW Law School)
Room 133

Panelists
Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland
Carl Woestwin, Program Manager, Seattle Public Utilities
Laura Johnson, Grocery Rescue Program Manager, Food Lifeline
Micheal Meyering, Project Manager, UW Housing & Food Services

Moderator
Ashley Zanolli, West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum Coordinator, U.S. EPA Region 10

Let others know you’re attending on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180837395292004

For more information contact morrigan@uw.edu.

[Course] – ENVIR 450B: Growing Stuff: Ecology of Resource Extraction Systems

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ENVIR 450B – Growing Stuff: Ecology of Resource Extraction Systems will be taught in Spring 2011 by Stevan Harrell.  Want to get an idea of what the class will be like?  You can check out his class website from last year (which will be updated at the beginning of Spring 2011):

http://faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/resourcehome.html

Please note: The 3 required full-day field trips will be on Saturday, April 16, May 7 and May 28.

This is a field-, reading-, and writing- intensive course on how humans modify and manipulate ecosystems to produce useful resources. Throughout, we emphasize a systems perspective, closely examining the ecological, economic, and political effects of the elements of each system on one another. We also pay attention to analysis of systems at different scales of space, time, and complexity. Our specific subject matter encompasses ecosystems in Washington State that are modified to produce and extract three kinds of resources: biofuels, shellfish, and milk products. Each three-week unit, including an all-day Saturday field trip, focuses on one of these three resource types. For each unit, students are required to read a series of articles, comment formally in class on some of them, go on the field trip, keep and turn in a field journal, and write a topical essay on an assignment dealing with problems of that type of resource system.

OurEarth.org Internship through Duke University

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      This summer join the OurEarth.org community and become an intern in OurEarth.org’s 2011 Environmental Leadership Program. This is a rare opportunity for you to develop as a leader and learn many of the skills that are necessary if you want to create significant environmental changes in the future. In addition to leadership training, you will work on a number of diverse environmental projects that will help the OurEarth.org organization and website expand, be in a team with students from other colleges, earn course credit, connect with OurEarth.org’s large network of environmental professionals, and because OurEarth.org is still a young organization this is an opportunity to join on the ground floor of many up-and-coming initiatives. Lastly, for added flexibility, all work is done remotely so you can work from your home, campus, or anywhere else, yet you will still have very frequent contact with the OurEarth.org management and other interns via conference calls, email, webinars, and other electronic mediums.

      OurEarth.org is a national 501©3 non-profit organization and grassroots initiative that aims to aid and develop environmental leaders, in part, by transforming the way environmental programs, activities, and information are found on the internet. A more detailed program description, the internship application, and further information about the OurEarth.org organization is available here: http://www.ourearth.org/students/. Finally, the program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. If you want to apply, act quickly since admission is done on a ROLLING BASIS and acceptances will begin to be mailed in February. If you have any questions, please contact John Ullman at (410) 878 – 6485 or jgu@duke.edu, to get additional information.