UW News

April 19, 2010

Campus gone green: UW blooms with activities for Earth Day 2010

UW News

Who says it’s not easy being green? The University of Washington’s three campuses will celebrate Earth Day — Thursday, April 22 — with a variety of activities, booths and demonstrations, plus the awarding of the university’s first-ever Husky Green Awards.

Sustainability Fair: The Husky Union Building lawn will be the scene for booths, activities and more from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will compost audits (reviewing what ends up in compost bins to see if the campus community has been composting correctly) as well as giveaways, student art, activities and demonstrations, all along a green theme.

Husky Green Awards: The UW will award its first-ever Husky Green Awards in a ceremony on the HUB lawn between noon and about 12:30 p.m. This new award is chosen by the UW Environmental Stewardship Committee to recognize faculty, staff and students showing leadership, initiative and dedication to the environment on the UW’s three campuses. The committee chose eight recipients for the award’s inaugural year.

Seattle City Councilman Mike O’Brien is scheduled to make opening remarks from 12:15 to 12:25 p.m., followed by Provost Phyllis Wise, who will speak from 12:25 to 12:30 p.m. Then Bruce Balick, professor of astronomy and chair of the UW Faculty Senate, will present the awards.

Other UW locations will have Earth Day events as well.

The Green Tower: At UW Tower (formerly Safeco Tower), employees are already engaged in Earth-friendly activities such as an <A style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA" href="<AHREF=" <a href=”http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?Search=edible&id=56124″>edible patio garden</a>. For Earth Day, they’re adding their “40 Acts of Green” project, where employees sign pledges for 40 days of greener living.

Flowers at UW Bothell: The Associated Students of UW Bothell are inviting all graduating students to plant a flower in the “W” on campus in a special event called Digging With the Dawgs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Earth Day.

“Garbology” and the Giving Garden at UW Tacoma: Project Earth, a student group promoting environmental awareness, will hold a “Garbology event” — a visual look at recycling — from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, between the library and the main stairs. And for Earth Day on Thursday, group members will plant seeds and spread mulch in the UW Tacoma Giving Garden from 1 to 3 p.m.

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