WWU / Local Sustainability Events
Tuesday, October 20
Environmental Club Summit
When October 20th 7 to 9 p.m.
Where VU 464
Cost free
The club summit is a chance to bring all those who are involved or interested in the environmental clubs on campus together to network, discuss goals for the year and to learn about how to build an "environmental" community within WWU.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Energy and the Environment Mini-Course
The need for carbon-free forms of energy has made the intersection of energy and environment stronger than ever. In this class we’ll talk about energy production in terms of basic physics and environmental impacts. We will cover both conventional and renewable forms of energy production with an emphasis on understanding the pros and cons of different technologies.
* Part 1: Monday 10/12, 10:00 - 11:30, CH 249
* Part 2: Friday 10/16, 10:00 - 11:30, CH 249
Reaching ZERO: A Community Conversation on WWU’s Draft Climate Action Plan
Please join the Office of Sustainability and members of the campus community in a conversation regarding WWU's draft Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP outlines a strategy to prevent and mitigate the release of greenhouse gases from WWU to bring the campus to climate neutrality.
- Weds. Oct. 7, Noon – 1:00 pm @ SMATE Science Lecture Rm. 110
- Mon. Oct. 12, 5:30 – 6:30 pm @ SMATE Science Lecture Rm. 140
- Thurs. Oct. 15, 8:30 – 9:30 am @ Viking Union Room 462 A&B
Spring Quarter '09 Campus Sustainability Planning Studio Presentation
Evening Presentation:
Wednesday, June 3rd, 5 PM
Science Lecture 140
Lunchtime Presentation:
Wednesday, June 10th, 12 PM
Science Lecture 140
The Spring Quarter '09 Campus Sustainability Planning Studio student research teams invite you listen to their findings on:
- · Waste Reduction Proposal for St. Joseph's Hospital (resource conservation & fiscal responsibility)
- Sustainable & Local Agriculture Tour for WWU Faculty (sustainability education & community collaboration)
- Paper Purchasing Guide for Bellingham Food Coop (consumer education & outreach)
- WWU Computer Labs Energy Conservation (efficiency & green technology)
All are welcome! Questions encouraged!
May 21st, 2009
Local Farm Tour – Integrating Local Agriculture and WWU Curriculum
Join us for fun, food and forum
Join the WWU Campus Sustainability Planning Studio for a two hour tour of Rabbit Fields Farm with WWU graduate and farm owner, Roslyn McNicholl. During the farm tour, we will learn about the local agriculture movement and discuss options for fostering relations between WWU academics and local farmers and ranchers.
Summary:
- - Thursday 5/21/09 9:30AM – 12:00PM
- - Delicious, local lunch will be provided
- - Transportation will be chartered bus (free of charge) or carpooling depending upon attendance
- - Space is limited! Please RSVP by 5/18 to robinee@students.wwu.edu
- - Questions? Call Beth Robinette at (509) 990-4247
Friday April 10th
Winona LaDuke
7:00-9:00 pm
PAC Concert Hall
Winona LaDuke is an Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Anishinaabeg, a graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities, and a proclaimed environmental and Native American activist. She is the program director of Honor the Earth and the founding director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project who recently received the prestigious international Slow Food Award for their work with protecting wild rice and local biodiversity. In 1994, she was nominated by Time magazine as one of America’s 50 most promising leaders under 40 years of age. She addresses a wide array of feminist, Native American, and environmental issues.
Saturday April 11th:
Local Food Availability
9am-10:30am VU 464
This panel will be focused on how people in the Bellingham and greater Seattle area can get access to healthy locally produced food. The emphasis of this panel will be Co-ops, food banks and food bank farms, gleaning projects, community gardens, farmers markets, farm to school programs, farm to restaurants, and CSA programs. It will address why it is important for people to access to locally produced food, whether this access is currently available, and how to improve access.
Community To Community: Dialogue on the Solidarity Economy
9am-10:30am VU 565
Grass roots organization Community to Community will lead a dialogue about the role of cooperatives in creating a socially just, economically viable, and environmentally sound food system. This event will draw upon perspectives from Colectiva Comunidad Sana (the healthy community collective, CoCoSa) members – a cooking cooperative, a farm workers cooperative, and a landscaping cooperative, as well as an active member of the Community Food Co-op.
Farm Workers Rights: History of the Skagit Farm Workers March
10:30am-12pm VU 464
Join the organizers of the annual Skagit Valley Farm Workers March to learn about the deep history our area has in speaking out for farm workers rights. This march has been going on annually for over 20 years. Learn about the concerns farm workers have in our area and the ways they have been organizing to have their voices heard.
Buy Local vs. Global
10:30am-12pm VU 565
This presentation will bring together environmental economist Hart Hodges and author Christopher Cook to look at the true costs and benefits of buying local. They will address the controversial battle between a continually globalized world of international trade and the grass roots movement to bring production of food back home. At the heart of this presentation will be a critical look at the environmental impacts of our consumption habits.
Just Food Nation: A New Deal for Food and Agriculture
1:30pm-3pm VU 565
This event will lay out the central challenges the United States faces in regards to our current food system; provide a brief panorama of how our food system impacts our society and the land, and then how to fundamentally change how our society deals with food. Christopher Cook will express his vision for a new food "infrastructure," and the role of federal and local policies in making that happen.
Christopher Cook is an author and award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Harper's, The Economist, Mother Jones, The Christian Science Monitor, and other national publications. He is the author of the acclaimed 2004 book, Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis (New Press).
Institutional Food
3pm-4pm VU 464
This event will be a panel discussion involving community leaders in institutional food service with representatives from Western Washington University, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham Technical College, and Growing Washington. The primary focus will be on challenges and opportunities for integrating locally produced food into institutional food service systems.
Aztec Dance
3pm-4pm VU565
Victor Rodriguez and members from Centro Tonalli will perform a traditional Aztec dance presentation. La danza Azteca has traditionally been used to honor the elements that gives humans life—water, wind, earth, fire by dancing, drumming, singing and honoring mother earth.
Aztec Dance Workshop
4pm-5pm VU 565
This workshop will explore the meaning of the Aztec danzas and their relationship with the natural world by exploring the ceremonies that are used to honor the food and those that plant, harvest, and prepare it.
Thoughts for Food: Diet for a Dead Planet Workshop
4pm-5pm VU 464
Author Christopher Cook will lead this student-community workshop and discussion on how to think about food politically. He'll help frame the issues as he sees them, and invite your questions and thoughts on how you frame the problems and solutions in our food system.
Good Food: A Film
5pm VU 552
Producers/Directors Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin will screen their film Good Food: Sustainable Food and Farming in the Pacific Northwest and then facilitate a question and answer session
Evening Presentation:
Wednesday, Mar. 11th, 5 PM
Science Lecture (“SMATE” Bldg.) 120
Lunchtime Presentation:
Friday, Mar. 13th, 12 PM
Science Lecture 130
The Winter Quarter '09 Campus Sustainability Planning Studio student research teams invite you listen to their findings on:
- Sustainable Landscaping Proposal for St. Joseph's Hospital (patient health & resource conservation)
- Margin Reduction Initiative for Western Washington University (paper use reduction & forest preservation)
The Fall Quarter '08 Campus Sustainability Planning Studio student researchers invite you listen to their findings on:
- A "Yellow Bike" Program @ WWU
- Sustainable Meat Purchasing for WWU Dining Halls
- The 2008 Campus Sustainability Report
Presentations will be given at the following times:
Monday, Dec. 1st, 12-1pm
Communications Facility (CF) 120
Monday, Dec. 8th, 5-6pm
Science Lecture (SL) 130
The Campus Sustainability Planning Studio is hands-on, problem-based learning where participants help WWU achieve sustainability in these areas and more:
- energy conservation
- waste reduction
- sustainable transportation
- local foods
- green purchasing
- sustainable building
- sustainability media
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
7:00pm, Science Lecture 110
Getting to Zero: WWU's Climate Footprint
Learn about WWU's first Climate Footprint Analysis and how you can help WWU reach
Climate Neutrality
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
12:00pm, Science Lecture 110
WWU Sustainability Roundtable
Representatives from Campus Operations, Academics, Student Life and Outreach will
share their perspectives on the future of campus sustainability at WWU and discuss
questions from the audience.
June 11 to June 23rd, 2008
Permaculture Design Course
June 11 to June 23rd in Bellingham, WA
9 am to 9 pm every day
Learn how to design sustainable human settlements with Permaculture, an
interdisciplinary science that combines biology and ecology with
architecture, landscape design, and organic agriculture. Students will
learn how to create permaculture designs that can be applied to
everything from backyards, to farms, to houses and cities. Featuring
experienced Permaculture instructors such as Marisha Auerbach, Kelda
Miller, Michael Pillarski, David Sansone, David Zhang, Bruce Horowitz,
and many others.
The cost for this course is $750 if paid in full by May 25th. Includes
delicious organic meals, beautiful places to camp, over 100 hours of
education, and a Permaculture Design certificate.
Spaces are filling up. Register soon!
For more information please visit
http://www.bellinghampermaculture.com/
June 7-8, 2008
Tools for Social Change Workshop
Transformational Tools for yourself, your community, and your world
Alan Seid will be leading a workshop of two full days on Tools for
Social Change: Integral Sustainability & Life Practice. The workshop
will interweave fundamentals of Permaculture, Non-Violent Communication,
and Financial Integrity – all within the context of Integral
Sustainability. Cost: $225, which includes 2 catered lunches. Early bird
special: $175 if registered by May 23rd (further discount available for
those who want to have lunch on their own).
May 20, 2008
2:00-2:50 p.m. in Science Lecture Hall 150
The United States is the only industrial society with no paid vacation law;
last year only 14% of Americans took a two-week block of time off, while
Europeans get 4-6 weeks of paid vacation. John de Graaf is leading a
campaign for more paid vacation time in the United States. He'll explain
why vacations matter for healthy families and businesses.
May 19, 2008
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. in Parks Hall 146
John de Graaf argues that the economy should be about quality of life,
fairness, and leaving enough for future generations. He uses international
indices to compare the success of the American economy with those of other industrial countries and demonstrates how poorly we match up and why.
April 23, 2008
How to Set up and Manage a Local Food Purchasing Program*
Western Washington University's Office of Sustainability and WWU
University Dining Services will host a presentation and webcast on
incorporating local foods into WWU's dining services. The event will
take place from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, in the
Solarium in Old Main, OM590. This event is aimed at those who are
exploring local food purchasing or looking to expand their local food
purchasing initiatives.
Buying, preparing, and eating locally grown food has positive effects on
students, the campus, the environment, and the surrounding community.
Local food purchasing is also an important part of creating a campus
with a sustainable future, and dining services can lead the way in
campus sustainability by introducing locally grown foods into their
services. Join us and learn what it takes to start a local food
purchasing program.
The event will include a student presentation on the obstacles to local
food purchasing at WWU (9:30am) and a 1.5 hour local food purchasing
webcast by Chef John Turenne (10:00am). Chef Turenne of Sustainable Food
Systems is recognized for his innovative leadership approach in an
extensive senior management culinary career. The event will end with a
panel discussion with dining services staff and student local foods
advocates (11:30am).
April 22, 2008
WWU to Host Forum on the Principles of Sustainable Investing
Western Washington University's Division of Business &
Financial Affairs will host an educational forum on "The Principles of
Sustainable Investing" from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, in the
Viking Union Multipurpose Room.
The purpose of this forum is to discuss one of the many aspects of
sustainability - the principles of sustainable investing. Members of the
firms Smith Barney and ClearBridge Advisors, consultants and fund
manager to the University, will present.
The forum will begin with welcoming remarks by WWU President Karen W.
Morse. David Nelson, professor of Economics, will moderate the forum.
Mary Jane McQuillen, ClearBridge Advisors, will discuss "Sustainability
and Investment Decision Making" and Doug Berger, Smith Barney, will
discuss "The Regulatory Backdrop and Fiduciary Responsibility for
Investing."
Seven panelists, including a diverse group of professionals from Western
and the Bellingham community, will prepare questions for the presenters.
Members of the audience will also be invited to submit questions.
For more information on the forum, please contact Chris Vallejo at (360)
650-2233 or Chris.Vallejo@wwu.edu <mailto:Chris.Vallejo@wwu.edu>.
April 11, 2008 3:00 PM
Communication Facility (CF) 110
The WWU Huxley Speaker Series Presents: Dr. Jeremy Littell
The Interface of Climate Science, Management, and Policy in the Pacific Northwest
The Huxley College Studies Speaker Series at Western Washington University presents Dr. Jeremy Littell, scientist at the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington and Huxley College alumnus. Dr. Littell will be speaking on "The Interface of Climate Science, Management, and Policy in the Pacific Northwest." Dr. Littell's presentation will explore climate change impacts on the Pacific Northwest's natural resources that are already evident, and projections of future impacts. Dr. Littell will also discuss several ongoing parallel efforts by local, state, and federal agencies to develop adaptation strategies for various sectors. He will describe the Climate Impacts Group, its projections of future regional climate and its impacts on natural resources as well as current efforts to assess impacts and adaptation strategies underway in the state of Washington.
Mar 26, 2008
Sustainbility Seminar
There is a sustainability seminar on march 26th at 2pm in CF 120 - one of the world class experts in sustainability , Leed certification and
green cleaning products will be here and you will have an unequaled
opportunity to listen and question him.
Mar 12, 2008
SRE Presents Myths of BiofuelsThe Education and Speaker Series Committee for Students for Renewable Energy will be hosting the
film: Myths of Biofuels, a presentation by David Fridely, a staff
scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The film will
discuss the following topics:
* What is a biofuel?
* The sustainability of large-scale biofuel production
* Biofuels roles in the health of the environment and
CO2 emission reduction
* Biofuels and "energy independence"
* Biofuels and farmer relations
* "Second-generation" biofuels" (cellulosic ethanol etc.)
* Biofuels and the ordinary person's life
The event is *Free* and open to the public. It will be held in Western
Washington University's Communications Facility 110 (CF110) tomorrow,
March 12th 2008, at 6:00pm. After the film, we would like to open up
discussion to the issues addressed in the film. Invite your friends to
come along! To learn more about the film, visit:
http://www.sfbayoil.org/sfoa/myths/. To learn more about Students for
Renewable Energy and our other activities and events, please visit:
http://westernsre.org <http://westernsre.org/>.
Mar 12,13,16 2008
Climate Change...Help Wanted, an intimate evening of theatre (without a play) about global warming. This theatre event (without a play) is directed
and hosted by Adam Ward, of Democracy Improv.
There are 3 performance dates in Bellingham of Climate Change...Help Wanted:
Wed. March 12, 7:30 p.m. --Arntzen Hall 100, at Western Washington
University. Admission by donation (night of show).
Thurs. March 13, 7:30 p.m. --The Firehouse Performing Arts Center, 1314
Harris Ave, in Historic Fairhaven. A limited number of advance ticket
for this venue are on sale at Village Books, 1200 11th Street /
360.671.2626 ($15 per ticket). All other tickets are by donation (night
of show).
Sun. March 16, 7:30 p.m.--Arntzen Hall 100, at Western Washington
University. Admission by donation (night of show).
March 7-9
Edible Forest Garden Workshop
Attend a free, weekend-long workshop in urban permaculture. Taught by
Michael Kelly and Pat Rasmussen of Terra Commons and sponsored by
Sustainable Bellingham.
March's calendar is full of exciting garden events, don't miss a single one!
March 1: 3:00-5:00
Practically Mandatory Gardening Workshop, Part I: A presentation on
basic gardening techniques by permaculturist and Outback alumnus Tyrone
LaFay.
March 5: 2-4: Garden Plot Registration Extravaganza!
March 6: 3-5:00: The Extravaganza Continues
March 7: 2:00-5:00 More Extravaganza
March 8: 3:00-5:00
Practically Mandatory Gardening Workshop, Part II: Bradley Pavlik, a
Huxley graduate and devoted Outbacker, will present on weeds, plants,
and perennial polycultures.
March 11: 11:30---it's too dark to see: Potluck Work Party! Come on out
and work in your garden plot or help with a community project. Bring a
yummy dish and work for as long or as little as you wish!
March 16: 3:00-5:00
Practically Mandatory Gardening Workshop, Part III: Cori Garcia Hansen
will present on cultivation techniques for successful organic gardening.
Continuing events and happenings:
Every Monday, 10-3:00: Vendor's Row Information Table
Also Mondays, 5:00, Fairhaven room 320: Outback Meetings
Every Tuesday, 3-5: Supported Gardening
Every Wednesday, 2-4: Supported Gardening
Also Wednesdays, 10-3:00: Vendor's Row Information Table
Every Thursday, 11:00-2:00: Market Garden Time--come on out and help
with the market garden!
Every Friday, 12:30-4:00: Market Garden Time
**All events take place in the Outback unless otherwise noted***
"What is 'Supported Gardening'?" you may be asking. Supported gardening
is a time when the Outback Coordinator or other knowledgeable people
will be out there working and available to answer questions and chit chat.
Take advantage of all of these opportunities to get involved with the
Outback!!!