WAHESC Digital Earth Day Seminars

Environmental Justice & Activism

1:05 PM Bellevue College- Engaging Residential Students in Climate Change Solutions  
With some students living away from home for the first time, potentially in a new city or country, it can be difficult for them to know how to engage in climate solutions. We will discuss the various techniques we have used to educate and have our residential students actively participate in climate action and sustainable living with their new community. We will reflect on the successes and hurdles of a waste donation program, Residence Assistant training, green cleaning, and garden work parties, and how we have worked with city and industry partners to further climate action with our students. 

​Amber Nicholson Bellevue College Sustainability Director 

Elissa Gordon Sustainability Program Manager

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1:17 PM University of Washington- Environmental Justice in Indigenous Communities
A discussion of the importance of building partnerships to address climate change and a brief history of environmental justice in PNW Indigenous communities. Examples of how lack of intersectionality can weaken climate change and environmental movements and how important Indigenous communities are in environmental activism. Resources to build and maintain helpful and meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities.

​Gabrielle Coeuille Waste Reduction & Diversion Assistant, UW Recycling. She is a Senior at the Jackson School of International Studies, focusing on environmental studies, international policy, and waste management. In the process of her education, she has had the privilege of partnering with several local and international indigenous communities to create environmental policy recommendations. She believes that climate change action must be inclusive and intentional to be truly change making. 

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1:29 PM Institutional Climate Action (ICA) 
A climate justice divestment coalition of Washington State higher education institutions organizing for a future free from carbon emissions. ICA is organizing in solidarity with other colleges to hold our state funded institutions of higher education accountable for their current and future climate-altering investments and impacts. At this presentation ICA will share our campaigns goals and discuss how other colleges can get involved with advocating for divestment at their institution.

​Peter Fink University of Washington Student.  
Undeclared undergraduate class of 2023, involved with Extinction Rebellion UW/Seattle, ICA, and 350 Seattle 
Christoph Strouse

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1:41 PM Seattle University- Environmental Racism and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Nuclear energy is considered to be a sustainable resource because of the low carbon emission output it creates but uranium deposits themselves are not finite and the United States does not have a clear and safe way of handling nuclear waste from the powerplants. The United States does not have a final disposition site for nuclear waste but instead is proposing consolidated interim storage (CIS) sites for the waste. Federally recognized tribal lands have exemptions from environmental laws and regulations creating them a target for the CIS sites for high level nuclear waste. Although CIS sites have been proposed off tribal lands, the proposal sites are located within low-income and minority communities. If these sites were chosen high level nuclear waste would still be taken through tribal lands and communities. This talk will focus on the environment and social pillars of sustainability and how environmental racism plays into the nuclear fuel cycle and what many groups (including my Nuclear Issues Study Group) are doing to create community involvement and change in the nuclear industry.

​Hanna-Marie Lucero is from the Pueblo of Isleta in New Mexico where she was raised. She is currently a senior at Seattle University pursuing an undergraduate degree in environmental studies with a focus on urban sustainability and a minor in biology. 

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1:53 PM Break

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Operations

2:00 PM Central Washington University- The Process of Implementing Nativescaping into City Code
This presentation explains the process of how to work within a small City Government to identify issues of managing resources, specifically that of water. It shows how Landscaping Codes can be changed to use those resources sustainably in a cost-effective way. The problem is that our landscapes, especially in a desert, require excess resources to maintain a green aesthetic. The proposed solution is nativscaping, which is the use of native plants and xeriscaping techniques when landscaping. This presentation offers insights into the process of changing city code, what the project entails, and lessons learned.

​Savannah Fields is a senior at Central Washington University with a double major in Public Policy and Environmental Science and a minor in Economics

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2:12 PM Cascadia College- Integrating sustainability and climate change education into the campus landscape.
Cascadia College’s campus has built integrated education opportunities for sustainability into Campus and programming, for outdoor areas, buildings, and class engagement. Connections focus on climate change and educational resource use on campus for training in sustainable education.

​Stephan Classen Assistant Director of Sustainable Practices

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2:24 PM Seattle Central College- Decisions Toward an Eco-District in Urban Seattle
Nearly all commercial buildings in the Pacific Northwest rely on fossil fuels for heating, especially our college and university buildings built before 2000. Note: about 90% of the electricity supplied by Seattle City Light is from low-carbon hydroelectric dams. Thus, heating is the most significant greenhouse gas emission source for Seattle Colleges. Nearly 48% of Seattle Colleges’ greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 resulted from heating our buildings (i.e. natural gas and steam heating). Seattle Central College sits in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, just east of the downtown corridor. The Broadway Edison building (457,017 sq. ft.) and the Broadway Performance Hall (29,400 sq. ft.) have an aging steam system. The College has been studying and contemplating how it could upgrade its heating system, reduce heating costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This talk will discuss the trade-offs and variables currently entangled in this complex problem/solution. 

​Dave Ernevad Director of Facilities Operations and Capital Projects, Seattle Central College
David oversees capital construction and the maintenance and operations of 1.2 million square feet of Seattle Central College's urban campus. With a long background in construction project management, a strong sense for building stewardship, and a passion for building high performing teams, David has successfully contributed to construction and operations projects in varying roles for 20 years.
David has several accreditation including Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute, Certified Educational Facilities Professional from APPA, and Contract Documents Technologist from Construction Specification Institute. He completed his graduate degree in Project Management and Operational Development, and earned a Certificate in Construction Management from the University of Washington.

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Campus Activities

2:36 PM Bellevue College- Virtually Possible: How VR Technology Creates Emotional Sustainability Connections.

The key to a call to action is creating an emotional response in an audience. At Bellevue College, the XR Lab and Office of Sustainability works together to promote both the reality of climate change and the successes of global policies through the lens of virtual reality. Learn how 360 documentaries are changing the conversation around climate change and sustainability, how they are incorporated both in and out of the classroom, and what kind of impact they are having on our students. 

​Brandae Grein Bellevue College Student & XR Lab Assistant

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2:48 PM Gonzaga University- Empowering Students to Power the Future

Gonzaga Sustainable Energy (GSE) is focusing on developing solutions to climate change by using clean energy resources strategically. Over the past three years Gonzaga has been experimenting with renewable energy solutions through data collection and modeling. As a result, the Gonzaga Office of Sustainability has been developed into a living laboratory by raising funds to support the first solar panels installed on campus in August 2018 and the first battery to be installed on campus in September 2020. 
The most recent step for GSE has been figuring out battery operation strategies for buildings. The battery, soon to be installed at the Office of Sustainability, will help validate strategies and create further models for the rest of campus. A combination of engineering, environmental science, business, and social studies is what it takes to understand the future of energy. Before building our campus with clean energy technology it is important to take a step back and understand what other universities have done. Gonzaga Sustainable Energy is focused on building a roadmap which incorporates innovative and present-day campus strategies to prioritize the best sites on campus and best energy efficient and clean energy technologies for installation and research. GSE is building a community for educational opportunities between students, staff, and faculty who find their purpose in developing solutions for the planet. 

​JJ Doria Gonzaga University, Electrical Engineering Major, Entrepreneurial Leadership Minor, GSE President

3:00 PM Seattle University- Where are the leftovers? 

Founders of Seattle University’s Food Recovery Program present the environmental and social impacts of food waste and how you can be a part of the change. Dae and Taylor explain why Project Drawdown labels food waste reduction as the third most important step into reducing overall emissions and creating a more equitable society. Food waste is a direct consequence of the changing climate and degrading environmental trends. The time has come for everyone to make changes in their consumption habits and incorporate sustainable food practices into their daily lives. We must unite as environmental advocates and reconsider our relationship with food. 

​Taylor McKenzie is a second-year double major in Environmental Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is the co-founder of Seattle University's chapter of the Food Recovery Program and the current Volunteer Coordinator for the club & Dae Durisko attended Seattle University focusing on Environmental Studies with a specialization in Ecological Systems. She is the co-founder of Seattle University's Food Recovery Program and the current Logistics Coordinator for the program.