Green Seattle Month
This month's sustainability theme is "Green Seattle." Read on to learn how SU maintains its lush urban landscaping; find out about events at SU in November; and explore how you can get involved with conservation and sustainable gardening organizations in the community.
How Seattle U Greens its Campus
- Seattle University has received the Tree Campus USA designation. SU's Grounds team guided this effort while students produced an inventory of significant trees on campus that can be used as an educational tool for faculty and students.
- Learn more about Seattle University's campus trees by checking out the Campus Tree Map and Biography
- Food with Spirit is a student-led club that maintains community gardens around campus! You can reserve your own plot or just stop by the Food For All plots and pick some produce when it's ripe! Learn more here and navigate your way around the many SU Food gardens using the edible map.
- Seattle University is a pesticide-free campus maintained by the fantastic Grounds crew! Learn more about their many sustainable practices here.
- Rain gardens capture and hold runoff in the specially engineered soil, slowly recharge the ground water, and protect storm drains from overflow during intense storm events. Seattle University has two! View a diagram of the Library Rain Garden which contributes to the building's LEED Gold certification for the Commons addition building.
- Since 1989 Seattle University has been designated a Wildlife Sanctuary by the WA State Fish and Wildlife Department. This can be seen in the numerous gardens around campus which create habitats for wildlife! Check here for more information.
- Seattle University Grounds department conducts an annual Audubon Society Great Backyard Bird Count sending results to the national website collector. View their guide to bird watching on campus and a campus bird checklist!
Events Sponsored by SU Groups
Green Seattle Day
When: 11/03/2018 Time: 9AM-12PM
Where: Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetland
-->Meeting location on campus: Lemieux Library at 8:00AM. We’ll be taking King County Metro bus 7 (S Jackson St & 12th Ave S at 8:23AM) to Rainier Beach (S Henderson St & Rainier Ave S)
-->Meeting location off campus: Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetland at 9:00AM
Description: On November 3, “Green Seattle Day,” hundreds of volunteers will plant thousands of native trees and shrubs in 15 parks throughout Seattle. This annual event is organized by the Green Seattle Partnership which is now the largest urban forest restoration project in the nation!
Join in the fun and have a hand in planting Seattle’s future forest! Seattle University’s Green Team and CEJS will help out at the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetland together with the Tilth Alliance. All community members are welcome, no experience is necessary. The event is family friendly and open to all ages. Tools, gloves, plants, coffee, snacks, and instruction are provided. Sign up and learn more HERE (space is limited!). Any questions? Contact Hanna Lucerno (SU Green Team) at luceroh@seattleu.edu.
LUNCH HOUR EVENT (pizza will be served): YOUTH CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVISM--JULIANA vs. UNITED STATES
Does the federal government’s response to Climate Change violate the Constitution?
A Q&A with Kiran Oommen (SU student and Juliana vs. U.S. plaintiff), Prof. Michael Mayer (School of Law), and Frances Zars (Editor in Chief-Seattle Journal of Environmental Law)
When: 11/13/2018 Time: 12:30PM-1:30PM
Where: School of Law, room #C6
Description: #youthvgov is the viral hashtag for the constitutional climate lawsuit being brought by 21 youth plaintiffs against our federal government. The young plaintiffs claim that the federal government’s actions and inaction in the face of climate change are a violation of fundamental constitutional rights. Young people will be dealing with severe climate change disasters during the prime of their lives, making the age of these plaintiffs a crucial part of their case. Join us for a Q&A with Kiran Oommen (SU student and Juliana v US plaintiff), Prof. Michael Mayer (School of Law), and Frances Zars (Editor in Chief-Seattle Journal of Environmental Law) to explore the constitutional issues at stake and how this youth-driven legal activism seeks to secure the right to a stable climate and healthy atmosphere. This event is co-sponsored by the Seattle Journal of Environmental Law, CEJS, and EVST. Any questions? Contact Yolanda Cieters at cietersy@seattleu.edu.
CAN EARTH’S BEAUTY SAVE THE WORLD: A Film Screening and Conversation with Filmmaker John de Graaf
When: 11/27/2018 Time: 7:00PM-9:00PM (Doors open at 6:15PM; Film screening at 7:00PM; Q&A/panel with Filmmaker at 8:00PM-8:45PM)
Where: ENGR 200 - Wyckoff Auditorium
Description: Join us for a screening of the film REDEFINING PROSPERITY: THE GOLD RUSHES OF NEVADA CITY, showing how the fight to save a beautiful river led a small town to sustainability. The film will be followed by a discussion with award-winning filmmaker John de Graaf and GRIST. This event is co-sponsored by GRIST and Seattle University's Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (CEJS). View poster for John De Graaf film event here. Learn more.
Get involved in the Community!
- Tilth Alliance: A nonprofit organic gardening and urban ecology organization with classes, learning gardens and farms, children's programs, and community outreach.
- Green Seattle Partnership: A collaboration between the City of Seattle, Forterra, community groups and non-profits, businesses, schools, and thousands of volunteers working together to restore and actively maintain the City’s forested parklands. Join in on one of their many events found here! SU will have a group going to their event Green Seattle Day on November 3rd.
- Beacon Hill Food Forest: A food forest is a gardening technique or land management system, which mimics a woodland ecosystem by planting edible trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. By building a community around sharing food with the public the organization hopes to be inclusive to all in need of food. Get involved taking a class or joining a work party here!
- Forterra: Forterra protects, enhances, and acts as a steward for our region’s most precious resources – its communities and its landscapes. Take a look at their map of impact here and learn more about how you can get involved!
- Volunteer at Volunteer Park (Capitol Hill): Every second Saturday a group gets together to ensure the park stays beautiful. It's just over a mile walk from SU and well worth it! Learn more here.
- Earth Corps builds a global community of leaders through local environmental service.
