Western Washington University
EN-3: Student Life

WWU hosts a number of sustainability-focused student groups including:
Bee Club: Bee club is dedicated to learning about pollinators and sustainability. They strive to improve the lives of everyone on the planet, as well as lessen their impact on the environment. They aim to nurture local bee population, participate in environmentally friendly activities, and be the best friends to Earth they can. Bee club helps prepare the Bellingham Seed Swap every year, tends to their own pollinator garden in the Outback Farm, keeps their own mason bees at the Outback Farm, and is involved with various community outreach projects. At their meetings, members learn about pollinators, plan their garden, and discus ways to be more sustainable as college students.
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Net Impact WWU: Net Impact is a global organization that encourages the integration of business and sustainability. Western has joined many other universities as an undergraduate chapter of Net Impact, dedicated to campus and community "greening" through innovative, sustainable actions. The club offers its members opportunities to make an impact both locally and nationally, network with community members and business owners, and expand their skill set through relevant experiences
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Queer Eco Justice Club: Queer Eco Justice Club (QEJC) is a queer liberation and climate justice focused social group that meets regularly to discuss ways to bring queerness into conversations of climate justice and vice versa. QEJC provides a safe space for everyone to feel like they can be their authentic selves without question. The club is a node of the greater Queer Ecojustice Project created by Desi Fontenot, Vanessa Raditz, and Roya Banan, and carries their vision of an “intersectional movement platform to catalyze culture, consciousness, and community around the queer and eco justice movements to build coalition across difference.”
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Students for Climate Action: The goal of this organization is to provide students with the opportunity to advocate for various initiatives that aid the fight against climate change and climate injustice. Standing in solidarity with youth across the globe, Students for Climate Action organizes Climate Strikes, marches, and rallies to stand up for a sustainable and equitable future. They also hope to educate students about climate change and its solutions through community building and conversation.
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Students for Renewable Energy: SRE is WWU's oldest environmental club. In the past they have helped Western invest in a wind farm, toured wind farms, supported ballot initiatives, incorporated sustainable investing strategies into WWU Foundation's Endowment Fund management, and more. They also show documentaries, host conversations about climate justice, and support community organizing where needed. SRE takes action to move beyond fossil fuels in a just transition toward sustainable energy systems by engaging the community through education and advocacy for climate justice.
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WWU Students for Zero Waste: Students for Zero Waste aims to help students and community members live lower-waste lifestyles, and support systemic waste reduction. They host events like clothing swaps and bulk refill stations on campus, engage in waste reduction education, and host conversations around waste issues.
From https://www.instagram.com/wwuzerowaste/

WWU LEAD: Learning, Environment, Action and Discovery, LEAD seeks to provide service-learning opportunities in order to educate about the importance of preserving and restoring Whatcom County’s native biodiversity through the coordination of hands-on volunteer efforts.
https://www.wwu.edu/lead/

Western provides the following opportunities: The Outback Farm, Viking Supported Agriculture, farming-focused internships as part of Climate Leadership Certificate Program, and York Farm.

Western’ Outback Farm is an organic gardening and sustainable living program that receives support from Fairhaven College, the Associated Students, and the student body. The Outback Farm is a five acre student-directed site at the south end of Fairhaven College that teaches, develops, and implements sustainable growing and land use methods. The farm has a part-time permanent farm manager.

http://as.wwu.edu/outback/

Viking Supported Agriculture (VSA) is Western's Community Supported Agriculture program, bringing local produce and producers to students, staff, and faculty. By signing up, participants receive a box of local, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables every other week to every week (depending on the season) in High Street Hall. We currently partner with Viva Farms (summer season) and Boldly Grown Farm (winter season). In the 2021-2022 academic year, there were 33 subscribers.

https://sustain.wwu.edu/vsa

In the 2022-2023 academic year, three students within Western's Climate Leadership Certificate program completed their practicum experiences (240 hours of work per person) at local farms/gardens, where they learned about food production, food justice, and food education. https://sustain.wwu.edu/clc

In 2023, the Center for Community Learning took over leadership of York Community Farm, a community-member initiated farm space in the Bellingham community. Student interns have worked at the farm previous to this leadership transition.

https://www.facebook.com/yorkcommunityfarm/

INVESTMENT ADVISORY BOARD

Directing Our Department With Experience

The College of Business and Economics (CBE) Investment Management and Scholarship Endowment Fund was established to:

Establish ongoing mentoring relationships between the investment management and finance community and students who prepare quarterly presentations for the Board
Provide a real life investment learning experience for students
Serve as a source of funding for annual scholarships to students in CBE
The Investment Management and Scholarship Fund Advisory Board serve as mentors for students who analyze the portfolio on a quarterly basis and review current and future investments for the fund.

Course associated with sustainable investment and finance:
FIN 455 Equity Analysis

Students Renewable Energy Club have also been engaged in education.

https://cbe.wwu.edu/fmkt/investment-advisory-board

WWU hosts many speaker events focused on sustainability every quarter. Some highlights from the last 3 years include:

The WWU College of the Environment's Environmental Speaker Series brings guest lecturers to the WWU campus every quarter to address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and beyond, and is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. For 2022-2023, some speaker topics have included: Sustainability in the cross-border context, How Youth Activism Upended the U.S. Politics of Climate Change, and Environmental Storytelling. The lectures are free and open to the public, in-person and livestreamed, and students can attend lectures for credit as part of a class.

The Environmental Justice Committee and Students for Renewable Energy hosted "Environmental Justice at Home", a virtual speaker panel and workshop with representatives from NAACP, Lummi Nation, and Community to Community, on February 20th, 2021. https://www.instagram.com/p/CLS564RJ-GW/

The College of the Environment hosted Jarre Hamilton, research director from the organization Intersectional Environmentalist (IE), for the seminar "The Power of Storytelling and Nature", and the Black Student Coalition luncheon, talk, and Q&A "Radically Imagining Past Legacies and Futures". The first event explored how knowing, recording, and sharing your own personal story can help you in your individual journey through college and beyond. The talk also delved into the work that Intersectional Environmentalist does as an environmental justice education organization and intersectionality as a theory deeply rooted in the works of Kimberlé Crenshaw and the Combahee River Collective. From . In the second event, Jarre highlighted several pivotal moments where joy and radically imagining a better future for our community created effective change. The event created space to begin to answer the question: how does our collective history affect how we view our legacy and radically imagine our future? From

ReMade is a project that challenges students in Western's Industrial Design Program to repurpose discarded materials into new products for the home. The goal is to transform items of industrial waste into viable commercial products that are then sold; each participant must first come up with a design prototype followed by a small production run, which are then featured at Ideal (a local shop). This year's theme, Tools for Living, showcases 12 unique products which amplify human capabilities and address daily needs.

This year’s collection included items such as, tote bags made from used sailcloth; maple lids and jars; paragliding stuff sacks, and PVC wood vases. The course is taught by Dr. Arunas Oslapas.

https://news.wwu.edu/industrial-designs-remade-student-project-returns-with-a-march-10-opening-at-ideal

This year, the Associated Students Environmental Justice Coordinator planned and hosted a Valentine's Day art market called, "Love the Earth Art Market" that brought in 30 local and/or student artists to sell their work on campus. 10% of all proceeds were donated to support the Lummi Island Heritage Trust (mission: To create a legacy of abundant open space, native habitat, and natural resources on Lummi Island by inspiring people to protect and care for the island's farms, forests, wetlands and shorelines forever.).

https://win.wwu.edu/event/8805700

WWU has an extensive outdoor program headquartered at the Outdoor Center (OC). The OC offers many trips, services, and opportunities for students to get involved in outdoor experiential learning and practice strategies for effective “Leave No Trace” ethics. The Center’s events include skiing, ice climbing, kayaking trips, and classes on bike and equipment repair. Other services include rentals, safety presentations, and free maps.

Western Outdoor Orientation Trips (WOOT): WOOT provides a unique opportunity for incoming Western students to spend a week backpacking and exploring the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest with a group of fellow students prior to the beginning of their first quarter here at WWU. Harnessing the transformative power of the outdoors, WOOT offers an enhanced orientation experience in which students forge friendships, learn backcountry skills, gain mentors, and make incredible memories. WOOT leads to stronger and more meaningful connections that can contribute to an impactful and fulfilling Western Experience, boosting student’s academic success.

http://as.wwu.edu/outdoor/woot/

For the 2022-2023 academic year, WWU Housing Sustainability gave each quarter a theme to organize events and education efforts. Fall Quarter is Food Waste, to help students new to Western get used to waste sorting methods on campus. Winter Quarter is Energy Use, as winter is the most energy intensive time of year. Housing Sustainability is running the Go for the Green dorm energy saving competition as part of this programming. Spring Quarter 2023 is Water Resources, to help students learn to conserve water before the driest months of the year.
https://housing.wwu.edu/life-on-campus/housing-sustainability

WWU Housing Sustainability provides students living on-campus with sustainable life skills. At Fall 2022 move in, students received free compost buckets, liners, and instructions, and other sustainability education materials from Housing Sustainability. The Go for the Green competition is supported by educational materials on energy saving behaviors available to students. https://housing.wwu.edu/go-green

The Sustainability Engagement Institute (SEI), Associated Students Environmental and Sustainability Programs (ESP) and Executive Board, the Associated Students Recycle Center, WWU Housing Sustainability, and Transportation Services all hire students for sustainability work each year.

Student positions in the SEI:

Staff Ambassador
Student Ambassador
Sustainable Communities Partnership Graduate Coordinator
Data Ambassador
SEJF Student Ambassador (1-2)
Web Developer/Communications Assistant
Climate Leadership Certificate Program Sustainability Mentor
Student Positions in the AS:

ESP Environmental Justice Coordinator
ESP Earth Week Event Coordinator
AS Vice President for Sustainability
Student Positions in the Recycle Center:

Zero Waste Coordinator (2)
Laborer (15-20)
Student Positions in Housing Sustainability:

Sustainable Housing Facilities Assistant (3-4)
Student Positions in Transportation Services:

Active Transportation Coordinator


The Sustainability Engagement Institute has also organized and funded paid climate and sustainability summer practicums to around 12 students per year, through the Climate Leadership Certificate program. The first cohort's practicums occurred over summer 2021, the second over summer 2022, and the third cohort's practicums are set to occur over summer 2023.