Western Washington University
PAE-20: Inter-Campus Collaboration on Sustainability

“Sustainable Landscaping at Northwest Indian College” is a collaborative research project completed by Western and NIC; Western’s Sustainability Institute Initiative created a summary report titled, “Preparing Students for a Life of Sustainability” and presented their campus sustainability data at the national BALLE Conference in June 2011. The Office of Sustainability’s Coordinator gives periodic presentations and updates on Western’s sustainability efforts to coordinate research between Bellingham Technical College and Whatcom Community College, usually titled “Sustainability at Western;” in 2009 Western’s Campus Sustainability Planning Studio produced research focusing on methods to achieve greater sustainability collaboration between the students of Whatcom Community College and Western Washington University; the Office of Sustainability presented at the 2008 national AASHE Conference in Raleigh and at 2009 AASHE conference in Arizona.

Western is a member institution with the Northwest Higher Education Sustainability Consortium (NHESC), City of Bellingham Department of Planning and Community Development, Whatcom Council of Governments, Whatcom Transportation Authority, and AASHE.

• The Bellingham Waterfront Innovation Partnership Zone is a product of Western’s partnership with the Technology Alliance Group for Northwest Washington. The waterfront project includes collaboration between representatives from the Port of Bellingham, Western, and Bellingham Technical College to promote, educate, and advocate for sustainable technology-based businesses development. • The Northwest Higher Education Sustainability Consortium is a cooperative effort between Western, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham Technical College, and the Northwest Indian College that promotes sustainability on their campuses, in the communities they serve, in Whatcom County, and in the northwest region of Washington State. The Consortium has four over-arching goals: o Advance sustainability efforts through facilitating communications and disseminating knowledge and information from and to the various campus and their communities o Develop the understanding of sustainability among the wide spectrum of the Consortium’s college and university communities as well as other individuals and groups with similar values and goals o Promote partnerships for advancing sustainability among the wide spectrum of the Consortium communities as well as other individuals and groups with like values and goals o Increase capacity for the practice of sustainability on campuses and among the Northwest Consortium communities through building skills, transforming attitudes, and providing resources. o The Northwest Higher Education Consortium Climate Footprint Analysis Project is a collaborative partnership between Western, NWIC, BTC, and WCC to research and assess the greenhouse gas emissions of each of the three colleges. Students from the WWU Campus Sustainability Planning Studio will be paired with students from the member institutions to complete individual Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GGI), thereby measuring the “climate footprint” of each of the colleges. This assessment will assist in energy conservation and efficiency planning as well as meeting the requirements of the President’s Climate Commitment. Western is connected with and contributes toward a variety of national and global organizations invested in sustainability through ongoing research and project management in areas such as Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, alternative transportation innovations, eco-village design, sustainability curriculum design and experimental integrations, opportunities for education in environmental and economic stewardship through the Bellingham Sister Cities Association, and myriad internship and volunteer opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to participate with and contribute to the local and regional community. More Info: http://www.wwu.edu/sii/programs/

• Northwest Higher Education Sustainability Conference President Shepard has provided planning funds for Washington State’s first higher education sustainability conference, following a proposal to the presidents of the Northwest Higher Education Sustainability Consortium (NWHESC) which include: Bellingham Technical College, Northwest Indian College, Skagit Valley College, Whatcom Community College and Western. Conference planners include Consortium members plus sustainability officers from several of these institutions. Western will host the first conference, date yet to be determined.