Western staffers attend WAHESC sustainability conference in Spokane

Thirteen Western employees recently attended the Washington Higher Education Conference (WAHESC) at Gonzaga University in Spokane, a two-day, regionally focused event for representatives who teach, work in or study sustainability within higher education to present on academics, practices, operations and research.

“It was a lot of fun,” Madeleine Jones, ResRAP Assistant for the Office of Sustainability, said. “There was a lot of networking, and the presentations were really interesting to watch and learn from.”

Out of the 13 Western employees who attended, 11 represented the Office of Sustainability, one represented the AS Outback Farm and one represented LEAD. Nine WWU employees presented on the following topics:

• Seth Vidana, Effecting Sustainability Beyond Universities: Resilient Communities
• Jillian Trinkaus, Advancing Sustainable Transportation Practices on Campus to Support Climate Change
• Carol Berry, Sustainability Movements on Campus: Sweater Days
• Susanna Hamilton, Turning Planning into Action for Radical Success, from Campus-wide Plans to Small Projects
• Keiko Betcher, Student Leadership in Achieving Sustainability Success
• Kellen Erb, Peer to Peer Sustainability Education in Your Community
• Gwen Larned, Creating a Culture of Reuse and Waste Reduction
• Madeleine Jones, Changing Food Systems to Reduce Environmental Impact
• Wendelin Dunlap, How Your School Can Create Ongoing Environmental Sustainability Projects: LEADing the way and The Theodores

Each presentation was accompanied by fellow presenters from other organizations, schools, colleges or universities including The Evergreen State College, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, Cheney Middle School, Olympic College, Wenatchee Valley College and more.

For more information on presenters and programs visit http://wahescconference.org/program/.