Some years ago, several students were frustrated that the only way to recycle paper in the residence halls was to take it to the outside dumpsters - which could be as far as 11 floors down. They created SEED during the 2002-2003 school year in an effort to get recycling toters on every floor of the residence halls. In January 2006, the group achieved its goal. The members were now faced with an important decision: declare "misson accomplished" and disband the group, or continue to capitalize on the momentum they had worked so hard to create?

Needless to say, those SEEDlings chose the latter course, continuing to undertake new tasks. While some of our activities are one-time events, one of SEED's greatest hallmarks is a willingness to take on large, long-term projects. Our privileged position as a part of Housing and Food Services (HFS) grants us a unique level of influence and opportunity to collaborate, increasing the likelihood that such projects will be successful. Though these projects are more difficult and risky, the scale and permanence of the change they effect is well worth it. Our club name has proven very appropriate: just as a small and humble seed may grow into a large and productive plant, a group that started with a few students and a simple goal has become a large club working on many different fronts. We currently divide our efforts into three main categories, each of which has two elected project leaders: Composting, Outdoors, and Reduce-Reu e-Recycle.

To learn more about the inner workings of SEED, take a look at our official constitution.

After SEED's success in initiating a recycling program, the club chose to take waste management to a new level by pressing for a similar program with compost. Since early 2007, we have supported HFS as the department installed "front-of-house" compost bins in the dining facilities so that diners could send food scraps, napkins, and compostable tableware to Cedar Grove. For instance, SEED members periodically station themselves around the waste stations in the 8 and 1101, HFS's main resident dining facilities. We explain to new residents what to put in the garbage, compost, and recycling bins. This year, we even did the same in Red Square and the Quad for events during Dawg Daze, the campus-wide kickoff week for new students. With SEED's help, HFS is on the cutting edge of the comopstable movement, not only making the UW more sustainable but forging a path for other institutions and businesses to follow. Largely due to urging from the UW, International Paper recently developed the first-ever commercial compostable soft-drink cup, which the UW has the honor to pioneer. SEED was invited to staff the cup's public launch last winter, an event attended by President Mark Emmert, local news reporters, and many others. This autumn, the UW is again distinguishing itself as a leader by pioneering the use of International Paper's even newer compostable soft-drink lid. SEED members were interviewed for the press release surrounding the event and helped assemble signs promoting the new lid.

SEED also independently initiated a pilot program in April 2007 where we put compost toters on four floors of Lander to demonstrate to HFS the feasibility of having a compost system on every floor of the residence halls. The pilot program was unsuccessful that year, but we persevered in the fall with a pilot in Terry. Throughout the 2007-2008 school year, several dedicated SEED members worked tirelessly. They weighed the toters, emptied them, sorted through the compost for contaminants, gathered feedback from residents, and coped with equipment that grew legs and walked away. Finally, their efforts paid off: HFS agreed to take responsibility for the compost bins and has gradually expanded the program to include a compost bin on every floor of Lander, Terry, and Haggett, and one by the trash dumpsters in Stevens Court. From organizing inter-floor compost competitions in the halls to speaking at mandatory Stevens Court community meetings, SEED continues to make the pilot program one of our main focuses.

Running our P-Patch garden is the primary job of the "outdoors" project leaders. A P-Patch is an urban, community garden that is often divided into individual plots. Any student in the residence halls can apply for one of our ten plots next to Fluke Hall. Plans are in the works to expand the garden this year, adding more plots and perhaps fruit trees. Learn more at the Student P-Patch Garden site. An unrelated project that the outdoors team also oversees is organizing occasional trash cleanups in front of the residence halls.

One of our recurring projects is to promote the light bulb exchange program offered by HFS and Seattle Public Utilities. Residents can bring any incandescent light bulb from a personal lamp to the front desk of a residence hall and exchange it for an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) for free. During "CFL swaps," SEED members take boxes of CFLs and walk up and down the halls telling residents about the program.

We also encourage energy efficiency through our switchplate card project. Often, the lights in public areas of the residence halls, such as lounges, are left on for hours while nobody is around. Last year, we designed cards to put by the switchplates as a reminder to turn off the lights and, as the cards say, "do it in the dark." We plan to distribute the cards this autumn.

In the past, SEED members have also pressed for the use of more reusable items in the dining facilities, and some of our suggestions have been implemented. At the request of HFS staff, we are considering a project to investigate which restaurants along the "Ave" still use Styrofoam and create pressure to switch to more sustainable alternatives.

In addition to our long-term projects, SEED also organizes or participates in many other events, including:

• Representing the student voice on several adminstrative boards, including the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee (ESAC), which developed the UW's Climate Action Plan signed by President Emmert this fall
• Planning field trips to interesting and relevant nearby locations
• Helping with the campus-wide "CFL Swap" led by former SEED director Chris Bruno, in which all incandescent lightbulbs on campus are being replaced with compact fluorescents
• Participating in the student-organized Earth Day celebration on campus
• Hosting a "Sustainability 101" event during Dawg Daze
• Promoting the "One Thing" competition between the residence halls at UW and WSU
• Beautifying Ravenna Park through EarthCorps