College of the Environment|EarthLab

Sea Change Within Us: Presented by Karin Stevens Dance

Thursday, May 28, 2026, 4 – 5:30 p.m.

Sea Change Within Us, a recreated 2019 project by Karin Stevens Dance, is a sixty-minute performance that addresses local Washington state water issues and the consequences of climate change, using the voices of real people we interviewed, combined with moving rigid structures of water images by dancing human bodies.

Eight dancers move four large panels into dynamic configurations to explore themes such as rivers and dams, endangered wild Pacific salmon and Southern Resident Orca, melting ice, sea-level rise, flooding, migration, injustices to Indigenous fishing rights, divisive politics, and the complexities of human dis/re/connection. Amid these turbulent thematic layers, grief is embodied in the “Rivers, Dams, Salmon, Orca” section through the actual cries of mother orca Tahlequah. A call to collective awareness emerges in the section “Descending Pressure,” echoing the repeated phrase of a climate activist-artist: “Our bodies are a source of wisdom.”

Learn more about the program here: www.karinstevensdance.com…

This event is currently open to UW students, faculty and staff. Space is limited and registration is required.

Event interval: Single day event
Campus location: Gould Hall (GLD)
Accessibility Contact: EarthLab | earthlab@uw.edu
Event Types: Performances
Event sponsors: Washington Sea Grant, EarthLab, Karin Stevens Dance, Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The performance space was donated by the College of Built Environments
More info: forms.gle…

College of the Environment Community-Engaged Research Symposium

Husky Union Building (HUB 145)
Friday, May 29, 2026, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Join UW colleagues in a showcase of community-engaged research featuring applied knowledge partnerships in various contexts. Lightning talks will show the breadth and depth of this research across the College of the Environment. Participatory break-out sessions will foster new collaborations and dialogue on best practices.

Save the date! Lunch will be provided.

Event interval: Single day event
Accessibility Contact: seagrant@uw.edu
Event Types: Lectures/Seminars
Event sponsors: Washington Sea Grant, EarthLab, Climate Impacts Group

MAXIMIZING SNOW STORAGE THROUGH FIRE-RESILIENT FOREST TREATMENTS: An example of climate adaptive management from the Eastern Cascades, WA, USA

Online (Zoom)
Tuesday, Jun 2, 2026, 12 – 1 p.m.

In degraded landscapes, supporting climate adaptation for aquatic species and their habitats will require deploying diverse management actions in order to reduce the amplification effects of climate change. In the upper watersheds of the Eastern Cascade Mountains, wildfire suppression has increased forest density, drought susceptibility, and high severity burns. The area’s rivers are also drought vulnerable, with 75% of surface flow dependent upon snowpack. We asked whether forest thinning techniques designed to support wildfire resilience also confer hydrologic resilience through forest-snow processes, and implemented a gradient of forest thinning treatments across which we tracked snowpack response. In thinning treatments, we observed a 30% increase in snowpack storage on north-facing slopes, and a 16% increase in snowpack storage on south-facing slopes, thus indicating that wildfire treatments also support hydrologic processes.

Part of the Climate Impacts Group "Our Climate Future" webinar series.

Featuring speakers:
Emily Howe, The Nature Conservancy Washington
Susan Dickerson-Lange, Climate Impacts Group

Please register using the link below.

Event interval: Single day event
Accessibility Contact: cig@uw.edu
Event Types: Lectures/Seminars
More info: washington.zoom.us…

Nature and Health Community Dinner with Dr. Sabine Thomas

Tuesday, Jun 2, 2026, 6 – 8 p.m.

Nature and Health Community Dinners welcome anyone with a curiosity about expanding access to green space to support health and well-being, environmental and health equity, people-nature reciprocity, and climate change resilience. Students, professionals, and community members from many different disciplines come together to explore new ideas, discuss policies and programs, and strengthen partnerships in the field of nature and health.

Our June 2 dinner features a speed talk from Dr. Sabine Thomas. Sabine is a naturopathic doctor and is co-owner of JSOL STUDIOS LLC, a family-wellness centered and nature-embodied organization dedicated to nurturing thriving ecosystems within families and organizations.

Nature and Health Community Dinners include:

A plant-based dinner
Drinks
Networking
Short talks from a wide variety of professionals, including researchers, community leaders, policy-makers, program managers, etc.

Register by May 27

Event interval: Single day event
Accessibility Contact: natureandhealth@uw.edu
Event Types: Diversity Equity Inclusion, Lectures/Seminars, Special Events
Event sponsors: REI Cooperative Action Fund
More info: events.uw.edu…