EASTERN NEWSROOM

Gov. Jay Inslee Visits EWU

Gov. Jay Inslee visited Eastern Washington University on Thursday, May 12 to learn more about the university’s work to support sustainability and counter climate change.

August 17, 2022

Gov. Jay Inslee visited Eastern Washington University on Thursday to learn more about the university’s work to support sustainability and counter climate change.

The governor kicked off the day with a stop at the new Eagle Station transit center, which was funded thanks to a state transportation grant, before connecting with David May, EWU interim president, Cheney City Administrator Mark Schuller, and Auriana Mitchell, EWU student trustee, for a tour.

After checking out the new Interdisciplinary Science Center and the nearby Science Building, which is undergoing a state-funded renovation, the group proceeded to the water tower, where the governor was greeted by biology faculty members Becky Brown, Justin Bastow, and Robin O’Quinn.

Gov. Jay Inslee met Kristy Snyder, a biology grad student working on the Prairie Restoration Project.
Gov. Jay Inslee visited Eastern Washington University on Thursday to learn more about the university’s work to support sustainability and counter climate change.

The biologists gave an overview of the Prairie Restoration Project, which will transform a 120-acre parcel of Palouse prairie from farmland back to its natural habitat (check out The Spokesman-Review coverage of the visit). Inslee asked questions about the carbon-sequestering benefits of the prairie once it’s restored. Erin Ross, director of tribal relations for EWU, provided the tribal land acknowledgment.

 

Biology professors Becky Brown, Justin Bastow and Robin O’Quinn gave Gov. Jay Inslee and overview of the Prairie Restoration Project.
“It was really refreshing to see the governor’s genuine interest in our prairie restoration project, and his concern for topics like climate change.” - Catherine Schwartzmann, Student Researcher

At the nearby greenhouse, the governor met with student researchers and learned about their work to identify, cultivate and germinate native plants for prairie restoration. Catherine Schwartzmann, a senior from Chandler, Arizona, talked about the greenhouse’s role in producing starts for the university’s community garden. Her efforts to help boost food security for other Eastern students as an AmeriCorps volunteer turned out to be a connecting point with the governor, who recalled that the first vote he cast in congress was in favor of establishing AmeriCorps.

Learn more about what our students are learning about through the Prairie Restoration Project.

Here are some of Eastern’s projects and activities to support sustainability:

  • EWU offers seven academic pathways for students to learn about environmental sustainability.
  • EWU’s Cheney campus has six buildings built to LEED standards.
  • EWU’s investment portfolio is fully divested from fossil fuel holdings.
  • EWU has contracts with industry partners to install building sub meters, conduct energy audits, and develop plans for an electric vehicle infrastructure in order to achieve carbon neutrality.
  • EWU is developing a Landscape Climate Resiliency Masterplan to help reduce water usage, replace fossil fuel powered maintenance equipment, boost biodiversity, and sequester carbon.
  • The Prairie Restoration Project is fostering research and educational opportunities, while restoring native habitat, increasing biodiversity and sequestering carbon.
  • EWU operates a full recycling center and manages the collection of materials on campus through a dual stream process.
Gov. Jay Inslee inside the EWU greenhouse viewing the native plant starts that will be transferred into the pilot site.