EarthLab News
Now Hiring: Grants and Financial Manager
Are you passionate about environmental issues? Are you looking for a career that utilizes your grants/financial/budgets experience in service of a world where people and our planet thrive? Are you committed to centering equity and justice in your work? Apply today to be EarthLab’s next Grants and Financial Manager!
Who we are
EarthLab is a visionary institute that pushes boundaries to address our most pressing environmental challenges, with a focus on climate justice and action.
An Olympic orientation: UW Climate Impacts Group and Washington Sea Grant pilot a learning institute for emerging environmental professionals
Many job orientations start in a lobby or a conference room. This one began at the scars left by a dam and wound its way to the mouth of a great river.
Sixteen emerging environmental professionals – of different backgrounds, but together undertaking a new chapter in their careers – gathered for lunch on the pebbly shore, waves lapping near where the Elwha empties itself into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, on the Olympic Peninsula. Their tour of the river was being led by Vanessa Castle of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Throughout the day, Castle had spoken to the group about the history of the Elwha.
Read more
Applying for the Research Fellowship Program
The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) Research Fellowship Program supports research related to climate adaptation for Northwest natural and cultural resource management and provides training in the principles and practices of developing decision-relevant science. The NW CASC invites applications for its 2026-2027 Research Fellowship Program from graduate students at University of Washington (UW), Boise State University (BSU), Oregon State University (OSU), Portland State University (PSU) University of Montana (UM), Washington State University (WSU) and Western Washington University (WWU) and from postdoctoral scholars at BSU, OSU, PSU, UM, WSU and WWU (this fellowship cannot provide funding for postdocs at UW).
Read more
Apply now for the 2026 EarthLab Summer Internship Program!
EarthLab summer internships offer a robust, cohort-based experience for University of Washington undergraduate students. Undergraduate students currently enrolled as of Spring Quarter 2026 in a degree-granting program at any UW campus (Bothell, Seattle, or Tacoma) from a variety of disciplines are encouraged to apply. These paid 9-week internships will engage students in interdisciplinary and community-engaged research projects and will cover a variety of subjects. Interns will be provided professional development training and mentorship throughout.
Read more
Food Waste to Fuel: The Biodigester Project in South Park
Can food waste become a catalyst for climate justice, clean energy and community resilience? A 2024–25 EarthLab Innovation Grant supported a collaboration between the Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA)—a community organization that supports equitable economic growth without harmful impacts to the environment, the Just Circular Communities Collaborative (JC3), and a University of Washington (UW) research team to explore that question. As a next phase that grows from a small, pilot anaerobic biodigester at Food Lifeline in collaboration with DVSA, they conducted a feasibility study on installing a large-scale anaerobic biodigester within the South Park neighborhood, a technology that turns food waste into biogas and liquid plant food.
Read more
An Anchor Through Shifting Tides: Annual Community Dinners Foster Connection, Collaboration for Nature and Health
What keeps a tradition alive? Is it the strength of an idea? The dedication of the people who uphold it? For the Nature and Health community dinner, it’s both. And more. Participants in the first Nature and Health Community Dinner talk around a large table at Ravenna BreweryFor a decade, the organization has hosted quarterly dinners to bring together transdisciplinary, intergenerational groups of people who care about the intersections of nature and health.
Read more
EarthLab Releases Second Annual Impact Report, Highlighting Community-Led Climate Solutions and Resilience
SEATTLE, WA – November 13, 2025
The University of Washington’s EarthLab released its second annual impact report today, documenting fiscal year 2025 achievements in community-centered environmental research and action. The report highlights how trust-based partnerships are driving climate solutions across Washington state.
“This past year has reminded me that everything we do begins with trust,” said Phil Levin, Interim Executive Director of EarthLab.
Q&A with EarthLab Grants Manager Becca Hart
On the profound ripple effect of administrative support across climate resilience research during difficult times
By Tess Wrobleski
Federal funding for climate research has been cut dramatically since the beginning of this year, and the federal landscape continues to be precarious. In the face of this uncertainty, Grants Manager Becca Hart and the entire EarthLab finance and administration team has stepped into a critical role in our shared services network — helping researchers rapidly pivot, find new resources, and keep vital environmental justice work alive.
EarthLab extends Strategic Plan through 2028
EarthLab has released an updated and extended strategic plan to guide the next three years of our work. This document reflects a shared commitment aligning our diverse partners — from Tribes and nonprofits to students and faculty — around a common vision for climate action. In times of uncertainty, this roadmap helps us make decisions that honor both our mission and the communities we serve, ensuring that our efforts create lasting, equitable impact.
Read more
Q&A with our summer interns: Studying Adaptation, Building Skills for a Career in Climate
Every summer, the Climate Impacts Group hosts several interns from the EarthLab Summer Internship Program who reliably provide fresh and valuable input on our projects while receiving career development support. This year, their five interns entered the program representing a breadth of disciplines — computer science, education, business marketing & sustainability, medical anthropology and biology. They worked with the Washington State Climate Office on a flood modeling analysis project and Inclusive Excellence evaluation; with the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center on science communications and invasive mussel research; and with CIG scientists on mutual aid research. We’re already looking forward to hosting next year’s cohort. Before we close this chapter, we would like to share a few of the interns’ experiences – read on for a Q & A with Gavin Graham, MJ Powers, and Vickey Ye.
Read more