EarthLab News
University of Washington’s EarthLab Announces Two New Grant Programs to Advance Climate and Environmental Justice Research
EarthLab, an institute at the University of Washington College of the Environment, just announced the launch of two new grant programs designed to accelerate community-engaged climate change and environmental justice research. The Incubator Grants and Rapid Response Grants are now accepting applications through March 6, 2026. Both programs offer twelve-month awards of up to $10,000 to eligible University of Washington faculty, staff, and research scientists across all three campuses (Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma).
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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 moreWildfire communication gaps persist for Spanish speakers in Washington. These groups are working to close them.
As wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense across Washington state, advocates are working to ensure that non-English speakers, many of them migrant or seasonal workers, are not left behind during climate emergencies.. Featuring Maria Blancas and the Community and Climate Impact Hub, a project funded by the EarthLab Innovation Grant Program
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Building climate resilience in north-central Washington: New tools for a safer summer
As sunny days and warmer weather return to Washington state, so too do the risks of wildfire season. Rural communities across central Washington know these realities all too well: in 2021, over 50% of the acres burned in wildfires across the entire state happened in Chelan and Okanogan counties alone. Yet, many communities lacked access to responsive, accessible health messaging around what to do or how to stay safe during wildfires.
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Exhibit at UW Explores the Intersection of Art, Health and Environment in the Peruvian Amazon
Since time immemorial, people in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest have been living on or near the river floodplains, creating symbiotic cultures echoing the rhythms of the rich biodiversity that are found in this rainforest. However, recent centuries have brought resource exploitation and colonization to this area, which has forced hundreds of thousands to migrate from the deep jungle to Iquitos—a jungle city of half a million people and the largest in the world accessible only by river.
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Supporting Tribal-led salmon monitoring using computer vision
Climate change is not only negatively affecting Chinook salmon populations, but it’s also making it harder to monitor those affects. UW assistant professors Andrew Berdahl and Karen Leung are working on a solution, with an EarthLab Innovation Grant, that will not only make monitoring more easy and accurate, but will also give the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe more power to manage their salmon stock.
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Now Open (plus more funding!) 🌟 EarthLab Innovation Grants
The maximum funding request is now $80k over 18 months & previously awarded grantees are allowed to apply for new projects. Letters of Interest are due by 1/9/24.
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The History Behind the Innovation Grants Program
By Caitlin Soler
Storytelling for Social Change Intern, Summer 2023
The Innovation Grants Program is seeking applications for its fifth cohort (more on how to apply here)! Over the past six years, we’ve witnessed a transformative journey in fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge academic disciplines, engage diverse sectors, and prioritize community inquiries intersecting climate change and social justice. To learn more about the evolution of the program, read on, and don’t forget to RSVP for an upcoming Innovation Grants info session if you’re interested in applying.
UW EarthLab Announces 2023-24 Innovation Grants Projects for Climate & Social Justice
April 14, 2023 - Today EarthLab announced that six transdisciplinary teams have been selected for the 2023-24 Innovation Grants program. Each team will receive $75,000 to research and develop new and actionable knowledge on projects at the intersection of climate change and social justice. To date, EarthLab has awarded over one million dollars in Innovation Grant funding to 19 transdisciplinary teams across five years.
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Clean SHiFT Team Wins 2022 EPA Safer Choice Partner of the Year
The products we use to clean our spaces impact not only those who use them, but also the environments into which they are discharged. A multi-disciplinary team has been working to help with the transition to safer chemicals for cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing food trucks in Washington.
In recognition of their efforts, the Clean Safety & Health in Food Trucks (Clean SHiFT) team received a 2022 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award from the U.S.
