Campus Grounds & Buildings
If you are fortunate enough to attend Cascadia as a student, work as an employee, or visit our campus you will be greeted by a palette of seasons. Conifer forests dominate in the winter. Native plantings of all kinds blossom in the spring. During summer, our Campus Farm and Food Forest produce fruits and vegetables. The maple trees turn red in the fall. And the wetlands and wild grasses thrive year-round.
Campus Buildings and Grounds - Sustainable Living Lab!
Cascadia College campus (joint with UW Bothell) has been pesticide and synthetic fertilizer free since 2006! Our Grounds team practices organic land care throughout all campus grounds operations, including the maintenance of the 58-acres of restored wetland. Pesticide free initiatives include a robust integrated pest management policy and practice, but go far beyond to include permaculture management. By intentionally building healthy soil and biotic communities we ensure that the plant life on campus can thrive without the use of added synthetic fertilizers!
North Creek Wetland
The Cascadia College and UW Bothell campus contains one of the largest wetland restoration projects on the west coast of the United States. The wetland had been significantly altered in the 1900s to support cattle ranching operations. After the State of Washington purchased the property, Cascadia and UW Bothell worked with wetland ecologists and other partners to restore the stream channel and floodplain to support the complex ecosystems that rely on it. The 58-acre wetland is maintained campus groundskeepers and students who use it as a living laboratory to study water quality, botany, ecology, and wildlife biology.
North Creek
North Creek, which runs through our campus before connecting with the Sammamish River, is a salmon-bearing stream that is home to several different species of salmon. Cascadia College and UW Bothell earned Salmon-Safe certification in recognition of ongoing work to help protect water quality, maintain watershed health, and restore the vitality of North Creek. We are happy to help protect the health and habitat of wild salmon.
Food Forest
The Cascadia Food Forest was planted in a central location for easy access. Everything in it -- trees, shrubs, and plants -- is edible and open for community members to pick and enjoy eating. November brings us black huckleberries and persimmons. At other times of the year you can find jujubes, pawpaws, Turkish quince and a wide variety of other fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Like the rest of our campus plantings and grounds, the Food Forest is pesticide-free.
It won a national campus sustainability award in 2021 from the Association for Advancement of Sustainability at Higher Education (AASHE) for being one of the first Food Forests in the nation on a college campus that too equity, culture, and access in mind for it's use and construction!
Campus Farm
Our Campus Farm is part of our initiative in permaculture management which integrates our land and resources to benefit our community. It also functions as an outdoor learning space where students can learn about sustainable land use and food production.
Native Pollinator Garden
A third campus garden on campus is designed to attract native pollinators by planting nectar- and pollen-rich flowers, nesting sites, and other features that will help to boost the population of bees, which are critical to the health and diversity of our food systems. We have been recognized by Bee Campus USA since 2021.
Pest Management
Cascadia College, with UW Bothell facilities, have implemented a robust integrated pest management (IPM) program as a component of its commitment to a pesticide free campus and as part of the conditions of maintaining our joint Salmon-Safe Certification. The IPM policy for campus states that students and employees have a right to a healthy learning and working environment and that the campus will work to achieve this, in part, by reducing and eliminating the use of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals through the use of Integrated Pest Management practices in grounds and buildings management.
Per our IPM policy, pesticides are only used as a last resort for pest problems and use of high-hazard pesticides is completely restricted, with very limited exceptions. The IPM program requires that all application of pesticides are recorded and tracked, which is included as part of the evidence required for Salmon-Safe Certification. Included in our unique IPM policy are practices to ensure invasive species are properly managed by avoiding introduction onto campus. Read the IPM Plan here.
Green Buildings
Global Learning & the Arts (CC3)
Cascadia's Global Learning & the Arts building (CC3) achieved LEED Platinum after its completion in 2012. This is the highest certification available. The building produces clean renewable energy through solar panel installations on the roof, and high efficiency lighting, separated stairwells, and large south facing windows push for improved energy efficiency. A dashboard located on the first floor allows us to compare water and electric usage in all campus buildings.
The building also collects rainwater and reuses it for flushing toilets and watering native plants, greatly reducing our stormwater runoff from the building, but also reducing the building's potable water use in restrooms.
The building also relied on sustainable products in its construction, including using
wood from the felled trees on sight right here at Cascadia College to make benches
throughout the building. Other material designs include an irresistable staircase
(glass and wood construction) and green roof areas!
Our Global Learning & the Arts building houses a full theater/event space, an art
gallery, art studios, classrooms, study and gathering spaces, and offices. (Miller+Hull
Architects)
Innovation Hall (INV)
77,000 gross square feet, four stories, chemistry labs, engineering lab, networking lab, interdisciplinary lab, and several classrooms. This is the first academic building on campus that is shared by Cascadia and UW Bothell. Opening for students in winter quarter 2024, it is on track to be awarded LEED Gold. (Mithun architects and Lease Crutcher, Lewis contractors). Watch it come to life in this short video.
Native Plant Power
Native and climate-adapted plants survive well in our local temperature swings and average rainfall. This means they often need less maintenance and less irrigation. By using intentional plant design, Innovation Hall uses, on average, 55% less irrigation water than a landscape using non-native plantings.
Innovation Hall’s landscaping is made up of native and adapted plants like:
- Deer Fern
- Douglas Fir
- Oregon Oxalis
- Pacific Rhododendron
- Red Alder
- Slough Sledge
- Vine Maple
Efficient Building - Energy
Buildings like Innovation Hall typically consume 40% of the energy used in the United States. This is why it’s important to reduce energy use. Innovation Hall reduced energy consumption through a 26% reduction in energy cost by using technologies such as:
- Highly efficient LED lighting, occupant sensors which turn lights on or off when someone enters or exits a space, and daylight harvesting to reduce LED brightness when natural light is present. These technologies are responsible for 37% of the total cost savings in Innovation Hall.
- Ventilation systems that reduce interior fan power and the need for interior hearing.
This system, among other ventilation strategies, is responsible for 58.1% of the total
cost savings for Innovation Hall.
- These systems are a Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) with a four-pipe hydronic fan-coil unit and a Variable Air Volume (VAV) System. A DOAS for ventilation and VAV for heating and cooling the spaces allows for local control of space temperatures and guarantees that non-laboratory spaces receive 100% fresh air. It also ensures that each space receives a constant flow of fresh air indirectly through VAV units.
Sunlight Streams In!
In Innovation Hall, labs, classrooms, offices, and collaborative lounges directly access large windows for daylight. The overhead skylight brings more natural daylight to the center of the building with a light well. This maximizes access to natural light and views of nature for students and staff. And 62% of commonly used spaces in Innovation Hall have daylight access, allowing for exposure to natural daylight to help the human brain regulate cycles of alertness and improves mood and productivity. Perfect for studies!
Designing Spaces to Minimize Sound and Waste
In the collaboration lounge, you’ll see partial carpeting around furniture and sound-absorbing panels above. These dampen sound for better conversation and collaboration. The panels have an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) which has information on their global warming impact from sourcing and manufacturing. By prioritizing transparency and sustainability in our purchasing, we push manufacturers to be transparent about their footprint, urging them to work to reduce their environmental impacts.
Innovation Hall also has polished concrete flooring and exposed ceilings throughout the building. These choices also reduce carbon footprint by reducing material usage.
Inclusive Design: Inspiring Accessibility and Equality
Innovation Hall has several equitable features so all users can easily use the building. On the ground level, you will find a staircase and elevator in the center of the building. This ensures multiple mobility options in one central and shared location.
Another feature is the all-gender restrooms on the second floor. These restrooms have floor-to-ceiling privacy walls and community sinks for every user. Separate gender restrooms are also available on other floors. Individuals may use the facilities that align with their gender identity.
Other Cascadia Buildings
Cascadia's buildings are frequently updated to meet new standards for water and electricity consumption. We also strive to adopt practices -- recycling and purchasing, for instance -- that enable our community to use fewer resources.
You can find Specialty item recycling in the lobby of CC1! Bring items to recycle form home - including Batteries, cell phones, razors, brita filters, toothbrushes or toothpaste tubes, and more! Items accepted change seasonally!