Being Green

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Seattle Children’s receives top honor from the League of American Bicyclists

bike awardIn acknowledgement of our efforts in sustainable transportation and encouraging more widespread bicycle use, Seattle Children’s was recently recognized with the League of American Bicyclists highest honor, the Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business award. With the platinum designation, Seattle Children’s becomes one of just 22 organizations across the nation to receive the prestigious award.

The Bicycle Friendly Business awards program recognizes organizations for their efforts at being bicycle-friendly and are based on four essential elements which include engineering, education, encouragement, and evaluation & planning.

Seattle Children’s is delighted with this honor. As an organization, we promote bicycling because we believe it’s good for the health of our patients, staff, community and the planet. Our staff have access to free commuter bicycles and we provide one of the only on-site staff bicycle service centers in the nation. We helped launch Seattle’s bike share system by serving as its first business sponsor and encourage bicycling by incentivizing staff when they do not use cars for commuting.

We look forward to supporting further initiatives at Seattle Children’s and throughout the city that foster more bicycling in the community.


Saving Trees is Second Nature

A tree is a terrible thing to waste. Jeff Hughes, grounds and sustainability manager at Seattle Children’s, is constantly saving or recycling trees displaced by construction around our campus. The latest example: six trees that must be removed from the median on Sand Pont Way NE near 40th Avenue NE where we’re installing a new traffic light and bike/pedestrian crossing. 

Hughes will dig up three cedar trees and replant them in a nearby site on our campus. Three pin oaks, which wouldn’t survive being transplanted, will be cut down but their wood will be saved to create benches.  Read full post »


A Commitment to Safer, Healthier Streets

Guest Blog with Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of  Transportation & Sustainability

In my last two blogs, I described how sustainability drove the choice of building materials for our Building Hope expansion and how the new facility will conserve natural resources.  But our commitment to creating a safe and healthy environment extends beyond our campus. As we planned the expansion, we created a Livable Streets initiative that supports our focus on green and sustainable design by improving how people travel to and from Seattle Children’s. Read full post »


Conservation strategies, going the extra mile


Guest Blog with Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of Transportation & Sustainability

Seattle Children’s is committed to designing, constructing and operating all of our facilities in the most sustainable way we can. As we planned our Building Hope expansion, we went the extra mile to go green.

In my last blog, I shared with you how sustainability drove our choice of building materials. Here are some details about how we’ll conserve natural resources and improve the natural habitat. Read full post »


Healthy Choices Drive Design and Construction

Guest Blog with Paulo Nunes-Ueno, Director of  Transportation & Sustainability

Our first priority when we started planning our Building Hope expansion was to create a safe, healing and welcoming environment for patients and families. But we didn’t stop there. We also committed to making the healthiest choices possible in every phase of design and construction – healthy for the building’s occupants, the neighborhood and the planet. Read full post »


Annual Garden Sale This Weekend

Don’t let the gray skies fool you. Spring is here – and so is the annual Seattle Children’s Garden Sale. Presented by the Laura Brigman Guild, the sale is this weekend, April 20-April 22, at our administrative offices, 6901 Sand Point Way N.E.  Hours are noon until 6 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. until 2 p. m. on Sunday. Read full post »


Ground Covers, Grasses and Trees… Oh My!

Last week we shared how Seattle Children’s is incorporating green roofs into the new Building Hope expansion.  But there’s also a lot of green that will make its way back to the ground around the new expansion in the coming months.

Before the construction site was cleared, over 4,000 plants were saved so they could be replanted around the new expansion. They’ve been lovingly cared for by Children’s Grounds Maintenance team. Read full post »


Turning Gray Roofs Green

Many natural elements are being incorporated into the Building Hope expansion, not only for healing and aesthetic purposes, but also for environmental friendliness and sustainability.

A feature starting to take shape on the new expansion are the “green” roofs… which are literally roofs covered in vegetation. Read full post »