WWU SEEDR Media Kit

Students for Environmental Equity and Disaster Reduction

Ashley Conradi, Colleen Sengstock, Lynsey Amundson

Table of Contents
Media Backgrounder
FAQ
Logo and Tagline
Feature Story Pitch
Story Idea

Media Backgrounder

Overview:
SEEDR is a nonprofit Western Washington University Associated
Students club that seeks to address current environmental justice and
disaster risk issues in the local community and abroad. SEEDR
encourages action in both these fields, emphasizing that social justice
and the environment are not mutually exclusive issues. SEEDR seeks to
bring light to the connection between these two concepts and their
role within the community. Members create opportunities to expand
ones footprint in the field as well as raising funds for organizations
involved in aiding disaster relief and prevention.

Current Activities:
SEEDR holds weekly meetings for students to come and discuss
environmental justice issues in the community and abroad and how
they can bring awareness to the issues at hand. They also have
monthly volunteering trips with local organizations in Bellingham and
Washington. In addition, they raise funds to help aid disasters abroad.
By holding book seminars, documentary nights and fundraising for
local organizations, it will foster students decisions to be more
environmentally conscious. There are 20 members registered for the
club, but more than 40 people usually show up to each meeting
according to Willa Cooksey, the president. There is a lack of education
and knowledge of risk reduction, within our own communities;
therefore, SEEDR strives to open up the conversation on environmental
justice and disaster risk reduction in hopes to continue community
resilience. Willa Cooksey, president of SEEDR, hopes that the club will
be able to cultivate awareness on campus and in the community about
the importance of disaster reduction.

Key Terms:

Environmental equity: the development, implementation and

enforcement of policies and laws that makes sure that nobody has to
bear a disproportionate share of the environmental changes, harmful
effects of pollution and hazards because it lacks economic or political
power.

Environmental justice: the fair treatment of all people (social justice)

and the environment in respects to environmental laws, regulations
and policies. It is important to understand environmental justice
because they play a major role in the implementation and follow
through of disasters and environmental policies.
Disaster Risk Reduction: an aim to reduce the damage caused by
natural hazards like earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones,
through an ethic of prevention. Disasters often follow natural hazards.
A disasters severity depends on how much impact it has on society
and the environment.

Facts:
Hyper-local
Western has a disaster risks reduction minor through Huxley ( WWU
major catalog last accessed 1/21/16 http://goo.gl/C5myA7)
Steps Western has taken for disaster risk reduction:
- 3 major disaster assembly areas in case of a major disaster on
campus, for more information go to Personal Safety Poster or
http://goo.gl/MBG8ao (Environmental Health and Safety, Business
Services, Student Affairs/Academic Support Services and Public
Safety 2015)
- Western Alert System since 2007 - became a federal law in
2007 after the Virginia Tech Massacre that all federally funded
colleges must have a system in place that can reach students
across different media sources in case of any type of emergency
(Long 2015)
- Creation of Westerns Safety Assessment Team- identifies,
assesses and manages situations that could potentially or
possibility become emergencies by individuals or groups (WWUs
Emergency FAQ 2015)

Local
The Volunteer Center of Whatcom County- organization that holds
events to education the community on DRR (The Volunteer Center of
Whatcom County 2015)
The Volunteer Center of Whatcom County offers CERT training or
community emergency response teams training (The Volunteer
Center of Whatcom County 2015
Bellingham uses the NIMS or National Incident Management System
(whatcomready.org)

Whatcom Unified Emergency Management helped out with both

the Whatcom Pipeline explosion and the 2009 floods
(whatcomready.org)

Regional
In November 2015, the mayor of Seattle and King County declared a
state of emergency over homelessness to acquire additional funding to
help create new shelter opportunities (Seattle Times 2015)
Mercy Corp Northwest Chapter helps with DRR and environmental
justice within the Puget Sound (Seattle Foundation)
Many coastal communities throughout the world are threatened by
local tsunamis that could destroy low-lying areas in a matter of
minutes. This includes the Pacific Northwest, so it is important for
people in this area to know the proper escape routes during a tsunami.
(Wood)

The Pacific Northwest lies on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which

could result in one of the biggest most destructive earthquake ever.
This means people in our region need to be fully prepared, know what
to do when it hits and know what to do afterwards. (Plan)

National
Between 2001 and 2010 recorded disasters:
Affected on average 232 million people per year (Marilise Turnbull et.
al. 2013)
Killed 106 million more (Marilise Turnbull et. al. 2013)
Disaster risks can be reduced by creating strategies to decrease
vulnerability, ignorance and exposure to hazards with a wider scope to
address poverty and inequality (Marilise Turnbull et. al. 2013).

International
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has created
regional country chapters. The US chapter is in New York (UNISDR
last accessed 1/21/16 unisdr.org)
Natural disasters like floods or drought are directly linked to
environmental degradation and climate change (R Shaw accessed
1/21/16).

Bios:
Willa Cooksey, President
Email: willa.j.cooksey@gmail.commailto:willa.j.cooksey@gmail.com
mailto:willa.j.cooksey@gmail.com

Willa is a junior at Western Washington University and majoring in

environmental policy. She also has plans to add a minor in disaster risk
reduction. She helped found the club during fall quarter 2015 and
hopes to plan direct action workshops this quarter in order to teach
members proper techniques for preparedness. Cooksey also works
closely with the Bellingham chapter of the American Red Cross to
organize disaster preparation events in the community.
Rebekah Paci-Green, Advisor
Phone: (360) 650-2707
Email: Rebekah.Paci-Green@wwu.edu
Rebekah is the Director of the Resilience Institute at WWU. Her PhD is
in structural engineering and anthropology to study physical and social
vulnerability and risk perception at Cornell University. Some of her
humanitarian work has been with organizations and development
partners to create safer school construction in disaster prone
environments using a community based technique. At WWU, she
currently teaches classes in human ecology and the disaster risk
reduction minor. She hopes that this club will be a successful way to
gage students interest within the field of environmental justice.

Boilerplate:
SEEDR, Students for Environmental Equity and Disaster Reduction, was
founded in fall of 2015 at Western Washington University under the
lead of President Willa Cooksey. It was created to discuss and educate
the students and community about current environmental justice
issues, social justice issues involved with the environment and disaster
reduction locally and abroad. They have weekly meetings as well as
volunteer trips, discussions, awareness seminars and community
activism. For more information about the club, visit
https://orgsync.com/128221/chapter.

Sources:
Beekman, Daniel, and Jack Brown. "Mayor, County Exec Declare 'state of
Emergency' over Homelessness." The Seattle Times. November 02, 2015.
Accessed February 25, 2016. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattlenews/politics/mayor-county-exec-declare-state-of-emergency-overhomelessness/.
Environmental Health and Safety, Business Services, , Student Aff
Airs/Academic Support Services, and Public Safety. Personal Safety Poster.
PDF. Bellingham: Western Washington University, November 15.

"Get Prepared | Seattle | American Red Cross Serving King & Kitsap Counties."
American Red Cross. Accessed February 25, 2016.
http://www.redcross.org/local/wa/northwestregion/.
Long, Katherine. "Colleges Deploy Complex Alert Systems in Emergencies."
The Seattle Times. June 06, 2014. Accessed February 25, 2016.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/colleges-deploy-complex-alertsystems-in-emergencies/.
Marilise Turnbell et al.: Toward Resilience A guide to disaster risk reduction
and climate change adaptation, Practical Action Publishing Ltd, 2013.
Accesses January 21, 2016. Google.
"Mercy Corps Northwest ." The Seattle Foundation. Accessed February 25,
2016. http://www.seattlefoundation.org/.

"Plan & Prepare." Plan & Prepare. 2016. Accessed January 22.
http://www.fema.gov/plan-prepare.
Shaw, Rajib, ed. Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management,
Volume 10 : Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction. Bradford, GBR:
Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2012. Accessed January 21, 2016. ProQuest
ebrary.
"The Volunteer Center of Whatcom County." The Volunteer Center of
Whatcom County. Accessed February 25, 2016.
http://www.whatcomvolunteer.org/.
"UNISDR." UNISDR News. Accessed February 25, 2016. http://www.unisdr.org/.
Western Washington University. Emergency Frequently Asked Questions. PDF.
Bellingham: Western Washington University.
Wood, Nathan J., Jeanne Jones, Seth Spielman, and Mathew C. Schmidtlein.
"Community Clusters of Tsunami Vulnerability in the US Pacific Northwest."
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America. 2016. Accessed January 17.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4418905/.

Top 10 FAQs
Who is SEEDR, and what do they do?
SEEDR stands for the Students for Environmental Equity and Disaster
Reduction. We are a club that seeks to address current environmental
justice and disaster risk issues in the local community and abroad. Our
mission emphasizes that social justice and the environment are not
mutually exclusive issues.

What types of activities does SEEDR do?

We participate in numerous activities such as weekly meetings,
monthly volunteering trips, book seminars and documentary nights.
We also do fundraising for disasters abroad and local organizations that
support our same values.

How can I join?

Joining is simple. Find us on Orgsync through the WWU portal and
search SEEDR. There you can request membership and find our full
schedule of meetings and activities. We also have a Facebook page,
SEEDR WWU.

Who runs the club, and how can I get in contact with
them?
The president is Willa Cooksey, and can be reached through the
organizations email at seedrclub@gmail.com.

How much time and/or money do I have to commit?

On a weekly basis, we usually meet for one to two hours. We do not
require club dues, but instead gather funding through donations and
fundraisers, which we typically seek from people within the Western
and Bellingham communities.

What is the club climate like?

Our members are passionate about the environment and about
connecting with other students who have like-minded attitudes. We are
always working to build our network outward, and welcome any and all
students who want to help increase awareness and foster positive
relationships.

What can I get out of being a part of this club?

SEEDR embodies issues that are gaining ground in our society, such as
natural disasters and extreme weather conditions. Climate change has
come to the forefront of many politicians agendas and we want to
bring a similar awareness to the students and staff at Western and all
of Bellingham. We do so through active participation in organizations
within the community such as the American REd Cross.

What has SEEDR accomplished in the community?

We are currently working on the Pillowcase Project with Bellinghams
chapter of the American Red Cross. With this project we work with 3rd5th graders to build disaster preparedness kits that fit in a pillowcase
and can be kept in their closets at home.

How long has SEEDR existed as a club?

SEEDR is fairly new within the Associated Students clubs. Our current
president Willa founded the club during fall quarter of 2015.

Where and when do you meet?

Our meeting locations vary but typically alternate Monday and Tuesday
evenings each week in Artzen Hall. Visit our Orgsync page to stay
updated on meeting locations and times as well as other events at
https://orgsync.com/128221/chapter.

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Students for Environmental Equity and Disaster Reduction

Amend the Earth

Feature Story Pitch

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Dear Daisey James and Janae Easlon,

Western Washington University junior Willa Cooksey came to
Bellingham believing she would be an industrial designer, but instead
found her niche in making a positive impact on environmental policy
through the brand new SEEDR club.
When Rebekah Paci-Green, a professor of Huxley College,
approached Cooksey last spring to start a club for environmental
justice, she became aware of the bureaucratic side of
environmentalism. This club officially became SEEDR, Students for
Environmental Equity and Disaster Reduction, fall of last quarter to
start a conversation on environmental justice and how it ties into
disaster risk reduction.
SEEDR is currently partnering with the Bellingham chapter of the
American Red Cross to participate in an event called the Pillowcase
Project where they educate and help elementary school students
prepare and plan for when a disaster strikes. They will do this making
miniature disaster preparedness kits by filling pillowcases full of goods
that would be useful in a disaster. The event date is still to be
determined.
Cooksey hopes to get more people involved with SEEDR, talk
about the uncomfortable issues relating to minority and low-income
families that are being affected by the environment and to learn more
about what she and everyone can to do to help the environment. She
hopes to use the experience she gains from SEEDR and her major to
make a career at a non-profit where she can help people and the
environment.
Willa wants to help her fellow students and community to
understand the need for disaster preparedness and see its
intersectionality with environmental justice issues. Its critical to
educate people so that if and when a disaster should occur whether
manmade or natural, citizens can respond in a calm and prepared
fashion. They have thus been prepared with the tools necessary to help
one another as well as themselves.
Cookseys story will resonate with many Western students, while
educating them on what environmental justice really is. Her story may
seem generic, cookie cutter, but it is a story of growth and selfdiscovery, changing from an art based major to an environmental
policy major and creating a club on a topic she knew very little about.
She is truly letting her passion guide her education and success at
WWU. More information can be found at:
https://orgsync.com/128221/chapter,
https://huxley.wwu.edu/people/greenr21,http://www.calepa.ca.gov/EnvJ
ustice/Documents/2003/Appendices/AppendixA.pdf. A good photo

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opportunity would be at their Red Cross event or at a meeting where

they are brainstorming their future plans.
Thank you,
Lynsey Amundson,
(360)631-4171
amundsl3@students.wwu.edu

Story Idea
SEEDR partners with American Red Cross
Students for Environmental Equity and Disaster Reduction is partnering
with The American Red Cross in Bellingham to put on the Pillowcase
Project. Here they will visit elementary schools to educated a provide
guidance for 3rd-5th graders to prepare for a disaster. During this
event they will help the kids build disaster preparedness kits that will
fit into a pillowcase. This is important because teaching people early in
their lives will help educate them to be ready at any moment for a
disaster whether it is man-made or a natural disaster.