Huxley College of the Environment is nestled below 165 acres of forested hills known as the Sehome Arboretum. Looking out the windows in the upper floors of the college, one can bear witness to towering evergreens and squirrels and birds frolicking in their canopies. The college is named after Thomas Henry Huxley, an Englishman who, U.S. essayist H.L. Mencken called a charming intellectual giant and artist.
Huxley is home to the environmental science, environmental studies and geography departments as well as several self-directed, research-based institutes. Huxley also maintains off-campus programs in Bremerton and Port Angeles.
Western alumnus Mark VanderVen, who is now faculty at Huxley, said there is a lot of diversity academically.
"I like that Huxley synthesizes a scientific approach with a policy approach—one that considers the relationship humans have with their environment," VanderVen said.
Students can pursue research at Shannon Point Marine Center in Anacortes.
Here students have access to excellent facilities and physical investigative techniques not available at many other places, said Stephen Sulkin, professor and director of Shannon Point Marine Center.
The marine center boasts a running seawater system, similar to an immense circulatory system, which continually supplies indoor tanks of marine animals and plants with fresh ocean water. A beach at the marine center provides an additional 3,000 feet of intertidal research space, Sulkin said.
Most courses offered through Huxley are in conjunction with the marine center and have a research component, Sulkin said.
"We have an academic fleet that takes people into the marine environment," he said. "It’s a very rich and diverse environment," he said.
Alternatively, students can pursue terrestrial research at Canyon Lake Creek Community Forest, a 2,300 acre reserve, which includes 600 acres of old growth forest and a 50-acre lake in the foothills of Mt. Baker.
"You climb up through old growth and break out into the open and Baker’s right there—one valley away," said John McLaughlin, associate professor of Environmental Science.
Canyon Lake Community Forest is believed to contain some of the oldest trees in the state, McLaughlin said.
He has used the forest for research with his wildlife ecology classes. Some research involved setting up motion sensitive cameras to snap shots of sneaky carnivores.
Huxley College is also home to a student-run, student-written magazine called The Planet, which took a second place award from the Society of Professional Journalists in April.
"We almost always have funding to send students to conferences or to present papers," said Wayne Landis, director of the Institute of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
Landis was also the chair of the environmental science department until June 16.
"We always have ongoing research grants from governments and nonprofits across the country," said April Markiewicz, associate director of the Institute of Environmental Toxicology.
The Spatial Analysis Lab is a classroom and project lab for Geographic Information System (GIS), that uses digital data, remote sensing, geographic positioning systems (GPS) and other mapping software. Huxley’s GIS curriculum happens in that lab, GIS lecturer Tyson Waldo said.
"Having a dedicated IT [Information Technology] and staff adds a human resource component that sets it apart," Waldo said.
Field and GIS classes provide opportunities to pick up tangible skill sets, VanderVen said.
