Trip Itinerary

Saturday, March 11 - Departure Travel Day

Students will experience their first taste of getting around via public transportation when a group of us departs from main campus for Raleigh-Durham International via the GoRaleigh city bus line! We will spend the rest of our day navigating airports and catching the Seattle Link Rail to the International District, where we will be staying for the duration of our time in Seattle. 

Sunday, March 12 - Make like a tourist day

For our first full day in Seattle we will orient ourselves to a new city with the help of local guides and experts! We will begin with an obligatory trip up the Space Needle tower for a morning view of the city, then spend the afternoon with a local tour guide company getting to know many of the neighborhoods and some history of Seattle. We will then become acquainted with a local food market near our hostel that we can then use for the rest of our stay, and enjoy a group meal together that evening. 

Monday, March 13 - Cities & nature day

Today we will explore some of the many ways that urban areas impact the environment in which they are constructed, and some things that Seattle has done to remediate or improve upon that impact. We will spend a lot of time focusing on an extremely important species to the Pacific Northwest, both environmentally and economically - the Pacific salmon population. 

Tuesday, March 14 - Places & People day

What is a city without the people that live there? And what about the people or peoples that lived there before it became a city? What about the history erased and impact unacknowledged to underrepresented peoples that are still important members of the urban community? On this day we will learn about the Native history of what is now known as "Seattle," in addition to the impact that massive development and a lack of affordable housing has had on underrepresented populations living in the city, including the unhoused ("homeless"), low-income individuals and families, and communities of color. 

Wednesday, March 15 - Sustainable design day

On this day we will experience multiple examples of sustainable architecture and landscape architecture as attempts to improve development's impact on the environment and the wellness of the people that live and work within these spaces.

Thursday, March 16 - free day

There is so much to see and do in Seattle! On this last full day of our trip, participants are free to explore on their own and have planned activities for themselves that were not included on our educational trip itinerary.

Friday, march 17 - return travel day

Thanks for everything, Seattle! We return to Raleigh, NC with two more days in our spring break left to adjust back to Eastern Time and prepare to return to our spring semester classes.