Water

I timed my shower for this challenge. My goal was under 5 mins and also taking a reusable coffee tumbler when I went for coffee instead of using a disposable cup. The plastic reading really made me think about how much waste I produce. Single-use items were so common in my day to day life. The plastic heat wrap on my cucumber or the plastic produce bag my potatoes were in, it made me cringe with embarrassment at how blind I was before. So for this challenge, the reusable tumbler felt like an easy win. However, limiting my shower was hard. I also tried to shower in colder water as well. (Yes, I do shower in hot water during the summer.) It was really difficult to get used to taking a shower in cold water and I kept running over the time limit the first few times. So to improve I put on two songs under the length of 5 minutes so when a song would end I could tell how much time I had left.

Nature

My Nature journey has always been evolving. I am trying to frequent going more to the river this summer. I have been out to the river a a few times, because I had paid for a parking pass last year. I like to go out and take photos and sometimes being out in nature is inspiring. Putting your phone away is something most people struggle with, but it feels nice to ignore technology and breathe in nature. Just to listen to water and the animals noises. I need to make sure I make it to the ocean this summer as well. It's very soothing to see the ocean and feel the water that connects us all. Many summers I don't make it an I forget how lucky we are living in the west coast. I put the farm as the 2nd photo, because it was very magical first stepping onto the Sunflower farm seeing the butterflies this summer. I feel disconnected from nature sometimes. Third photo I put the Pickles Baseball game I went to last Thursday. It was a nice day at Walker Stadium at Lents Park. I forget sometimes how lovely just going to the park and seeing a live event in a crowd. Thank you for the course. It uplifted my spirts.

Transportation:
I felt like we talked about transportation so much I couldn't believe I forgot to make a post about it! I do own a car; I didn't get my driver's license until January of this year. I waited for so long because I didn't need a car for a long while. When I moved to Portland, I learned very quickly how Trimet worked and it became part of my daily routine. I moved recently and I am now a walkable distance from where I go to school and where I work. I have options to take Trimet but depending on the wait times it's not always beneficial. I have a car for costco hauls, beach trips and if I want to visit my family just north of Seattle. If I am not traveling to visit my family, I drive my car about 50 miles each month.

Food

For food, I decided to plan out my meals. Oftentimes, cooking and grocery shopping feels hectic and chaotic for me. I do have a grocery list that I update with the caveat that I don’t actually plan my meals. I just have a broad and general idea of what I should cook during the week. The list is simply just used to remember things that have run out during the week. So for this challenge, I wanted to plan meals that I would cook during the week. I wanted to be strategic about it and buy ingredients that could be used in more than one meal. The recipes that I planned for were hainanese chicken, marry me chicken pasta, salmon and shrimp. The salmon and shrimp were going to be paired with frozen veggies that I already had in the freezer and rice. When I went to the grocery store with a set plan for groceries during the week, I found it helpful but I found myself drifting towards items I was craving or items that I remember we ran out of that were not on the list. But after this challenge was over, I noticed that I had less food waste because all the food was actually being eaten!

Energy

For energy, I decided to do an energy audit of my apartment over the last week. I unplugged chargers and appliances that I wasn’t using, turned off the tv when I wasn’t watching, switched to cold water for laundry, and limited my ac usage. It was actually pretty easy to be mindful about most of these things. However, what I struggled with was having too many things plugged in. From phone chargers, home appliances, and technology, everything was on. It was an easy fix though, all I had to do was switch it to off or unplug it. Something that made it even more accessible was connecting to a power strip that turns off all items in an area. With the weather getting hotter throughout the day, I tried to only turn on the AC at the most unbearable moments and for only 30 mins. I noticed this was actually a pretty good strategy because it would cool me down enough to not have to use it again until late at night.

Eco Challenge 8: Nature

After watching that video about Nature RX I was brought back to my time working at inpatient addiction treatment centers, and the importance of having some of our groups outside, and how comfortable or at ease someone can feel just stepping outside.

I have been working myself on participating in Nature RX! I spent the weekend floating and camping, and will be out again next weekend with my community doing the same thing. I am truly thankful for this class and all these challenges we have done, they have brought me back in a way, I am finding myself in nature, community, in sustainability, and feeling like I can make a difference again.

Eco Challenge 7: Consumerism

I set two different goals for this week my OG goal was to not buy anything I did not need this week, and unfortunately I did not succeed in that. I ended up impulse buying a set of gel pens at the store, my other goal came up during one of the break out rooms making no online purchases came up, and I had already been boycotting amazon for a while now, but still buying online elsewhere and I am going to challenge myself to continue a goal of no longer buying online unless it is something I cannot find anywhere near me.

Through out this week I realized how much I do truly contribute to the cycle of consumerism, and that yes I do buy second hand often, but I also throw away items after 6-8months if they arent used often or a better version has come out, and I am realizing I need to take my time and think before I buy and think about the longevitiy of my purchase.

Nature

My connection to nature has changed due to my limited mobility. There are certain outdoor activities that are very difficult for me to pursue and others that feel impossible. But this has changed my appreciation for nature in a positive way and helps me remember all the places I’ve been. I daydream of escaping to unfamiliar parts of the world. I envision myself being far away from home and exploring the unknown. Until then I take time to slow down and reflect on how fortunate I am to live where I do. It’s enough for me to lie in a quiet space outside while I listen to the wind.

Consumerism

At this time of my life and over the last several years I really haven’t bought things for myself. The majority of clothes I have are from thrift stores and I keep clothing for a very long time. I don’t collect things or make attempts to have the latest gadgets. It takes a special purpose or reason for me to buy things in general. But where I consume the most is how I spend money on food. For a long time I dined out constantly and rarely cooked full meals at home. I’ve slowly made changes to break this habit for different reasons, but reducing how much I spend at restaurants will be ongoing. The obvious change is time management and developing cooking skills to be less reliant on going out for food. Another thing I’ll do will be attempting to only eat out during social situations. So far this week I’ve been successful in buying groceries and only eating at home.

Eco Challenge 7: Consumerism

We are all bred to consume from the first moment we taste coca cola or try McDonald's fries. The taste that excited our taste buds. We see the golden arches and McDonald's knows people will want to consume their logo and their new treats. Once you start noticing the patterns of consumption it's too late. We are money to those corporations. When school started I challenged myself to two things. stop consuming alcohol and no more tee shirts. Alcohol is a whole market that sells poison and America loves it. Shirts I have way too many for the average person. I didn't do either this summer course which I feel proud about. Happy Pride.