This week I chose to exercise like some of my other classmates, due to this beautiful weather we were having! I hiked around Mount Vista with my partner, where we walked the WSU trail through Salmon Creek. While I didn't see any wildlife other than wild rabbits this time around, once we saw two young bucks only about 20 feet away form us. They were eating from bushes and rubbing their growing antlers (horns?) against a tree. It was really beautiful to see, and they didn't seem to notice us at all. It was a very nice moment where I got to feel like a part of nature, rather than someone invading the area. This time around, we heard plenty of birds and got to have our dog play in the creek. We also had the chance to speak with some other hikers and bond a little with the surrounding neighborhood. Because of our hike last week, my roommate and I will be hiking a lot more this summer, which is exciting!

This week I chose to up my exercise. I went on a couple of hikes last week, including the hobbit trail in Florence. I went with some friends that I hadn't seen in a while. It felt great to catch up with them, but the next day definitely showed me just how out of shape I was. I think I will try to keep up a bi weekly hike for the rest of this school year. Graphic design can mean long stints of sitting in front of a computer moving shapes around, but I should break up my work with outside time. I could use this as an opportunity to get back into nature photography. I finally got my cameras out from the attic so I have no excuse!

This week I focused on something from the simplicities actions, I chose to declutter. I am moving in the next few months and it is too expensive to bring everything with me, so I thought this is the perfect excuse to really go through all of my things. I found that I keep way to many things because they are "sentimental" to me, when they really should just be donated or thrown away. A lot of the things I tend to keep are silly like receipts from trips or tickets for movies, actual trash that I should just let go of lol. I have decided to sell a ton of stuff on Facebook marketplace. Although some of the stuff is maybe only worth a few dollars, I can still put the money I make to moving costs. Maybe I can post a few of the things to the class as I have to get rid of everything I own aside from my clothes and shoes. This will be a great test to see if I can let go of my materialistic ways :)

This week, I’ve been thinking more about my Eco-Change project and how I want to approach it. Making meals and baked goods from scratch has been fulfilling on many levels, so I decided to expand on that experience. I want to dive deeper into using all-natural, eco-friendly, and organic products, and a great way to do this is by making my own body care items. It feels good knowing exactly what goes into the products I use daily. Plus, it’s cheaper and better for the environment since I can reuse ingredients multiple times and support local businesses by buying locally made products. So far, I’ve made a body deodorant, face scrub, and toner. Next, I want to explore growing mushrooms and creating medicinal products and tinctures.

Unfortunately, these past few weeks I have been extremely occupied with work for various classes, and I haven't felt I had the time or energy to participate in an Ecochallenge. I'm aware there are options for lowkey nature Ecochallenges, such as gratitude journaling or just spending some time outside, but I've honestly been so tired and stressed that I had not made the effort to do so. This is disappointing for me because I do enjoy spending time in nature, and our trip to Tryon Creek this week reminded me of how long it has been since I have done so. With this in mind, I am going to try and plan a day either during finals week (I only have one final during that actual week) or spring break where I can take a short trip with family or a friend and enjoy nature together. If anyone has any suggestions on where I could visit I'd love to hear!

#8 NATURE

For this week's Eco Challenge, I decided to exercise daily for the week. I did 30 minutes of cardio every day this week, including running inside on the treadmill or outside when it wasn't raining. I choose to do the daily exercise because of the benefits I had from my last Eco Challenge, from walking my dog in nature daily. Along with getting exercise and feeling great afterwards, I really enjoyed the time I had to myself when exercising in the morning.

The two biggest obstacles that I faced when running every morning were time management and getting up earlier than I'm used to. Some days it was easy to wake up early, but some days, especially when it was cold, it was hard to leave the bed. However, reflecting now completed with this challenge, I think the benefits outweighed the cons. This week, because of the exercise in the morning, I felt more present in class and mentally uplifted compared to normal.

I think that even after this class ends, this is something that I will implement into my daily routine.

This week, I started spring cleaning. Since material things consume energy, I have been decluttering mindfully. I don’t go to a full Marie Kondo level, but I like to check in with each item and ask how I resonate with it. I’ve noticed that I tend to hold onto things I no longer use, hoping to need them again someday. I save clothes with this mindset, even though I realize that some are not aligned with my current style. I also keep items because of the memories associated with them. I usually donate things because selling them feels like extra work. Lately, I’ve been critical of Goodwill and have been exploring other places to donate. One place I’ve donated clothes to in the past is Haven Rose, which helps women and children. I also give items to my neighbors, which has been fun because we exchange things. Some neighbors even have outdoor food pantries, little libraries, and designated spaces for larger items. I think it’s easy to get caught up in consumerism, but we must remember that there’s more to life than consumption, and I enjoy finding a balance by giving back.

For the past two weeks, I have shifted my way of transportation and traveled by foot to campus. It’s a 1.5-hour commute, but I spaced it out to walking to school one day and then home the next. It definitely was a time commitment, but I mostly did it to exercise and save money on a bus ride. I don’t feel it is sustainable over time because it is a 4-mile walk, and my commute by foot used to be a 2.7-mile walk from my old house, so I did it more often when I lived there. I enjoyed the walk for the most part, and I got to listen to audiobooks and challenge my focus. I plan on continuing to walk to campus whenever I have extra time, especially now that the weather is warming up, and it’s nice to see and smell all the flowers in bloom.