Whistle Barkan

Antioch University New England

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
624 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

3.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

120

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

300

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

285

minutes

being mindful

Whistle's actions

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Buy From a Farmers Market

I will purchase produce and meat from a local farmers market or food co-op.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will spend at least 60 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Support Native Communities

I will use the resource links provided and spend 60 minutes learning about the native populations that lived in my area prior to colonization, and what I can do to support those that still exist.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Keep a Nature Journal

I will journal each day about my experiences in nature.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Eliminate Toxic Plastics

I will avoid buying toxic plastics - including polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyvinyl - and instead replace them with bioplastic or durable options.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Carry my Trash

I will carry all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash with me to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

Whistle Barkan 10/09/2018 11:20 AM

I got a sandwich and it turned out that it came with a plastic bag of chips.
I....I ate the chips.
Making these decisions while hungry doesn't always have the best results.

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Whistle Barkan 10/07/2018 7:30 AM

I've been thinking about the 'needs vs wants' challenge that I've signed up for and thinking that what I consider in my mind is still a little different that the way it's communicated. Like, yesterday I bought a pint of husk cherries at the farmer's market. I definitely didn't need them, but I really wanted them! I've certainly already refrained from buying things so far with the needs vs. wants idea in mind, and the cherries did set off the little flag living in my brain, now, but I couldn't really see the downside. I spent $3 on a local farmer, ate delicious husk cherries, composted the husks and returned the cardboard pint container to her. What level of austerity am I keeping myself to? It's something I'll keep thinking about.

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- Gemma Laser 10/07/2018 5:51 PM
  
  I definitely agree with the husk cherries! "Wanting" husk cherries seems different to me (for reasons like the ones you've listed) than "wanting" something plastic or otherwise resource intensive and/or toxic. I bought a pen at an art exhibit once that looks like a giant blade of grass. It's beautiful green and bendy, but when I did my no-plastic challenge in the spring I thought of that pen and how it will still exist after I am long gone. And that was a sad and not beautiful thought. To me certainly a want rather than need and I wish I could say I'll never buy anything plastic ever again. I know realistically I'm not there yet, but I appreciate the reminder to reflect and make those choices with as much intention as I can muster. Buying husk cherries (or raspberries, etc) during the winter, in a plastic clam-shell container, shipped halfway around the world, that would seem more like "want" vs "need" to me. I, for one, am celebrating your husk cherries! (And not just because I think they're incredible little gems that taste like tropical pound cake!)
  
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Whistle Barkan 10/05/2018 6:42 PM

Got a letter in the mail with a cellophane window. Rats!

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- Kelsey Bearden 10/05/2018 7:01 PM
  
  Are you counting things that you are not choosing? Things outside of your control? If so I hope you don't let them get you down! Down wth cellophane envelope windows!
  
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Whistle Barkan 10/04/2018 4:47 PM

Today I got a plastic straw. Fie and curses! My bag of shame isn't empty anymore. Got brought a glass of water. The water had a straw. Sigh. -10 points.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Keep a Nature Journal

What natural gifts are you grateful for?

Whistle Barkan 10/03/2018 5:28 PM

Today? I'm grateful for hawthorn toothpicks, birdsong, wood to carve, vegetables and eggs and grains and fruits to eat, wind and clouds, and moss carpets and mud and torticid leaf rollers and flame-orange leaves and strange, new budding purple flowers.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Carry my Trash

What one thing could you do right away to reduce your waste?

Whistle Barkan 10/03/2018 4:54 PM

There's nothing in the bag yet, which I'm happy about. That's mostly because I spent a month practicing. Here are some things I've done to help: use pyrex instead of tin foil. Don't even buy clingwrap (I did buy these funny beeswax wrappers at MOFGA- I like those so far), always always carry a thermos, a reusable food container, and cutlery, and plant these things many place in my life (backpack, truck, fanny pack).

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Use Reusable Bags

What do you do if you find yourself in the situation of needing a bag for items but don't have a reuseable one with you? Carry things out in your hands? In a cart? Accept a disposable one? If you find yourself in this position often, what system could you put in place to try to establish this a successful habit?

Whistle Barkan 10/03/2018 4:50 PM

I've tried very hard to build the habit of leaving bags hung up on my doorhandle, so when I leave my apartment, I'm reminded to bring some extras. Often, I do forget, and often, I end up carrying things in my pockets and hands. I also rarely travel without my backpack, so I can usually get most things in there.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Needs Vs. Wants

How is creativity necessary for practicing simplicity?

Whistle Barkan 10/03/2018 4:48 PM

On trail, we had a rule not to carry anything with only one purpose. Sleeping pad? Also a: sit pad, windscreen, helmet, sled, pack support, chair, and hitching sign. The creativity comes in when you are forced to think of multiple uses for an item you don't want to get rid of... What else can you do with a hat? an umbrella? a cookstove? ...quite a lot, really.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Eliminate Toxic Plastics

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Whistle Barkan 10/03/2018 4:45 PM

I've been trying to avoid single-use plastics for awhile, but some that I still struggle to avoid include: the wraparound plastic "collar" on glass food jars, straws that just come in drinks because I forgot to tell them "please, no straw", inner plastic bags (like those in boxes of graham cracker crumbs), the plastic around blocks of cheese, and yogurt containers. For the month, I think, I'm going to try to give up yogurt and cottage cheese, (I have a good stock of cheddar already...and a tip on buying waxed instead of plastic-wrapped cheddar), and the plastic lids on milk. Eating less dairy, of course, has it's own benefits, but will be a new challenge for me. I don't know how to make my own cottage cheese, or my own greek yogurt, but maybe I can try. Though...probably not without buying milk with a plastic lid. Ugh.

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- Gemma Laser 10/04/2018 4:36 AM
  
  Have you seen the local yogurt in returnable glass jars at the co-op? Will you keep me posted on using the beeswax wraps? I have some but have never got into the habit of using them. So far I've just stuck to my glass containers with lids or reused plastic bags around bowls or snacks. Whistle: Eco-Writer Extraordinaire!
  
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Whistle Barkan 10/02/2018 6:07 PM

I made a bag to carry my trash in.

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