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October 3 - October 24, 2018
Michelle Harris's avatar

Michelle Harris

Live Green (for extra credit)

"To save the Earth and earn extra credit at the same time, it’s a win win😄"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 957 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    66
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    800
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    120
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    600
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    22
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill

Michelle's actions

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 2 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Support Pollution Reduction

I will spend at least 80 minutes learning about water and air quality issues in my area, how they are impacting human and environmental health, and how I can help.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Go get a check up

I will make an appointment for my annual physical.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Go Paperless

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by opting into paperless billing and ending unwanted subscriptions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Plant an Herb Garden

I will plant an herb garden in my home, workplace, or dorm room.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Eco-friendly Gardening

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Tend a Garden

I will tend to a garden each day, or work on starting one.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Learn About Local Environmental Justice Concerns

I will spend 120 minutes researching environmental justice concerns in my region, their causes, and local initiatives to address these concerns.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of plants and trees at my home or work.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Exercise Daily

Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 80 minute(s) each day.

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Practice Gratitude for Earth

I will spend 30 minute(s) each day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and the nature surrounding me.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Collect Rain Water

I will create a rain garden or bioswale, or use rain barrels to collect water for outdoor watering needs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Support Local Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 120 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 3 meatless meal(s) and/or 0 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 22
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?


  • Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/21/2018 10:14 AM
    I went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens fall plant sale yesterday! I was able to pick up a lot of native plant species that also support local pollinators. I’m super excited to establish these in my yard! I was also able to pick up some herbs, so that I can jumpstart an herb garden:) 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Support Pollution Reduction
    What environmental factors affect human health in your region, and how do they affect it?

    Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/11/2018 9:45 AM
    Air pollution and water pollution are the main environmental factors that affects the human health in my area. The air pollution comes from car exhaust and factory pollutants. Factory pollutants also affect local water ways. They do not affect the drinking water due to water treatment plants, but they do effect whether or not a Water way is safe to swim in. Humans are the very reasons why these issues exist in our region and they are the ones who cause health issues in the human population.

  • Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/09/2018 11:41 AM
    Today has been a rough day, so I decided to complete my daily chalenge of gratitude for the Earth. Now I feel ten times better! I feel like spending time out in nature is the best medicine:)

  • Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/08/2018 3:52 PM
    Finally got rid of all of those annoying magazine subscriptions that I never use! I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders lol
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water Eco-friendly Gardening
    What are the most prominent water concerns in your area? Examples include drought, flooding, pollution, access, security, and privatization.

    Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/08/2018 3:36 PM
    The most prominent water concerns in my area are related to pollution. There are a lot of well manicured lawns in my area and many of my neighbors use weed killers, pesticides, and heavy fertilizers on their lawns. The concern with this is that when it rain the chemicals from these products run off and enter local waterways. This hurts the local wildlife in many different ways due to the effects of the chemicals in these products.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Go Paperless
    Reducing your paper mail can be such a freeing action to take -- by reducing what is coming in, you can reduce what is going into the recycling bin too. How does it make you feel? What is the next step you will take to reduce your waste?

    Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/08/2018 3:32 PM
    Being able to reduce the amount of useless mail that I receive feels so freeing and relieves the burden of having to recycle all the magazines and advertisements that I do not need. My next step in trying to reduce the waste that I produce on a regular basis is to look for products that use less packaging material and also using reusable bags for produce when I go to the grocery store.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Learn About Local Environmental Justice Concerns
    Who is most affected by environmental degration and/or environmental irresponsiblity in your community? How are they affected?

    Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/08/2018 3:28 PM
    Animal species are not the only ones who are seriously affected by environmental pollution. The people who are the most impacted by environmental pollutants in a community are typically the poor and people of color. Poor communities are often taken advantage of by companies that output a lot of pollution. These companies include coal plants, land fills, car manufacturing centers, etc. The poor communities do not have much say in what is built in the areas that they live in because many of their government officials are corrupt and take deals with these companies. That means that these communities often suffer from polluted water ways and bad air quality due to the companies’ pollution heavy activities.

  • Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/07/2018 3:53 PM
    I just bought my first ever rain barrel! I am super excited to start using the rain water that it collects to water my garden and my indoor plants, but first I need to figure out how to set it up...xD
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water Collect Rain Water
    Trace the water that flows down the drain from your house to the largest body of water nearby. What is the route it takes?

    Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/07/2018 3:51 PM
    I have traced the water that flows from my house down hill where it drains into the creek that runs behind my house. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Practice Gratitude for Earth
    Kathleen Dean Moore says that a sense of gratitude leads to a sense of moral obligation. Do you agree? How do we cultivate a sense of gratitude as individuals, and as a society?

    Michelle Harris's avatar
    Michelle Harris 10/07/2018 9:43 AM
    I agree that there is a correlation between gratitude and a sense of obligation. The best way to cultivate gratitude is to understand how our environmental systems work and what they provide for us as humans. Our society needs to understand that the environment and human civilization are not separate entities. We live within the environment and the things that we do to our environment also effect us.