Skip to main content
October 3 - October 24, 2018
Andrea Hudgens's avatar

Andrea Hudgens

UNO Sustainability

"I want to reclaim the quality of time I spend living life instead of worrying about the quantity of things available to me while I'm alive."

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 959 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    100
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    60
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    210
    minutes
    being mindful
  • UP TO
    66
    more servings
    of fruits and vegetables

Andrea's actions

Health

Take Control

Both system and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

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 60 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Meditate

I will meditate or create a moment of silence for 10 minute(s) each day to reflect on things important to me.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Explore My Area

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

COMPLETED
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

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will spend at least 10 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

More Fruits and Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 3 cup(s) of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

De-Clutter My Home

I will de-clutter, clean, and donate or recycle unneeded items in my home.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

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

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my Home

I will spend 30 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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?

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Take Control
    How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/11/2018 6:50 AM
    I see the 3 being holistically connected. If just looking at food availability/diversity, the availability and quality of locally-sourced whole foods can be directly affected by local industry (and chemical usage/runoff), which can then influence the individual's food choices.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Find Local Recycling Depots
    Our ability to recycle certain things ebbs and flows based upon many factors. Luckily there are places that accept uncommon things to recycle or dispose of in a less harmful way. What did you find when looking for places to recycle items that can't be recycled in your curbside bin?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/11/2018 6:32 AM
    Household paint. This may sound irrelevant, however for anyone who has ever bought a can of paint used part of it, and then had leftovers ... what do you do with it? Typically this is not an acceptable item for putting in household trash and/or recycling.

    The best option I discovered was community recycling programs which use donated paint for remixing (to either create a new color, or a basic 'grey'), and then use that paint for rehab or graffiti abatement programs.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants
    Where are your nearest natural bodies of water? How might they be affected by runoff?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/10/2018 2:24 PM
    I live 2.5 blocks from a natural stream which is part of a watershed system that feeds into the Mississippi River. Subsequently before utilizing lawn care treatments - either pesticides and/or herbicides - or fertilizers, I consider the chemicals involved and the ultimate effect it could have on the environment.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Support Local Pollinators
    Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/10/2018 2:11 PM
    I grew-up in a family that ran an apiary. At the time, I took for granted being around bees, going to bee meetings, helping out during the honey extraction, etc ... However, the older I become I realize that pollinators, in my case the honeybees, are critical for crop production and ultimately food harvest. Living in an urban area I realize how much more difficult it is for local/urban farms to have any remarkable yield without aid from pollinators, and how much more of an impact pesticides and "everyday" chemicals may have in the survival/success of pollinators.

  • Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/09/2018 4:48 AM
    It is definitely a conscious effort to be mindful every day.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity Meditate
    What would you like to invest more time in reflecting on?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/09/2018 4:46 AM
    My mindfulness of things.
  • 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?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/04/2018 12:42 PM
    I struggle with clutter, especially paper clutter. I feel relief when I realize I have less paper to deal with. Ideally I would like to do an annual personal audit and make sure than any new subscriptions that pop-up are reasonably managed.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity Needs Vs. Wants
    How is creativity necessary for practicing simplicity?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/04/2018 12:41 PM
    I'm of the opinion that if one commits to the "less is more" philosophy, or even conscientious consumerism where purchases are not thoughtless and random, that one is forced to look at available resources to fill a desire rather than just acquiring additional resources.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Explore My Area
    How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/04/2018 12:35 PM
    When encountering nature in its own form, I personally relearn the lesson of permanence. I realize that my life span is relatively minimal in contrast to nature. Trees and rocks existed before I did, and hopefully will remain long after.

    Encountering nature also helps me re-scale myself. In the developed, man-made environment everything is scaled to people. Even multi-storied skyscrapers with dwarf people on the street level have a person-based scale.

    It isn't until I'm standing in front of a 60+ foot tree that I realize the world is much bigger than what I see in my built environment.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health More Fruits and Veggies
    What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than any other places, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How can we start shifting from a meat-focused food culture to a more plant-based one?

    Andrea Hudgens's avatar
    Andrea Hudgens 10/04/2018 12:30 PM
    I think there is a disparity with Americans/the American-lifestyle and our views on land management. Having studied the development patterns of communities, from urban cores to exurban/suburban sprawl, I can say, culturally, we have an idea that land is either expendable or unlimited vs. other countries' landlocked placement and/or cost prohibitive means for maintaining land. Subsequently, I think this perception either creates or perpetuates the association of livestock to land, and an ultimate ideology of 'unlimited supply'.