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October 3 - October 24, 2018
Shirley Lamkey's avatar

Shirley Lamkey

Chemeketa Sustains

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,189 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    167
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    20
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    22
    pounds
    waste composted
  • UP TO
    18
    more servings
    of fruits and vegetables
  • UP TO
    1.0
    waste audit
    conducted

Shirley'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

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 1 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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will spend at least 15 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my Home

I will spend 20 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Go get a check up

I will make an appointment for my annual physical.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

More Fruits and Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 2 cup(s) of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Upgrade Heating & Cooling Units

I will replace inefficient heating and cooling units.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Upgrade My Windows

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Compost Food Waste

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Recycle Everything I Can

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 3 minutes researching and recycling all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Historically, marginalized and low-income communities live closer to landfills, contributing to a multitude of health problems. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Create Your Own Action

Riparian rehab

Many of our local creeks/ riparian areas are overgrown with invasive plants. I have a small farm with a riparian area and am working on bringing it back to it's original habitat with native plants, especially along the creek.

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?


  • Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/24/2018 1:46 PM
    I guess I will add one more feed for extra points. Thanks to the ecochallenge I made a doc. appt. and set up a plan with my medical professionals for the betterment of my health. This was my first physical in years!! I think I am still alive and sort of well!! 

  • Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/24/2018 1:38 PM
    Oh, well.   We are all winners if we have worked hard to make changes that are good for ourselves and the environment!!!! 

  • Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/24/2018 1:27 PM
    Is this a fair challenge?  At 1:22 pm, (late lunch today) we have beat them by points per person @ 251 points. They are approx. 170 points per person. They are a winner by having more members, especially if they recruited those members during the challenge!

  • Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/24/2018 7:13 AM
    This has been an interesting experience. It is nice to have all the information for ecology conservation in one spot. I was thinking how much easier it is for a single person to be conservative compared to a family. I do think that it is easy to train children when they are young to be conservative. I inherited much of the way I live from my mom who got it from her parents. Not that they specifically taught us, but that is the way they lived.  I am thankful for that! 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty
    How does food sovereignty address the complex agrarian transition to modern food systems?

    Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/23/2018 2:56 PM
    They use some modern types of equipment to farm the land, but, otherwise, try to keep the farming as natural as possible. No pesticides, other types of enriching the ground without the chemical fertilizers. Using as many non-GMO seeds as possible. Also, raising and using non-traditional plants for food, such as plants that grow in the wild. Doing their own food processing such as canning and drying. It definitely is a more healthy way to eat. They work together as a community for their food. Everybody can help farm and process the food.  

  • Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/23/2018 7:15 AM
    It is almost the end of the competition and I have weighed my garbage that I started last month. So far I have 10 oz.!   That would be  around 7 1/2 pounds a year, over 3 times as much as I thought, originally!!  I am disappointed. I guess I could be happy if I knew that every person only generated 10 oz. a month.
  • 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?

    Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/17/2018 7:25 AM
    I do not have curbside recycling. In fact, I do not have garbage service. I do have containers that I reuse and several hundred buckets  that I need to dispose of. I thought I was going to have to take them to the landfill. After doing a little research I found a place that takes certain agricultural wastes such as buckets and  large plastic containers, (2 1/2 gal. herbicide bottles), They are in Brooks on Waconda Rd.     
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my Home
    To what extent do you believe that environmental factors contribute to your own health or issues with health?

    Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/16/2018 7:26 AM
    I believe that, for the US, one of the biggest issues is the pesticides, sprays and chemicals that are used, especially on the foods that we eat.  I read a study done on organic food vs. regular food and that particular study shows how much more unhealthy chemicals people have in their systems when eating regular foods that have been chemically grown. Washing does not seem to help. Also, I wouldn't want to have China's air to breath.  The environment  definitely has an impact on our health.

  • Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/13/2018 8:05 AM
    My third negative impact: Using herbicides as a control for invasive plants. I wish there was another way, but don't know of one at this time. It is very important to mix according to the instructions. Some people over mix which is not necessary and harmful. One good out come: Where there was only invasive canary grass everywhere, there is now more than a dozen native plants growing and thriving. They came up volunteer once the canary grass was eliminated. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Go get a check up
    How do you practice self care?

    Shirley Lamkey's avatar
    Shirley Lamkey 10/13/2018 7:49 AM
    Isn't there a saying that goes something like, 'you are what you eat'? The one most important affect on peoples health is what they eat. It has made the biggest difference in my life/health when I have practiced a good diet.