Ana Mikolavich

Waterleaf Architecture

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
644 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

540

minutes

of additional sleep
UP TO

12

more servings

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

60

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

45

minutes

spent learning

Ana's actions

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 5
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 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Go get a check up

I will make an appointment for my annual physical.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Healthy Sleep

Effectively working for sustainability requires self care! I will commit to getting 30 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

COMPLETED 18
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

Health

More Fruits and Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 1 cup(s) of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Learn About Local Environmental Justice Concerns

I will spend 45 minutes researching environmental justice concerns in my region, their causes, and local initiatives to address these concerns.

COMPLETED
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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Health

Who is most affected by environmental degration and/or environmental irresponsiblity in your community? How are they affected?
Ana Mikolavich 10/24/2018 1:49 PM
The vast and - previously unknown to me - number of urban Native Americans in the Portland Metro area. It hadn't occurred to me that we are home to the 9th largest population in the country (I believe that's what I heard, correct me if I am wrong). I grew up with a very clear impression never to drink, fish, or even swim in parts of our urban river, but many families see no other option, or perhaps information about the toxins that have been dumped or leeched into the Willamette over the years was not made available to them.

I hate to imagine where Portland's famously clean (and yet not clean enough) waterways would be without the advocacy from Native groups and individuals, and I hope that we continue to fund environmental research and listen to the results from that sector.

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Ana Mikolavich 10/24/2018 10:42 AM
I wish this challenge lasted for at least 30 days! There doesn't seem to be enough time to accomplish everything I wanted, nor to generate honest-to-God habits. Some of the changes I've made will last I believe, but I'm sure others will fall by the wayside. I'm sure that is one of the lessons that we are meant to learn; that being eco-conscious is often time-consuming, but ultimately doable. I'm grateful for the competitive nature of this challenge, and that it will come back around next year with a reminder to hold a mirror up to our habits, to see where we have slackened and where we have perhaps excelled.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

Why is it so difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places? How might your experience with this challenge impact your future consumption and choices?
Ana Mikolavich 10/23/2018 4:10 PM
Humans trust our sight most out of all the senses, and much of our impact on other people, places, and animals is invisible to us on a day-to-day basis.

Rather that make me aware of how much waste I am creating, this particular challenge has made me aware of the simple changes I can make to reduce daily waste, mostly in the form of paper towels (carrying a handkerchief), single-use coffee cups (keeping a travel mug at my place of work), and disposable shopping bags (carrying a reusable bag in my backpack).

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health

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?
Ana Mikolavich 10/23/2018 2:01 PM
High quality and well prepared meat may always be seen as a treat to meat-eaters, but I suspect that our long-held and perhaps antiquated notions about nutrition are partly to blame for the fact that many Americans eat meat everyday. Can we re-write the food pyramid? Can we address a whole nation's impression of the importance of protein, and where to find it?

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place?
Ana Mikolavich 10/18/2018 9:00 AM
I think people - myself included - spend so much time on the same paths; from home to work, for home to school, to the houses of friends and partners, to favorite restaurants, bars, venues etc. Often I even find myself on the same or similar routes in order to get to these various destinations expeditiously. My impression of the place I live becomes narrow if I am not careful to take myself out of these most commonly used paths; I can forget that the faces I see and the landscapes I observe are only a few facets on the surface of the city and the region, and that's why I try to make time for walking for the sake of walk/exploring for the sake of exploring.

I've also read that most kids these days can't name more than 5 native plants and animals altogether, and often fewer than that. I think we have to facilitate time outdoors - outside of the city to see what exists naturally in the area - to remedy this dearth of local and regionally specific knowledge.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What one thing could you do right away to reduce your waste?
Ana Mikolavich 10/17/2018 10:18 AM
I wish I could eliminate the paper towels in my life; they are a fixture in the workplace, and because I have roommates - that have probably been raised using them - they are in the house as well, and they are difficult to avoid. I try to resist as much as possible, but their presence is a nearly impossible to resist temptation.

I have also started to try to carry both a thermos for water and a travel mug wherever I go, though there are still places unwilling to fill these things.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

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?
Ana Mikolavich 10/16/2018 12:04 PM
I nearly always carry a backpack with me, but every once in a while I find that said backpack is already too full by the time I get around to picking up groceries (or I end up purchasing more than initially intended). My solution this month has been to keep a small supplementary bag in the bottom of my backpack for the overflow, and it has worked out perfectly thus far.

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- Cassie Crawford 10/16/2018 1:38 PM
  This is a great idea! I carry two small, foldable bags in my already small purse and it's worked wonders for avoiding new bags at the store. I even put a reusable grocery bag in my desk at work so that if I make a store run for lunch, I have a bag ready to go.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health

How does/can practicing gratitude keep you centered and motivated to work for a better world?
Ana Mikolavich 10/12/2018 1:50 PM
Practicing a positive outlook in general could possibly lead to solutions - or at least a solution-ready attitude - for larger issues whether or not they relate to the things you've found to be grateful for. Focusing on the negative may just make a huge problem seem insurmountable. My mind - and so perhaps other people's minds as well - sometimes acts as an echo chamber for thoughts, and so starting on a high note will often result in a chorus of high notes.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health

How do you practice self care?
Ana Mikolavich 10/10/2018 12:38 PM
Joining a sports team was the best thing I could do for my fitness; it makes me accountable to the other team members and that helps me to be sure to show up for every game that I can.

Other tan that, I know I need to develop more habits that will attune me to other aspects of my mental and physical health.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health

Consider how many hours of sleep you get now. How would you like to shift your sleep patterns? What are you finding works for you to be successful in this action?
Ana Mikolavich 10/08/2018 2:18 PM
I average about 6-7 hours of sleep a night, and it never feels like enough. I've found that though I love to read in bed before falling asleep, it will sometimes keep me up later than intended. Listening to an audio book is something that lulls me to sleep immediately, increasing sleep but making it impossible to finish a story! I also try to go to bed early enough to allow myself to wake up naturally.

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