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October 3 - October 24, 2018

Gerding Edlen Feed

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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
    Food Whole Foods Diet
    Michael Pollan states that "it is better to pay the grocer (our edit: or the farmer!) than the doctor." What are your thoughts on this?

    Patrick Wilde's avatar
    Patrick Wilde 10/25/2018 1:13 PM
    It is easy to tell when your diet is full of fresh meat/fruits/vegetables vs full of processed foods. I feel more alert and energetic when I eat right.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Go for a Daily Walk
    How do you experience your neighborhood or city differently when walking instead of driving?

    Patrick Wilde's avatar
    Patrick Wilde 10/25/2018 1:09 PM
    When walking the neighborhood you are able to do things like stop and talk with neighbors, meet new people, recognize changes and learn new things.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water 5-Minute Showers
    Five minute showers are an impressive step toward reducing your water footprint. What is the next step you can take?

    Patrick Wilde's avatar
    Patrick Wilde 10/25/2018 1:06 PM
    Limit water usage when brushing teeth (don't leave the water running). 
    Limit water usage when washing pots and pans (don't leave the water running).
    Monitor yard irrigation for maximum efficiency.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Exercise Daily
    How can you incorporate other personal values (like quality time with friends or spending time in nature) into your exercise routine?

    Patrick Wilde's avatar
    Patrick Wilde 10/25/2018 1:01 PM
    I can run trails in Washington Park vs run on a treadmill inside or I can text a friend to go to the gym with me.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Choose Organic Ingredients
    Can organic farming feed the world? Which side of the argument do you fall on? Why?

    Patrick Wilde's avatar
    Patrick Wilde 10/25/2018 12:59 PM
    I believe it can. Having witnessed organic farming in action, I think with the right education and sharing of knowledge organic farming definitely can be applied on a large scale.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water Ditch the Lawn
    What is the main water source in your region?

    Jenna Dowding's avatar
    Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 9:19 PM
    For my region there are a few rivers and watersheds in the area where we source of our water. For me specifically, we are on well water which wonderful. Even though we don't have a rain water catch system, the rain water does go back into the water table where our water comes from. At some point, we will have rain water catch system which will be used for irrigation and grey water usage. 

  • Jenna Dowding's avatar
    Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 9:06 PM
    It has been a lot of fun to participate with everyone this year. Kudos to everyone for what you did to change your behavior for however long it sticks, and I know I learned a few new things along the way. Plus it is always fun to have a little friendly competition :)  
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transportation Choose a Carbon Offset
    A round-trip flight from New York City to Los Angeles emits just over 1.5 tons of CO2—per person. That’s a lot of carbon! What can you do to reduce the number of flights you take per year?

    Jenna Dowding's avatar
    Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:58 PM
    I don't know if there is a way to reduce the number of flights when you have to travel for work, but I think there is a way to be more efficient with your time while you are traveling. It does make for a long day when your flight leaves at 6am and doesn't return until 10pm, however if you are maximizing the day by booking meetings or getting items done that make you not have to return as quickly, then it is worth it. I will say when I selected this challenge, I wasn't sure what the actual cost was going to be and thought it would be quite high. I was pleasantly surprised when I went to Alaska Airlines website to find out that a 2,500 mile carbon offset is just $5, according to this website: https://carbonfund.org/partners/alaska-airlines/. That actually makes me want to do that more often since I will feel better about my travel and just not buy a coffee on the trip to save the cost of the carbon offset. I will tell other people about this including whoever is reading this! 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transportation Car Share
    Take a moment to think of places you frequent often (work, grocery store, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?

    Jenna Dowding's avatar
    Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:35 PM
    This is an interesting thing to think about and how I can modify my habits. One of the ways I did this was to walk to one of my properties rather than driving. It is a 20 min walk both ways so I had to factor that time into my day, but I did use that time for making phone calls. I was breathing a little heavy on the calls but people were impressed that I was walking. My company also offers a bike to ride around town that I will use the next time I have a meeting close enough to bike but too far to walk and I'm thinking about driving.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Forage for My Food
    Amongst the motivations for foraging are: a source of food; means of income; connecting with nature; cultural tradition; or transmitting "local ecological knowledge, and a means for stewarding local and native plant populations" (McLain et al. 2012, 13). Which of these would be your chief motivation and why?

    Jenna Dowding's avatar
    Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:32 PM
    A source of food for me is the motivation but that is primarily in the PNW we have amazing mushrooms, fern heads and ramps that grow wild and can be turned into delicious meals. I've always wanted to grow mushroom foraging and learned that if you stop by a ranger station they will review all your mushroom picks and let you know which ones are safe to eat or not. The ranger station wants to be helpful for people and offer to help as they want people to be aware of what is good and bad.