Skip to main content
October 3 - October 24, 2018

SouthCoast Team Feed

BACK TO TEAM PAGE

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?


  • Nicole Morris-McLaughlin's avatar
    Nicole Morris-McLaughlin 10/24/2018 6:43 PM
    Congrats to Gray Wyatt for being the high scorer this week!  You will be receiving reusable wool balls for putting in the dryer instead of having to use dryer sheets.

  • Timothy  Gay's avatar
    Timothy Gay 10/24/2018 5:38 PM
    My why to joining the ecochallenge was because my professor said it was a way for us to earn bonus points. But then as the challenge went on throughout October I realized how wasteful I am and how wasteful everybody is and how nobody is talking about it. Nobody seems to care that the climate is changing and that we are ruining the world we inhabit. I have always cared about the environment but the ecochallenge has showed me ways I can do little things that will have a big impact. I cannot wait to join next year and just because the challenge is over does not mean I am going back to my old ways. I am a better more greener person right now than I was at the start of this month and now I am going to never stop improving. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Use a Reusable Mug
    Maybe you've heard how good it is to switch from a single use coffee cup to a reuseable one but it's just hard to make the switch. Think about what stands in your way of making this a habit. By identifying the challenges, you can begin to work through them to have better success in taking this action. Knowing the difference you are making, how does it make you feel?

    Timothy  Gay's avatar
    Timothy Gay 10/24/2018 5:32 PM
    It makes me feel good that making these small lifestyle changes like skipping the straw or using a reusable mug is my own way of improving myself and my environment. A lot of people think that there is not point because the difference one person makes is so small but then if you think of the big picture and multiple the difference that one person is making by a thousand or a million other people then as a city, state, town, country, globe we CAN make a huge difference and I just wish more people would see that. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Use Reusable Bags
    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?

    Timothy  Gay's avatar
    Timothy Gay 10/24/2018 5:24 PM
    This should be something simple that everybody needs to be doing. I am sure that most of you have that one plastic bag in your house you stuff all the other plastic shopping bags into and that is just a lot of unnecessary waste. By buying a few reusable bags and keeping them in your car you can cut out all that excess plastic use. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Use a Reusable Water Bottle
    While water bottles serve an important role in places for health and safety, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. Can you identify the barriers in making this a new habit? How can you set yourself up for success in making this a permanent change?

    Bailey Sweet's avatar
    Bailey Sweet 10/24/2018 5:06 PM
    At UMASS Dartmouth, we installed water bottle filling stations that promoted the use of reusable water bottles. Having those around more frequently creates a habit in our community and a reminder that we should use reusable bottles.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Compost Food Waste
    New to composting? Be sure to check out the action resource links to learn tips and more about it. As you transition from throwing food away to composting, what do you notice about how much you are tossing? Do you know how your compost will be used and the benefits it has on the environment?

    Bailey Sweet's avatar
    Bailey Sweet 10/24/2018 5:02 PM
    I started a compost bin three months ago, and it has gone tremendously well! I just put the fresh dirt made into my garden, so hopefully next year my garden will have enough calcium so I don't experience tomato rot.

  • Bailey Sweet's avatar
    Bailey Sweet 10/24/2018 5:00 PM
    I learn a lot from youtuber's that practice minimalism, and how they made personal lifestyle changes to change their behaviors. A lot of them discuss the proper way to dispose of recyclables, because most people don't understand how they have to clean their recycling before putting it in the bin, etc. Overall, they inspire me to better myself to be more environmentally friendly.  
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Support Local Pollinators
    Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

    Christopher Lodi's avatar
    Christopher Lodi 10/24/2018 2:44 PM
    Pollinators help other flowers, and vegetation produce. Pollinators are needed in order to help crops group, spread wildlife, and ensure that all plant based organisms can perform to what they are intended to do. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community Support Native Communities
    Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?

    Gray Wyatt's avatar
    Gray Wyatt 10/24/2018 2:41 PM
    The reason we need to sustain this planet in the first place is because everything is out of balance. There's too much, too little; too much waste, too much heat, too much pollution, too little bees, not enough fish. The point of sustainability is attempting to restore balance and keep it, more or less.

  • Gray Wyatt's avatar
    Gray Wyatt 10/24/2018 2:21 PM
    It's not difficult to change a handful of small day to day choices for a month, and to encourage others to do so to. I see no reason to stop th goals even the challenge ends.