I recently went on a short trip to see the superbloom flowers during a trip to southern California. While I did have to drive, I opted to buy a secondhand souvenirs, including some vintage postcards highlighting the flower from a local business.

This was my first time planting trees and although the weather wasn't great, it was good for my mental and spiritual health by simply being in nature. Before we began, the organizer asked us to reflect and I took this opportunity to look around and just appreciate what nature offers us everyday. During the planting, I felt connected to the earth as I dug the earth, making space for this new plant. The digging and fetching for mulch was the physical part and it was a bonus to be active during this event!

I explored the river trail 30 min out and back at my brother's home in Idaho. It is quite the trail.

Most of my carbon is emitted by heating or cooling my home. I installed a programmable thermostat and upgraded to a more efficient water heater.

I went on a hunt to look for a doc about seafood, similar to Seaspiracy I watched during last Earth Month, but ended up watching Chasing Coral on Netflix. This film was such an eye opener in learning about how the coral reefs around the world are disappearing, really really fast due to the water temps rising. I'd recommend watching even just to see the beauty in coral reefs.

I learned that there are SO many chemicals in the common cleaning products we usually think of buying which are harmful to both the biodiversity, but our wallets too. I've made my own all-purpose cleaner using just water, dish soap and essential oils and it costs a fraction of the cost; win-win!

When grocery shopping, I noticed plastic showing up in the packing of items that I could have easily gotten from the bulk store. I've now made a list of items in my bulk shopping list to look out for to get them there in the future.

It really a great way for me to connect with my surroundings and community. I learn a bit more about the place I live and get some quirky tidbits on local lore.

This challenge was not difficult at all! I always have bags in the car to make shopping trips easy.