SUST 113

The eco-challenge went great! What an excellent program!

I chose native plants for a strip between my driveway and my neighbors' driveway that has several trees. For low-growing plants, I chose pasque flower, purple poppy mallow, Missouri evening primrose, wild strawberry, and violets that are already growing there in lovely patches. For taller plants, I chose orange coneflower, smooth blue aster,...

My Earth Month Ecochallenge has been surprisingly grounding. Now that it’s coming to an end, it feels like the time went by really fast, but I’ve learned a lot about slowing down, being more present, and appreciating small everyday moments.

It’s been going pretty well overall. I didn’t realize how many small habits I had that weren’t very eco-friendly until I actually started paying attention. Stuff like shorter showers, turning off lights, and being more mindful about waste seemed small at first, but they’ve started to feel more natural now.

I reduced things like leaving my room lights on all night and started turning off outside lights when they weren’t needed. I also paid more attention to not using really bright lights late at night unless I had to. This can help wildlife because a lot of animals rely on natural light patterns to hunt, sleep, or migrate. Too much artificial...

My surplus food went to people in my community who needed it, like a local food pantry and a few roommates. It mainly benefited families who might not always have consistent access to meals, so even something small could make a difference.

Choosing to spend money at places like that helps keep money in the community and supports local jobs. It also builds stronger connections because you’re directly helping people around you instead of just a large corporation.

Shortening my showers made me way more aware of how much water I was actually using without thinking about it. Before, I’d just let the water run and not really pay attention to the time, but once I started cutting my showers down, I realized how quickly it adds up. It made me think more about not wasting water and being more intentional with...

EcoChallenge has been such an amazing experience for me. One of my goals was keeping a resilience journal, and even though I’ve been struggling with self-worth and a lot of self-doubt, this challenge really helped. Just spending 10 minutes a day reflecting on things has made a difference. I can genuinely see changes in myself, and I feel so...

It is going great. Recently I have been feeling much better including servings of fruits and vegetables in my meals.