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Beth Harshberger's avatar

Beth Harshberger

Pi Theta

"To be more mindful of the impacts I have daily and small changes I can make :)"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 766 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    13
    advocacy actions
    completed
  • UP TO
    1.0
    waste audit
    conducted
  • UP TO
    115
    neighbors
    met
  • UP TO
    26
    pounds of paper
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    107
    plastic straws
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    118
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    10
    public officials or leaders
    contacted
  • UP TO
    111
    disposable cups
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    220
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    1,620
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    135
    people
    helped

Beth's actions

Action Track: Building Resilience

Meet My Neighbors

I will meet 1 new neighbor(s) each day.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Learn More about Food Apartheid

What can lack of access to nutritious food affect a community? How can having access to nutritious food help a community become more resilient?

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 2 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Cheap, single-use items and disposable packaging end up blowing around as litter more often in poor and POC-majority neighborhoods. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Get Involved in the Water Justice Movement

I will spend at least 5 minutes using the resources provided to learn about water justice and find out how I can get involved in local initiatives.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Help Others

I will offer to help 1 person(s) who are in need each day.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Go Paperless

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Support Local Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 10 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard or local community garden.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

RESEARCH LOCAL WASTE SITES

I will spend 5 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Skip the Straw

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 4 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Advocate For More Food Packaging Options

I will advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, at work, or on campus to reduce pollution in the environment and in local communities.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Prevent Recycling Contamination

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 5 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Meet My Local Farmers

I will visit my nearest farm to find out who produces my food, and will learn about the quality of life of those around the world who produce my food in order to make better choices when I shop.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Advocate for More Food Options

I will advocate for local and/or organic food options at work or on campus.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Choose Two-Sided Printing

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper per day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided when I have to print documents.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Try a New Way to Prep

I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 2 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Plant an Herb Garden

I will plant an herb garden in my home, workplace, or dorm room.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Visit A Local Farm

I will visit a nearby farm to pick my own fruits and veggies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Take Control

Both systemic and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

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
    Action Track: Building Resilience Help Others
    In your opinion, how do social inequalities diminish a strong sense of community?

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:57 AM
    Social inequalities allow for exclusion and divides in groups of people. A strong sense of community cannot be found if strong differences are felt and not celebrated.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Take Control
    How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:55 AM
    Health is affected on every scale and continuously intersect with one another. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Skip the Straw
    How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:54 AM
    Reduce the use of single use plastic such as straws, cups, silverware. Repair and repurpose clothing or other things that I may otherwise throw away.
  • 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 reusable one, but it's just hard to make the switch. 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?

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:53 AM
    I personally don't drink coffee and limit the amount I do use single use plastic. I find it isn't difficult for people, it's just simply more convienent to use a single use cup than carrying a reuseable one around. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Use a Reusable Water Bottle
    While water bottles are needed for health and safety in certain places, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. What are the barriers to you using reusable bottles and tap water instead of bottled water? How could you make this a permanent habit?

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:52 AM
    Some water is not safe nor clean to drink. Making this a permanent habit requires being mindful and using a reuseable water bottle as part of one's daily routine.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Advocate For More Food Packaging Options
    What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:49 AM
    Human activities affect the environment by contributing to air pollution. It is generally accepted that air pollution can cause public health problems as well as harm to plant/animal life. Pollution can also affect soil and bodies of water. Toxins such as human waste and chemicals can have major affects such as environmental degradation and problems like acid rain.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Building Resilience Get Involved in the Water Justice Movement
    Who is affected by polluted water or a lack of access to water in your region? How are they affected?

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:37 AM
    In my region rural areas as well as low income are mostly affected by polluted water. While clean and accessible drinking water is seen as a basic need, there are so many that do not have this luxury. 

  • Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/15/2021 7:36 AM
    Last day of the ECO CHALLENGE :) good job ladies!!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Reduce Single-Use Disposables
    What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What did you substitute or could be substituted instead?

    Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/08/2021 8:43 AM
    Living on campus, a regularly use single use plastic cups as well as silverware. I try my best to bring reuseable bags anywhere I go. A substitution for cups would be to bring a reuseable water bottle with me as well as metal silverware. 

  • Beth Harshberger's avatar
    Beth Harshberger 4/08/2021 8:41 AM
    Happy Thursday :) hope everyone is having a great week!