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Welcome to Campus Ecochallenge!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an Campus Ecochallenge expert in no time!

Ecochallenge.org
Campus Ecochallenge
Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar

Rusty Rose-Dixon

St. Kate's

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 378 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    65
    minutes
    being mindful
  • UP TO
    1.0
    water collection system
    installed
  • UP TO
    15
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    10
    pounds
    waste composted
  • UP TO
    30
    minutes
    spent learning

Rusty's actions

Simplicity

Meditate

I will meditate or create a moment of silence for 5 minute(s) each day to reflect on things important to me.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

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 30 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard or local community garden.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Collect Rain Water

I will create a rain garden or bioswale or use rain barrels to collect water for outdoor watering needs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Core Values

We may find more meaning and joy in life when our actions are aligned with our personal values. I will determine what my top 3-5 core values are so that I can better align my actions with them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Tend a Garden

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Waste

Compost Food Waste

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

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
    Nature
    Have you ever had a significant experience in nature that altered your perspective or focus? If so, please describe it.
    Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
    Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/25/2021 10:34 AM
    Surprisingly, since I've been living in my current location for the last 8 years, I've gained so much appreciation for the living things around me that I do what I can to keep the ecology preserved for their visits. Including this red-tail hawk, who is making stops in my back yard (and my neighbors). We feed birds (as well as supporting pollinators). As awful as some people view this, it is a part of the circle of life.
    Read More
  • Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
    Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/25/2021 10:24 AM
    This has been a good way to keep the environment on my mind daily. Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge for the good of the group. I know I learned about many things I had not considered before! Here's a photo I took of a bee on bee balm last summer in my garden. Looking forward to nature's visitors again soon!
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    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? How will you use your compost once it is ready?
    Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
    Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/20/2021 8:18 AM
    Minneapolis gives its residents the option to compost food (no charge) by offering collection bins collected on a resident's trash collection day. Here is more info on their Organics Recycling if you are interested in signing up. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Building Resilience
    Trace the water that flows down the drain from your house to the largest body of water nearby. What is the route it takes?
    Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
    Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/20/2021 7:54 AM
    I put this out, but it's too cold to collect run-off from the gutters yet. Once the freezing temps stop I can start to fill it from the rain. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity
    What are your top 3-5 core values? How did you narrow it down to those as being your core values?
    Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
    Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/20/2021 7:48 AM
    I had to consult the internet to find my Top 5:
    1. Creativity: to stay in the moment and keep things fresh.
    2. Authenticity: live who you are.
    3. Stability: even being a vagabond has its certainty.
    4. Determination: can't say "no" until ya know.
    5. Kindness: kindness changes everything.
    Here's a helpful article in Psychology Today if you would like to reflect on your values. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Building Resilience
    Why is it important to take care of pollinators?
    Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
    Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/16/2021 7:31 AM
    I am very much in the camp of creating much-needed spaces for our pollinators. Here's a Swallow-Tail butterfly that visited the echinacea (purple coneflower) in my garden last July (Minneapolis, MN).
    Did you know that pollinators are needed for 80% of crops that are planted?? Here is a great site where this fact comes from and to explore further the answer to this question! https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/importance.shtml#:~:text=It%20is%20an%20essential%20ecological,80%25%20require%20pollination%20by%20animals.


    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity
    What would you like to invest more time in reflecting on?
    Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
    Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/12/2021 4:14 PM
    The last 24 hours have been another reminder that racism remains at the very core of how we operate as a city. I would like to invest more time in understanding how to redirect the negative energy caused by repeated traumas in my community and begin to build systemic change. 
    Read More
    • Rusty Rose-Dixon's avatar
      Rusty Rose-Dixon 4/13/2021 10:17 AM
      Dr. Anu, I will put the names of the books you have suggested on my list, thank you! Yesterday I participated in a discussion event called "Living Room Conversations" that my internship site (Minneapolis College) created. The topic was "The role of the Star-Spangled Banner on an Anti-Racist Campus." This was an enlightening discussion between choir members and military members of the school. I think that creating space for dialogue and having the willingness to come together to talk about hot-button issues in a charged environment is the first step toward redirecting energy.
      Read More
    • Anupama Pasricha's avatar
      Anupama Pasricha 4/12/2021 6:53 PM
      Rusty, I would love to learn more about your approach. I recently read a book that has transformed my thinking, "The person you meant to be" by Dolly Chugh; I am currently reading/listening to "Winners take all," which has enlightened me about the systems. 
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