One thing I learned today that was important to me is limiting how much I worry about my work/school. In the future, I am going to disconnect from my phone, and focus on my friends and my more immediate tasks.

I recently just finished a book by David Haskell called "The Songs of Trees." I imagined his words on my hike today. I recommend to anyone needing a break from scientific literacy!

Today I walked outside in the pouring rain. I saw some titmice, a blue jay, worms, and wet leaves. I was soaked upon returning, but I needed fresh air away from my senior project work.

Today I talked to one of my close friends from home who has a different political stance than me. I listened to his viewpoints and learned a lot about why he thinks the way he does regarding environmental justice issues. I learned about how his upbringing influenced his beliefs. Overall, this conversation gave me insight, not only about how he views the world, but also how similar as humans we are despite our differences.

We already had an herb garden, but I cleared ours out. We had a few strawberry plants, and some sage and oregano which are perennial. When it gets a little warmer I will add basil and parsley. 

My family is part of a CSA, so it is easy to have one food item that we center around. This week, I also foraged some ramps, which made a great pesto! 

I feel healthier and more energetic, but also cooking for my family has also made their lives a bit healthier as they have begun to steer away from meat. Just some fruit with breakfast, and eating cooked vegetable-based meals for lunch and dinner has improved their well-being as well as mine:)

I realized there was no need to drive from the grocery store to the pharmacy when they are right next to each other. It's crazy how something so obvious hadn't occurred to me before. I think that speaks to how car-obsessed life in the suburbs can be.

Bottom-up change is the best way to address the Climate Crisis. We need to change the whole world, but the world is made up of communities and the ones who know what's best for each community are the members of that community. I've been volunteering for my local food pantry and food recovery non-profit called Gather which is based in Portsmouth, NH. Gather designs programs hand-tailored to best meet our community's food security and food waste problems. Many of the donations they collect are products from local grocery stores, farms, and other businesses that would've gone bad otherwise. What they can't give away they compost. Working with them has given me the chance to support my community in a sustainable way and get to know lots a amazing new people.