University of St. Thomas Faculty & Staff

Today my daughter and I participated in the St. Paul community clean-up.  We tracked what we picked up using the Marine Debris Tracker: 207 items, 93% of which was plastic.  Most found object was cigarette butts.  I highly recommend using the Marine Debris Tracker to help NOAA better understand the waste around our watershed! 

I use the Headspace app to stay present in the moment. I get lost worrying about things, and having a reminder to be grateful for what is happening right now is good for me.

the water that lands around my house goes to the storm drains which flow half a mile west, directly into the Mississippi.  Everything it picks up in my yard makes its way to this river and some of it may even flow all the way to the Gulf of Mexico!

My brother works in transmission planning as an electrical engineer, so we have many conversations about sustainable energy and energy issues in his industry. I'm inspired to act by his helpful education, as I know more of how and why things matter.

Because of our food supply, and for the longevity of plants and trees who require pollination to grow. I just talked about pollination with my FYEX students and was proud that nearly all of them knew how critical pollinators are to growing and sustaining produce. 

We just bought a large composting container for our garden plot and I'm so excited! We will utilize the compost as organic matter for the garden, and as a space to discard rotten or inedible veggies we grow. 

I feel more connected to my family, and my neighborhood, as well as my work. I'm making more of a point to call friends, or text them, vs. interacting through social media. 

I LOVE bird watching while I'm walking or running. Today I saw a brown bird near the lake and recorded it's call. I realized when I got home that it was the female red-winged black bird, but that the females are actually brown in color which I did not know :)

I marked this task off early as I know the challenge ends soon, but I'm going with my partner to an organic farm this weekend. He's taking an organic vegetable production class at UMN for his master's program, so I'm hoping to to learn more about their growing process and organic techniques to help sustain the environment. 

There is so much interesting architecture around our neighborhood! and also it's nice to smile and say hi to folks out walking. :)