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April 1 - April 21, 2021
Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar

Kathryn Stonesmyth

Dickinson Green Devils 2021

"Lets work to build the world we want to live in! "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,047 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    community event
    hosted or attended
  • UP TO
    720
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    915
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    320
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    14
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    19
    pounds
    waste composted
  • UP TO
    14
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved

Kathryn's actions

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Nature

Support Local Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 2 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard or local community garden.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

I will save up to 8 gallons (30 L) of water each day by turning it off while brushing my teeth.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Exercise Daily

Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 30 minute(s) each day.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Conserve Toilet Water

I will save up to 12 gallons (45 L) of water a day by flushing only when necessary.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Research Restorative Justice

I will spend 30 minutes learning about restorative justice and conflict resolution opportunities in my own community or state.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Plant a garden!

Begin a garden in our communities' yard. To provide food for our community and to connect with nature and help the soil!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Power Down the Computer

I will power down my computer and monitor when not using it for more than 2 hours, saving up to (1.1) lbs of CO2 each day that I do this.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

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 19
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 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Host A Watch Party

I will host a watch party to screen a documentary about an issue that matters to me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Go For A Daily Walk Outside

I will take a walk outside for 30 minutes each day.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Happiness

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 16
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
    Water Conserve Toilet Water
    What would a sustainable water future in your region look like? What needs to change?

    Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/21/2021 9:13 AM
    A sustainable water future in Carlise would require a lot of work. To start off with we need increased permeable surfaces, Carlisle has a tendency towards swampiness- because Carlisle much like D.C. once was a swamp. This means that we have a lot of flooding over the impermeable surfaces in Carlisle. We also need green roofs and systems for sustainable water collection and redirecting, to allow it to reach the water table as well as to prevent erosion. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water 5-Minute Showers
    Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

    Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/21/2021 9:07 AM
    Polluting, washing clothes that have microplastics in them, both of these practices contaiminate water systems. Washing clothes that do have microplastics in them less frequently or buying clothes that are made of more organic materials are a couple of ways to minimize your impact on water systems! Picking up trash or garbage prevents it from being washed into drainage systems that often lead to local water supplies!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity Needs Vs. Wants
    How is creativity a necessary ingredient for practicing simplicity?

    Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/21/2021 9:01 AM
    Practicing simplicity requires that you think outside the box with what you already have! If you can think through ways to make what you need out of what you already have then you don't have to buy it! For example making a reusable bag out of an old t-shirt, or making a scrubby out of old foam that came as packaging, or turning old shirts into rags- there are so many ways to reduce spending, buying and increase creativity!!!

  • Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/21/2021 8:39 AM
    I am working on practicing self care in new ways! And one of those practices has been deleting all tabs each evening and turning my computer all the way off! This may seem silly but waking up to a fresh "clean" computer really helps me start fresh and not feel overwhlemed from the get go!!

  • Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/21/2021 8:25 AM
    Working on reducing the number of purchases I make out of a perception of need that is false and created to perpetuate consumer culture! Any advice? I've started a journal of my purchases, what else should I try?

  • Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/21/2021 7:27 AM
    I can't believe tomorrow is Earth Day- has this semester really almost gone by? We are doing so much y'all! I hope you're all taking time to enjoy the free moments and take care of yourselves!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Healing & Renewal Research Restorative Justice
    How can Restorative Justice help foster the well-being of both people and planet?

    Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/20/2021 4:51 PM
    Restorative Justice is critical to the well-being of both people and planet, because it seeks to give support to the voices and truths of those people who are most directly harmed by unjust societal structures and so most directly harmed by the effects of climate change. 
  • 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?

    Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/20/2021 4:44 PM
    Going to the Grab and Go creates a lot of single-use platic waste. One solution I found was for the salad cartens, they make great canvases for wall art! A friend of a friend also found a way to make a bag out of the used chip bags. Another way to reduce waste however overall is to eat at the grab and go less, which I am working on doing!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Support Local Pollinators
    Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

    Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/20/2021 1:57 PM
    Pollinators keep ecosystems healthy. This is critical to our ability to survive and thrive as humans. They are also critical to the survival of our food systems!!! 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Exercise Daily
    How can you incorporate other personal values (like quality time with friends or spending time in nature) into your exercise routine?

    Kathryn Stonesmyth's avatar
    Kathryn Stonesmyth 4/20/2021 1:55 PM
    One personal value is to invest in time with friends, in order to incorporate this into my exercise routine I often ask friends or housemates if they want to join me! This makes these things more enjoyable as well as provides really great opportunities to get to know each other better. I also really value time outside and so often try to workout, do my exercises outside as well!

    • Emily Pineo's avatar
      Emily Pineo 4/21/2021 5:03 AM
      I think I'd be more likely to consistently workout outside if the weather in PA was more consistently warm. And that's why I'm usually inside the Kline even if it's beautiful out, haha!