Reflection: Weeks 9-12

With only a couple of weeks left in this semester (I cant believe this) here is a recap of the last 4 weeks throughout our journey in Environmental Health.

Week 9: I completed an advocacy project identifying all of my political representatives ranging from the president, to state and local legislature, and even my hometown mayor.  We then discussed the meaning of advocacy and participated in an exercise with the whole class.  The final portion of class was devoted to developing our own personal Eco-chic lifestyle change that we will be monitoring and reporting on for the remainder for the semester and developed a SMART Goal for this change.

Week 10: This week began with an assignment identifying a particular bill that interested us and doing a bit of research of on it as part of our advocacy project.  We then watched a video titled "Unnatural Causes" and described the bill we had chosen to the class.  To round out class we discusses a what entailed a photo essay as an intro to an upcoming assignment.  Finally we had our first weekly update on our Eco-chic lifestyle change, mine being that I will eat at least 4 servings (1/2 cup) of fruits or vegetables (or a mix) every day for the next 10 weeks.

Week 11: We once again had another advocacy project due, this time we did an issue overview of our bill and how it impacts different populations and different types of people.  In class we watched a video called "Story of Stuff" and discussed our upcoming junking projects.  To round out this week we had another weekly update on our lifestyle goal due, where we once again monitored our progress of attaining our goal.

Week 12: To begin class this week we each presented our photo essays briefly to the class and discussed   our reasons for doing them, we then were introduced to Blog Hops and how they work.  We then discussed how to communicate with decision makers and the media.  Also we lead in to our letter & fact sheet assignment for our advocacy project due the following week.  To finish up this week we posted another weekly update on our lifestyle change and discussed our next class meeting at Goodwill.

With only a couple weeks left in this semester I can't believe the amount I have leaned, I can't wait to see what is to come in these next few weeks and I am looking forward to my junking project.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

Image Courtesy of Google Images

1. What was your SMART goal? How did you do in achieving your SMART goal?

• My SMART goal: I will eat at least 4 servings (1/2 cup) of fruits or vegetables (or a mix) every day for the next 10 weeks.
• This was my best week yet falling short only once, and it was primarily because I really wasn’t that hungry and didn’t want to eat another serving of vegetables or fruit on top of my large dinner.

2. Address successes & challenges. What strategies helped you to be successful? What challenges did you face? How did you deal with them?

• I have found a really good system of balancing my servings throughout the day, starting with a good breakfast in the morning. I am usually not very hungry in the morning so I usually just eat some fruit before I begin my day.
• The only real challenge I faced was eating too big of meals and not wanting to add a serving of fruits or vegetables to simply meet my goal.

3. What feelings did you experience? When did you feel them?

• I am still feeling about the same as the weeks prior, minus the stresses of the semester winding to an end. However instead of surrounding myself with comfort food this time around, I am instead going to resort to fruit!!

4. What did you learn this week?

• I learned that this goal is very attainable, I have also learned some neat ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into the types of meals that I usually eat.

5. What are your plans for next week? Will you continue with the change as is? Will you modify to make it more achievable or more challenging?

• My challenges for this upcoming week are actually beginning to decrease because I am back in the swing-of-things with school. I now have some time to prepare meals and snacks the night before so I can receive the proper amount to fruit and vegetables that I am shooting for. For this week I plan to continue to do what I am doing and if all goes well, even exceed my goal.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Share & Voice: Venison Recipes

Image Courtesy of Google Images

Since both the Wisconsin and Minnesota gun deer hunting seasons have come to a close, I decided that it would be a good time to share a pretty neat website (Broken Arrow Ranch) I found containing a lot of ideas for healthy ways to prepare venison.  This website is not only limited to venison recipes however, it also contains numerous recipes for antelope, wild boar, and even exotic wild game.  I understand that we all may not hunt nor enjoy hunting, or even consume meat for that matter; but I am an avid outdoorsman and hunting is one of my passions so I figured I would share these interesting recipes with everyone.

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

Triple Valley Farms

For my photo essay I have choose to share some photos I had taken this fall on my grandparents farm.  Since we have already discussed organic farming and the issues surrounding farming in general, I thought it would pertain to this class very well.

All of the crops on the farm are raised and harvested organically, and maintained independently by my grandfather and other family members.

The farm covers between about 400 acres, and is located just outside Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin.

The acreage on this farm does not only include crop land, it is also plus in hardwoods and provides an excellent for wildlife.

All of the crops harvested are fertilized by the cattle on the farm, these cattle are raised from birth on the farm and fed only a natural diet containing zero hormonally enhanced food.

The farm has been in the family for well over 100 years and has been the livelihood for my grandparents and their parents before them.  A majority of my childhood has been spent here as well, whether it was hunting, family gatherings, or just helping out.  The farm is without a doubt my favorite place to be, and I consider it my own little getaway.