Rebecca Mononen

For my final post, I will let you know how I think this project went. Personally, I thought the EcoChallenge was a great project. I think that the EcoChallenge was a good way to keep the class motivated and we’ve made such an impact! I found that the tasks where we had to do something physical (instead of educational) were much more satisfying and appealing. Of course, it is important to learn and spread awareness of the problems that the EcoChallenge was promoting (ex: sustainable fisheries, etc.) however, I found I was much more motivated to do the physical work (fixing lightbulbs, winterizing windows, etc.). Of all my projects, I’m most proud of the table I recycled. I know it was not a challenge in the EcoChallenge but I am extremely proud of it, nevertheless. Changing lightbulbs, not eating meat, repurposing plastics, and winterizing windows have helped me reduce my footprint but also put them into context. These actions although important are not all that I can do to be more sustainable. There is still so much to do! I would have liked to have implicated myself more in the EcoChallenge. I found this semester to be quite stressful and heavy and I think it would have helped me calm some of my stress while also feeling productive and like I was making a difference. Sustainability is a value I hold dear and am constantly trying to improve upon to become more sustainable. I’m nowhere near perfect but this class as well as the EcoChallenge have helped me say positive and motivated even when I felt like I couldn’t or didn’t want to. I think this tool should be promoted to the whole school! It would be amazing to see the positive impact that we could have (more than just the students in this course). It could also be interesting to have the EcoChallenge in a couple of classes and the class who has the most points at the end of the semester would win. Although, I’m not sure what they would win (eternal glory?).  

I have many spider plants at home. Anyone who owns one will know why... they create babies like nobody's business! Therefore, I have a lot of plants. Christmas is coming up and I wanted to gift them so I have some of the babies in water growing roots in order to be planted. We have some individual yogurt containers that are doomed for the garbage (as they cannot be recycled in my municipality). So, I decorated (painted) some and I'm planning on planting the little plants (once their roots are fully formed) in the plastic yogurt containers in order to give them as gifts this Christmas, or anytime, it doesn't have to be Christmas. It's a simple craft that can be personalized for the person you are giving them to!

This week I have found it very difficult to be motivated to learn more about what I can do to be sustainable. I am EXTREMELY busy with school (8 assignments due next Monday... wish me luck). I have been focusing on eating as many greens as possible and drinking water. Hopefully next week or the week after I will be able to reach more goals. One thing that I have done so far this week that has helped is that my neighbour asked me to walk her dog during the day, it's not a very long walk since the dog is quite old but at least it gets me out of the house and it's been nice to walk slowly around my neighborhood. 

Also, if you have your Christmas lights up, don't forget to turn them off during the day (otherwise it's a waste of energy). 

There is a window in my home that is not very well insulated. Instead of replacing the whole window, my family thought we should wait (replacing windows can be quite expensive) and instead insulate it properly so that we do not lose any of the heat. So, that is what we did last week. My dad went on a ladder and manually shut it from the outside while my mom and I locked it and put a plastic sheet around it. I know using plastic is not the best way to do it but it is cost-effective and will at least solve the problem of wasting energy (heat loss). Does anyone know of a better solution? I'll have to look into it. Now not only is it a much more controlled temperature in that room (it gets really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter) it is also much quieter in there. We live near a highway so when the window was closed (not sealed properly) it sounded the same as if it was wide open which was not great for when anyone took a zoom call in there... it was way too loud! 

These past weeks I have been going on as many hikes as I can. This week I have really been enjoying our gorgeous weather. This weekend I climbed up mount Rigaud with a friend (socially distanced and masked when we couldn't of course) and spent some time catching up at the top of the mountain. Nature and spending time outside have helped me connect with myself and disconnect from my devices and the internet. 
We had a whole conversation about the amount of time we have spent on our devices and how we feel it has been affecting us. We were talking about podcasts that she had listened to, the book 24/6, and the documentary The Social Dilemma (which I finished this weekend... very interesting documentary that will make you want to delete all social media ASAP). So, now I'm trying to be more mindful of the amount of social media I consume in a day. I have set timers on them and decided that in the morning instead of scrolling on my phone to read a book! So far, it is going really well!

I love buying antique furniture for quite cheap. This becomes a problem sometimes because if I like it, I might buy it. Which means I accumulate a lot of it. Last week I bought a 1960's side table. It is absolutely gorgeous and was only $5. The only problem was that someone had painted it completely brown... and not a nice brown. So, I got out some sandpaper and some paint I had lying around from the last time I upcycled my desk, and for about an hour a day last week I worked on it. This was the biggest furniture flip that I had done by myself so far (usually my upcycles consist of camouflaging the scratches with doilies I bought at a thrift store). I am extremely pleased with how it turned out!
Now it's being used as my bedside table. 

Last week I noticed that we had some lightbulbs (3 lightbulbs) around the house that needed to be changed. This weekend my father and I went to the hardware store (wearing masks of course) and bought some LED lightbulbs to replace them. I've stopped taking as many walks because it's been so gloomy and cold out. However, I'm motivated to get going again because I am getting cabin fever being stuck in my home only seeing the light from my windows!  

I am looking forward to some of the eco challenges that I will participate in coming up. For example the lightbulb change and covering windows/changing windows. My dad and I have planned to change the lightbulbs in the house that are not already LED this weekend. Also, there is a window in my house that is not very well insulated so once it gets cooler (too cold to open the windows for more than 10 mins) I will close it up. I am also planning to partner with a non-profit in my area. I'm not sure which one just yet but I have some in mind (L'actuel which is a food bank in my area is one that I am particularly fond of).

As I keep collecting my goals I find that there are a lot of aspects of my life that can be improved. This is true physically with reducing my waste (energy, plastic, food, etc) but also mentally. For example, I have been taking walks recently and I have found them to be very relaxing. It is a great time to observe my surroundings and focus on nothing particularly difficult... and especially something that is not a screen... I've really enjoyed watching the leaves turn different colours. This weekend was particularly beautiful, all the leaves are going to start falling off the trees now. Winter is coming!

I really enjoy eating fish. As I am a pescatarian (a vegetarian who eats fish), I try to limit how much I eat and try to make it as sustainable as possible. It was interesting to learn about what I can do better and I will make sure to do that from now on!