I will find local resources for learning about my watershed and the particular water issues my region faces.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Ecological Principles
Research Renewable Energy Options
I will find out if my local utilities offer an option for supporting renewable energy investment.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
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?
I wanted to share my list of native plant species for the Willamette Valley that help support pollinators! Recommendations include; The Xerces Society is a pretty neat resource! Here is their guide to Maritime Northwest native pollinating plants!
I also highly recommend checking out Oregon Metro for pollinator info, advice, and more! Here is a really great guide to Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards that they provide including recommendations, plant needs, ranges, and what each plant supports! (Native Plant for willamette Valley Yard booklet)
I haven’t gotten around to planting pollinator plants yet, but I am looking forward to when I can do so. It is also really awesome to check out some of these plants and discover which ones I have seen before.
This week, I thought I would get to know my local watershed, what their mission is, how to get involved, etc. Here is what I found;
My local watershed: Scappoose Bay watershed council
About: The watershed council was formed in 1997. Work with the watershed is a collaboration between staff, contractors, volunteers, and natural resource agencies. The mission of the council is to support a healthy watershed via projects to restore & protect native plants and wildlife.
Means of support:
Education:
Advising/assisting landowners in improving watershed (? they do?)
Student & volunteer involvement in programs that monitor water quality and macroinvertebrates, as well as habitat assessments and other
Restoration:
Fish barrier removal, weed management along creeks, plant restoration
Preservation:
Restoring and preserving habitats for people and wildlife such as migratory birds and salmon
Board Meetings are open to the public, they are held the second Wednesday of the month from 7 to 9 pm. They include a 'How to Get Involved' page and calendar of events regarding volunteer opportunities, native plant sales, donations, etc.
The site offers insight into components of the watershed landscape and examples of manmade constructs which affect it. Further information is available on sub-watersheds within the region. Additionally, there are community forums and education videos on various topics such as invasive plants, an overview on the watershed's function and assessing its condition, etc.
I was surprised to find out through the site that there is a native plant nursery! I really appreciate that the site includes a list of resources regarding native plants, here are the resources in case anyone is interested!
For my eco challenge this week I thought I would go ahead and try my hand at planting some summer squashes! I did a little more research to help me get a better idea of what the plants would need in terms of space, soil, and watering. I referenced some of the resources I had found last time and compared notes with resources like Urban Farmer and Portland Nursery. I really liked the Portland Nursery resource, it wasn't too difficult to follow and was pretty detailed, which I found to be rather helpful. I didn’t have as many materials as I thought to meet all the recommendations for the soil composition. I used a mixture of three soil types that we had laying around. I am not sure if the mix is acidic enough, but I am hoping that it will be sufficient. I'll be printing out a schedule to help me track the plant's process and watering days. I enjoyed planting more than I thought I would, although I will definitely need to do some more research and gather more resources to do more planting.
Destiny, I think it's awesome hat you are planting squash. Thank you for sharing the resource/links. I appreciate how thorough you are in this post with sharing the steps to your progress. If you are able and willing to share the schedule, I'd be interested in seeing what that looks like. Anywhoo, have a fun sun weekend!
I can't wait to hear about how those squashes turn out! I definitely should have researched more with the details of spacing, water amount, and soil but my peas recently sprouted so I think it's been a success!
For my eco challenge this week I felt inspired to research more about growing starters from produce. I have never had much of a green thumb and have been pretty intimidated by how many factors I know go into planting, but I’ve always wanted to practice gardening. I was able to find a few helpful (and not so helpful) pages on this. Here are some resources I checked out if anyone is also interested (and my thoughts regarding how information is presented).
GardenTech -suggests similar produce can be grown via similar instructions-indoors or outdoors
Head-form, leafy veggies| (ex. Celery, romaine, bok choy) Level: easy Steps: 1. Cut off plants base (1 in tall piece) 2. Place cut site up in shallow dish w/ ½ in of water 3. Refresh water regularly Note: -These will grow in water in a sunny spot indoors year round! -These can be transplanted into soil when roots behind to show -Cover roots & base w/soil, leave cut exposed
Bulb, bulb-like vegetables| (ex. Green onions, leeks, lemongrass) Steps: similar to leafy veggies 1. Cut off plant leaving base (1 in tall piece) 2. Place root end down in ½ in water, top exposed 3. Refresh water regularly
Note: mature bulb onions -Cut root base to 1 in, plant in soil keeping top exposed
Root crops, root-like veggies (ex. Turnips, ginger) Steps: 1. Save tops leaving ½ of veggie 2. Place in shallow water, cut side down
For ginger: Steps: 1. keep scrap (dried cuts) 2.Plant in 1 in soil Note: good indoor grower
My questions:
How big should planter spots be?
What veggies grow well together?
How much should outdoor starts be watered and when?
Strawberries: Steps: 1.Pick out & least 12 seeds 2.Dry at room temperature 2-3 days 3.Add to soil Notes: -Indoors or outdoors -Will need transferring -Moderate sunlight recommended
Tomatoes: Steps: 1. Place tomato slice on soil (a few centimeters) 2. Add centimeters of soil on top of slice 3. Spray lightly with water Note: -Will need transfer when 3 in in height -Indoors or outdoors
Citrus: Steps: 1. Extract and rinse seeds (DO NOT DRY!) 2. Place seeds on soil in small vessel 3. lightly cover with soil 4. Lightly mist 5. Cover vessel and poke holes in top 6. Keep in a warm spot until sprouting occurs 7. Transfer when inches in height
My notes:
If you are going to make a guide, it needs to be more comprehensive like instructions than a game of telephone lol
These guides were pretty good, but there are a lot of factors left out that seem pretty important like:
When to water
How much to water
Sunlight needs or sensitivities
Soil needs and how to meet them
Diagnosis;
Root rot
Blights
Pests
Sensitivities
etc
When to fertilize
Etc
The first several searches I found for how to grow produce from scraps were blogs. It is strange that there is not a comprehensive compendium for planting. I wonder if this is the fault of my search or a nonexistent resource? I know there are plenty of books regarding planting, but a shorthand comprehensive encyclopedic like platform would be nice. And could be more accessible too.
btw I've included some potentially helpful charts too.
That's frustrating you weren't able to find a comprehensive online guide about growing starters! It seems like this information shouldn't be that hard to find. Perhaps Amy might have some suggestions next class.
This week I decided to explore the energy options and resources offered through my local energy provider; Columbia River PUD. I was kind of surprised by the array of information that can be found on the site regarding how energy is being sourced, guides for improving energy efficiency, and incentives/resources for making energy efficient improvements. Here are some of the highlights I found and some links to some informative pages;
Local sources
Under the info page on the power supply, the PUD estimates its energy to be 95% carbon free. They provide a nice breakdown of power sourcing with 85% stemming from hydropower. 100% wind power is offered, but it makes up very little of the power supply (https://www.crpud.net/clean-energy/our-power-supply/ ).
Other pages can be found on solar and wind energy as well as electric cars.
Recommendations for in home (renter friendly) actions
The PUD provides info on Kill A Watt Monitors, which measure electricity usage of some plug in devices/appliances. They are available for purchase and check out from some libraries and the PUD office. These can also identify phantom loads, devices that use power even when turned off.
Incentives and options for financing/consultation etc
Federal tax credits increased/extended from Inflation Reduction Act (2022) for eligible candidates. There are rebate programs (ex. Electric heating upgrade), energy efficiency loans available via local credit unions, and assistive programs partnered with Community Action. The PUD offers free energy evaluations and various resources for individuals looking to make energy efficiency upgrades including consultation recommendations and other things to be aware of.
For this week I wanted to explore resources and suggestions for reducing food (and related) waste. I noticed how much I tend to eat pre-made meals or order food. The main reason for this being that it is often hard to plan and prepare food myself. I found this article by Huffpost to be pretty insightful as to why I find cooking to be particularly challenging; being able to plan for a single recipe takes me hours, let alone making a shopping list. I felt both understood and called out in their discussion on the complications of appetite with ADHD, protein/granola bars are a huge convenient go to for me. Their proposals seem like a nice way to kill two birds with one stone so to speak, addressing waste via planning and addressing some of the more frustrating relationships between ADHD and food. There are a lot of helpful suggestions here, but also challenges with incorporating them and remaining accountable with it. For instance I think having a master list of important food stuff would be helpful for me, but I could see myself easily forgetting to update this list or forgetting about it all together! The My Fridge Food website under the canvas resources is a great tool too, I've been looking for something like this for a while. The site has a pretty convenient interface for selecting foods you have on hand and finding recipes that can be made with those ingredients. This is a huge time (and stress!) saver for me, and makes cooking seem a little more manageable. I found the food keeper app to be really helpful too. I can be really OCD when it comes to food expiration. If I feel like something has sat in the fridge too long even if it still looks fine I tend to turn my nose up at it. Having a database that gives recommendations for how long something remains good for is a good resource for challenging that. It's a tool I think will make meal planning easier for me. I also thought I would check out the FDA’s recommendations, and realize I could be utilizing my freezer a lot more. I haven't really considered preserving ingredients rather than just leftovers. I haven’t gotten to incorporate these suggestions yet, but I am excited to try to. I know there are more ways to work on reducing food waste, but I thought this would be a pretty good place to start.
Ruby Nations 4/30/2023 4:50 PMThat's frustrating you weren't able to find a comprehensive online guide about growing starters! It seems like this information shouldn't be that hard to find. Perhaps Amy might have some suggestions next class.