Yevelina Torgonskiy

I tried planting some “fancier” flowers in the past, but we didn’t really have the space to get larger containers. It was also cooler and I had to keep them inside. The only room I had was in my window (with the worst lighting) and they ended up growing too tall too fast and folded over. Now there’s only a fern in my window as it doesn't need that much light and I get to have a plant in my room (and I got a fern because I named one of my budgies after the plant — both the plant and parrot are the exact same shade). Hopefully, the low light is sufficient. 

About two weeks ago, I saw some reels/TikToks (short videos) where people were walking or riding around their local cities and sprinkling native seeds onto empty plots or pots. They even used spice shakers for easier distribution. We did something similar at the beginning of the course, but it’s harder to see the effect with only one soil clump. I thought that was fun but wanted to do it more locally and with a larger amount of seeds. I know plants native to an area do better and have a higher chance of surviving. I had multiple bags of local seeds and planted a little row of them. I also germinated a mango and put that into the ground. 

Documentary: Less is More: How to be Happy with Nothing

I find minimalism interesting as it is the complete opposite of who I am. A man in the documentary had only 50 items to himself. As someone who has multiple art hobbies, I have more than 50 colored threads (collected or given over the years), painting equipment, books, and probably thousands of seed beads (I bought a bag full at a local Goodwill, so that was a great find). This documentary was perfect as I recently started letting go of things I've collected over the years (e.g. old school notes that I'm recycling into usable art paper). But, I also think it's something that has to click for someone as change is hard, and forcing it may make things or relationships worse. Another man talked about reducing living spaces. I think that's interesting as I've often thought that if I got a house, I'd make the smallest room my bedroom and have the larger rooms for my workspace and parrots (to give them natural light and space to fly). I also agree with another man who said you should buy something meant to be repairable. So many things we buy end up in the trash once there's a bit of damage because we can't fix it. Constantly rebuying things creates so much permanent waste as companies search for current profits. So, minimizing such purchases will reduce such waste. 

This week I chose to walk at times I usually ride. I did not get the mile per day (I don't count walking between buildings and such, but I do count when I walked one mile nonstop). The weather was better this week, so it was easier to make that choice to walk. I often wear a hat as I currently don't have prescription sunglasses, and I commonly get headaches. But then I have to remember to bring one with me. Living in Portland makes it more of a task to walk in rainy weather, so it's annoying that even great weather is sometimes offputting. I commute other times as I live off campus (way out of walking distance). However, whenever walking or using public transportation, I always have to think about safety and make sure the route I take is in an open place. The added worry is unfortunate as it does impact the transportation methods I choose each day (and lowering emissions shouldn't result in more things to worry about). 

This week I chose to sign a petition as I’m swamped with assignments and studies. I found a website (https://www.ewg.org/) that contained multiple petitions dealing with food and chemicals. They interested me as previous biology courses have discussed endocrine-disrupting hormones and how new chemicals added to food are potentially harmful. The specific petition I signed was the "Get Dangerous Chemicals Out of Out Food". It mentioned some chemicals link to cancer or mess with the immune system. 

pic 1. Ferny, Minty, & Timmy

Pic 2. Minty and her first friend who passed ~2yrs ago, Berry (painting)

This week's challenge was unexpectedly hard. I thought it would be easier to eliminate plastic bottles or reuse them. I do use a metal bottle for drinking water. However, this past week I've drunk a few bottles of sparkling water and therefore used plastic. While most will be recycled, I only "saved" one by cutting the end off to fit my mini vacuum. I vacuum my parakeets' food waste to remove the husks they leave behind. They are not smart enough to throw their waste out of their bowls, so the empty husks remain on top. Then they have to dig around to find seeds. I noticed I was throwing out good food and decided to find a way to filter their food to prevent waste. So, I occasionally reuse small water bottles for such purposes. On the plastic topic, I need to stick with plain water as that will be healthier while producing less waste. 

This past week I tried to incorporate 1 meal that was free of processed foods. I think I somewhat kept up with the goal. Since this past week was Easter Sunday, my family prepared many homemade dishes. Most of them were salad types (sorry don’t know the translated names). We had many left-overs and ate them every day until they ran out. So, I think I have gotten multiple meals that weren’t processed. Unfortunately, our kitchen is small so, when people try to cook there are always issues. I know it’s healthier to eat homemade meals and I definitely want to incorporate them into daily life. 

Although I did less walking because of the weather, I tried to at least get out and sit in nature. I think it's a good thing to continue doing as I'm the person who typically goes out to get to a destination. I don't really get to relax and absorb nature around me as I end up thinking about what I plan to do next. So, hopefully, the sun on the skin and grass underneath can help with grounding and slowing down. I think the way I practice gratitude for nature is through art and collecting feathers. As much as I need to learn to make portraits, I still end up going back to painting nature and animals. So, creating art helps me appreciate the planet. I've also been collecting feathers [crow, pigeon, whatever else I find] (no luck this week) and I hope to craft something with them one day.

I chose to watch a documentary called “Sustainable” (2016). Overconsumption, agricultural development, and mass production of processed food have ruined the connection between local farmers and local consumers. Improper care of the soil has degraded the nutrients, and how regenerative agriculture can help revive soils. Mixing and rotating crops have shown improvements in soil without the need for pesticides. Rotating and diversifying crops also reduces runoff and flooding. Focusing on quality over quantity will save soil and have high future yields.