Bryson Wilkinson

This week I spent time in my hometown and did quite a few things relating to this class. I spent time introducing people to disc golf, where we grew a sport that takes place in wooded areas or on existing golf courses. While golf courses aren't deemed sustainable, it was a great reason to push the family to go outside instead of huddling around the television. We also were able to help clean up litter we found on the course too! I also spent some time helping people in my family go through clothes that they do not use and donate them. We've done this before in our family, but this time we made sure that if we haven't worn it in a specific amount of time, we donate it. Too often our clothes pile up because they are sentimental but they never get used.

This weekend I spent time with my friends at a Friendsgiving. While we were catching up with one another, I told them about my eco-change project and how they can easily implement some of these tactics into their lives. At the very least, I helped them become more aware of the water they are using and how that can be monitored. They gave me some neat ideas to incorporate into my project but also talked with me about ways to share progress or eliminate stigmas regarding acts like: washing clothes by hand, shorter showers, etc.

The last few weeks I have been saving my receipts from the places I buy things from (both online and in-store). I did this as a way to think about spending habits but I think that it also helped me realize where my items are coming from and how that can be a smaller footprint overall. For example, I noticed that I go out to eat a lot due to limited time to make food in between classes. It helped me realize that if I meal prep or plan out my lunches then I am less likely to eat at places like Subway, Cafe Yumm, etc. 

This weekend, my apartment was out of hot water (the building owners said they'd handle it Monday) so that meant that my shower became significantly shorter. I realize that some people enjoy cold showers, but with the weather outside and my personal preferences, colder showers are not for me! Both of my roommates also took shorter showers due to the cold water and I think that this uncertain circumstance actually made it good for us and the environment. While I cannot say that I will volunteer to take cold showers in the future, I thought it was nice to turn a negative into a positive.

This week I spent some time learning about how parks and the urban fabric can connect. I tried staying relatively close to campus and downtown and found Tanner Springs Park in the Pearl District. I noticed that much of our time in classes is spent focusing on how we can improve our environment and make things better, but it was nice to see a place that was actually working on water retention, habitat building, and made the public aware of invasive species. Attached are a few photos I took of native plants, reused train tracks, and their water collection system. This park is one of the first parks in Portland to be fully sustainable! I spent about an hour there learning, watching, and listening to the birds chirp in the trees.

I'll be honest, this week was a crazy week for me and I had little time to think about my impact on our world. That being said, I had family visit over the weekend and I made a point to show them around areas of Portland by using the Light Rail system instead of driving everywhere. I was able to reduce the amount of emissions but also support small businesses that are more local than our supermarkets. We spent some time at the the farmers market and then spent time at Scrap PDX (awesome place by the way) which encouraged our spending to be on local items or items that have already been created. The best part about it, I think, is that they enjoyed the places we went and acknowledged that in Medford (where I'm from) we don't have anything quite like that. Attached is an image of a piece of art that was created by an artist and was sold at Scrap PDX.

The other day I purchased a few reusable single-serve coffee containers for my Keurig. Unfortunately, I'm addicted to coffee and cannot go without, but I like that these containers allow me to purchase ground or whole coffee and put that into a single-serve pod instead of purchasing a box with one-use pods. After using it this morning, I felt a little better about my addiction because I was not throwing a pod into the landfill (not to mention all of the extra packaging that the K-cup pods bring along with it). Along with this, I also made a small pitcher of cold brew coffee with the coffee grounds I had on hand so that I am not disposing pods every day.

Starting today, I am going to spend 30 minutes (every day) outside enjoying the environment. I think that by doing this, I will be able to appreciate more sounds and movements related to the natural environment. I plan to document this through sketching and photography. I hope that by choosing to do this, others will find time in their busy day to appreciate nature while we still have it.

Yesterday I went to the Hoyt Arboretum to explore nature and find some peace. Located by the Oregon Zoo, I thought it would be a busy place with a good amount of people exploring the trails and the surrounding areas. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a very calm, cool day to be there. Along with taking deep breaths of fresh air, my partner and I stopped to count the number of vertebrates we could find along our hike, resulting in us paying more attention to little noises or movements. For a place that isn't too far from the downtown area, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was such a green and lively area. Although this was my first time there, I certainly think that I'll be back!

 

Saturday I purchased locally grown tomatoes and today those are becoming pasta sauce so I do not have to purchase pre-packaged sauce from the stores!