I have been living at my apartment complex for almost a year now and i have never talked to any of my neighbors. So, i decided to introduce myself to two of my neighbors that live on the same floor as me. I found out that my neighbor across from me was in the army for ten years and my neighbor upstairs is a teacher. 

I have been working on lowering my plastic bag usage by bringing my food in a reusable tote bag and having reusable grocery bags from Wegmans when I shop.

I switched from plastic water bottles and have been using reusable metal water bottles instead. I have also reduced my plastic cup usage from getting coffee by brewing it at home and having a reusable coffee cup instead.

Whenever I make a purchase at a store, I keep the receipts so I can see my impact on consumption.

I watched "A Plastic Ocean" on netflix, which was about how we have generated more plastic in the last ten years than a century ago and most of it is disposable plastic. This documentary was eye opening and made me think of how we can stop using single disposable plastics and also made me reflect on how people do not think about the effects of plastic after they are done with it. Thats why i have commited to stop using plastic water bottles and other single use plastics. 

I  have lived in lake ridge for about four years now and i never knew that their was a marina about five miles down the road where i lived. I found out that i could do a number of things such as kayaking, canoeing, paddle boating, and other things. So, i decided to kayak for the first time in my life and i loved it. I think this is a new hobby for me and i have decided to do it at least twice a month if not more if i have time. 

CL1 was interesting because we learned more about one another and that sustainibility is more far reaching than initially thought. We talked about sustainability in our families, why we chose to study it or what it means to each of us. The Iceberg way of looking at problems. We also asked what drives us toward sustainability. 

CL 2 Ecological Principals was my group and we focused on the fact that everything is connected and or interconnected. What we do has impacts we might not even see. We need to access the fact that we as humans (People) are overconsuming and the more of us that overconsume (Affluence) the more we need technology to help reduce or offset the Impact. We discussed drivers for personal decisions and or values. We dicsussed how we can improve one anothers behavoir and or encourgae a more sustainable one. Overall, it was an engaging discussion. 

After learning about community I learned it is not necessary large or like minded it is about connections, welfare, and trust. I feel like we can make GMU's community for the students stronger by encouraging a sense of comradery. I also liked and find it true that through community and connections we can make changes sometimes small and sometimes large and those changes can grow into habits like picking up trash when you see it. Resilience needs to be checked by the community, why are we resisting and staying strong on our position and what are the impacts. Overall, CL group 4 Community did great !

I have been spending my time since March until now restoring the creek (part of a wetland) behind the home of who I live with. I have been putting Native Piedmont Region (LOUISA) vegetation to help buffer and restore the water quality. I also incorporated my own wildlife as I raise wild varieties of ducks like Mallard, Muscovy, Khaki Campbell, Rouen, and Runner varieties. I have been working to reduce past (abandoned construction debris) and future damages to the water table.