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Arlene Ogurick's avatar

Arlene Ogurick

The Maryland Zoo

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 375 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    25
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    8.0
    plastic straws
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    80
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    135
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    10
    minutes
    spent learning

Arlene's actions

Bedroom

Multiple Wears Before Washing

The simple, necessary, daily act of washing our clothes slowly degrades the quality of our clothes due to the friction involved in the process. To extend the life of my clothes, whenever possible, I will wear items multiple times before washing.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Community

Go For a Walk

Science has shown that focused time in nature calms our over-worked frontal lobe and gives space for the areas of our brain associated with emotions, pleasure, and empathy to take over, providing a sense of calm that is measurable in brain scans and even blood tests. Each day this month, I will spend 30 minutes outside in nature, and share my observations, reflections, and learnings on the Participant Feed.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Dive Into Expiration Dates

Just because something is past its "expiration date," it might not actually be expired! I will spend 10 minutes learning about the difference between best by, use by, and sell by dates and how to tell if my food is actually expired.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Kitchen

Is it trash...or a trash bag?

The plastic industry has convinced us that some plastic bags are "trash bags," while others are just "trash." Instead of throwing empty bags away (such as bread bags, pet food bags, etc.), I will reuse them as trash bags.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Use The Dishwasher

Using your dishwasher doesn't just save water! I will use my dishwasher whenever possible to extend the life of my sponges and dish cloths, and shed less microfibers from them.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Fill a Water Bottle

Bottled water corporations make plastic bottles, not water. If the tap water in my area is safe for consumption, I will use a reusable bottle instead and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 4 disposable plastic bottles a day.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Go Strawless

Each year, the International Coastal Cleanup reports that plastic straws and stirrers are one of the Top 10 most-collected items from their cleanups (top 5 in the US!). I will keep 2 plastic straws and/or stirrers out of the landfill each day by refusing straws or using my own reusable straw.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community Go For a Walk
    What have you noticed about your mental and/or physical health while going on daily walks? How has it affected other areas of your life?

    Arlene Ogurick's avatar
    Arlene Ogurick 7/29/2024 7:00 PM
    Improved my ability to walk - sometimes without trekking pole
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Kitchen Is it trash...or a trash bag?
    It's only "single-use" if it's only used once! What are some other creative ways to reuse unavoidable "single-use" items?

    Arlene Ogurick's avatar
    Arlene Ogurick 7/29/2024 6:55 PM
    Use in a craft or art project.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Kitchen Use The Dishwasher
    Although the dishwasher saves time and water, some people enjoy washing dishes by hand for the mindfulness practice it can provide. What are some other ways you can practice mindfulness in the kitchen?

    Arlene Ogurick's avatar
    Arlene Ogurick 7/29/2024 6:51 PM
    be aware of vegetable & fruit peels as compostable - then take them to farmers' market to add to compost pile
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Kitchen Go Strawless
    Have you noticed any changes in your community around plastic straws as awareness of plastic pollution has grown over the last few years?

    Arlene Ogurick's avatar
    Arlene Ogurick 7/29/2024 6:48 PM
    More people opting not to useb straws or bring their own
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Kitchen Fill a Water Bottle
    Investigate the bottling practices of water corporations. There have been many cases where the water rights of the local people have been violated or even completely disregarded when a corporation decides to bottle water from a particular water source. How can you advocate for those who have been harmed by this bottling process?

    Arlene Ogurick's avatar
    Arlene Ogurick 7/15/2024 5:34 PM
    I can join, sign petitions, contact government officials & donate to organizations that work to stop this kind of water rights abuse

    • Jordyn Lewis's avatar
      Jordyn Lewis 7/15/2024 5:46 PM
      This is happening in our backyard, in the springs local to us, its terrible! I would love to stop it as well!