Michelle Hasendonckx

CSU Channel Islands Sustainability Team

"Stepping up to do my part."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
540 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

27

conversations

with people
UP TO

2.0

documentaries

watched
UP TO

58

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

200

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1,290

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

1,290

minutes

not spent in front of a screen

Michelle's actions

Fresh Water

Eco-friendly Gardening

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Forests

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area while following CDC guidelines for social distancing.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Forests

Forest-Friendly Foods

I will replace or remove the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Oceans

Smart Seafood Choices

I will visit seafoodwatch.org or download the app and commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate

Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option. If my utility does not offer one, I will purchase Renewable Energy Credits to match my usage.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 2 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 3 meatless meal(s) and/or 3 vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 60 minute(s) each day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside that follows CDC guidelines for preventing disease spread.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Connect While Social Distancing

I will connect with at least 1 person/people a day through phone call or video chat to support mine and other’s mental and emotional health during this challenging time.

COMPLETED 0
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
Forests Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place?

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/30/2020 10:41 AM

This time home I've been taking advantage of accompanying my partner and our dog on daily walks. Even though my community is largely shut down, we notice many things throughout our walk and I have a deep sense of pride for my city and the various walkways, pathways, and sidewalks around my neighborhood. Seeing others across the street brings a connection and our sense of place is grounded in that connection.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Building Resilience Spend Time Outside

Rachel Carson said that we need the beauty and mysteries of the natural world for our spiritual and emotional development. Does that ring true for you? What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time indoors?

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/30/2020 10:39 AM

I read recently Ekhart Tolle's "A New Earth" and it frames exactly this point- we are but mirrors of nature and can find more of ourselves in nature than anywhere else. Regardless of one's faith, I believe we are bonded and connected to nature and there is a spiritual connection within us when we are closer to nature. Also, I often feel humbled by the grandness of nature, I think the ego needs humility to keep it in check and to keep us grounded and compassionate to others.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Building Resilience Connect While Social Distancing

How does connecting with others help your own mental and emotional health? How can it help support others?

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/30/2020 10:35 AM

I've had mixed feelings about connecting during COVID-19-- I felt an exhaustion as we transitioned to stay at home orders because I was so overbooked prior. Now I feel more balanced and am happy to stay home and connect only at times when I can be truly present and for the purposes of connecting deeply. I realize now how much of my "human connection" was surface level and draining to me instead of uplifting and caring. This practice will certainly change in the new whatever period we enter.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Building Resilience Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

How does food sovereignty address the complex agrarian transition to modern food systems?

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/30/2020 10:33 AM

Food sovereignty reclaims our food system for its intended purpose and communal way of life. Modern food systems are run with a mission to create profit, not to produce quality food or for the mere purpose of feeding people. The food sovereignty movement seeks to balance the ecosystem in favor of a sustainable and humane food practices.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Forests Forest-Friendly Foods

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/29/2020 10:58 AM

We started with a juice cleanse. We watched the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead on Netflix (again) and got motivated to start a 10-day juice fast (again). We do this at least once a year and what we love about it is it really gets us to reset our taste buds. By the end we were feeling great and craving fresh tasting, pure food like vegetables and fruits. It made it really easy to start cooking more plant-based meals from then on. What better time to do a juice cleanse than right now? We're not "missing out" on any social events or places we would typically be tempted by :-)

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Oceans Smart Seafood Choices

Many states and countries have advisories on eating fish. Find out what is advised for your region. Do you think your diet choices fall within these guidelines? What steps do you need to take to make sure that they do?

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/29/2020 10:38 AM

Just downloaded the Seafood Watch app to check on the typical seafood and brands I buy, definitely handy to pull this up while in the grocery store- pleased to see the canned tuna I purchase has the recommended certification sticker, I'll be on the lookout for that sticker for future seafood purchases.

Recently we've transitioned to a mostly plant-based diet in our home. On average we now eat land animal meat once a week and seafood once a week, the rest of the week is either meatless, and accidentally, vegan. This is not only a small thing we can do for the planet, but also for our health and well being. We absolutely feel healthier and happier! We've also started to look at locally sourced meat and seafood, given that we'll save money due to less consumption, we can certainly spend a little more on sustainably raised meat and still save overall.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Fresh Water Eco-friendly Gardening

What are the most prominent water concerns in your area? Examples include drought, flooding, pollution, access, security, and privatization.

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/27/2020 8:52 AM

This past week we spent time in our back yard garden removing non-native plants and replacing them with drought tolerant succulents. Drought is an issue here in California and Ventura County was one of the last areas to be out of the most recent extreme drought. Whether we are in a drought or not, it's important to acknowledge our ecosystem here and to match our landscaping and gardens to the ecosystem.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our planet and other people?

Michelle Hasendonckx 4/27/2020 8:45 AM

Just watched the documentary "Eating Animals" and it provides a lot of insight into this questions. Not only do richer countries eat more meat but they are influencing other countries and cultures to change their diets to eat more meat. Also fascinating about this documentary is commentary on how industrial farming is linked to virus pandemics! Definitely worth watching. We're switching to more plant-based in our house and being intentional about what we consume. We started during the stay at home orders and have felt much more healthy and energetic as a result.

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