April 1 - April 30, 2020

Mary Beth Sellers

"My mission is to make changes in my life that will impact the earth with the hope these changes will be everlasting and inspire friends and family. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
354 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

119

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

9.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

150

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.4

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

5.0

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Mary Beth's actions

Wildlife

Leave No Trace

I will respect and protect biotic communities by practicing the seven principles of Leave No Trace when doing nature activities alone or with family and friends.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Wildlife

Research a Wild Animal

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning about a wild animal I find interesting, including their life cycle, habitat, ecosystem functions, and interactions with humans (if any!).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Wildlife

Support Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators, including monarch butterflies, to produce fruit. I will spend 60 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Dishwasher Efficiency

I will scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher and only run the dishwasher when it’s full.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY 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

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by prepping for 2 meal(s) each day, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 3 meatless meal(s) and/or 2 vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

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
Wildlife Research a Wild Animal

What interesting facts did you learn about the animal you researched? What are some of your favorite things about this animal?

Mary Beth Sellers 4/30/2020 2:30 PM

The opossum eats lots of insect and bugs we do not like, for example mosquitos and ticks. They are actually very friendly and will do their best to ward off other animals by hissing at them.

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Mary Beth Sellers 4/30/2020 2:28 PM

It’s going great. Hard to believe this is the last day. I do wish I’d spent more time signing in and completing tasks, however I did learn a lot and found lots of places to read up on items of interest.

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Mary Beth Sellers 4/29/2020 7:32 AM

I’ve enjoyed this challenge except I’ve not participated as often as I should have. There is no excuse i just keep putting it off but when i do sign in and spend time researching information i love it and learn so much. This challenge has lit a spark, I’ve learned more about water, eco system, food waste, and new habits are being formed. Also I’ve shared with my friends. Looking forward to picking up my native seedling this week and using my compost to help nurture them! For me I hope to spend one day a week researching and keeping this challenge alive!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Wildlife Leave No Trace

Educator Stephanie Kaza advises her students to focus on what they care about most when addressing the enormity of ecological problems. Is there a specific area you feel particularly called to work on?

Mary Beth Sellers 4/29/2020 7:04 AM

It is always so sad and frustrating to see what is left on the hiking trails, cans, energy packets, bags and dog waste. I understand stuff will fall from a back pack or pocket sneakily, it does happen but more often than not, it’s people being ignorant. We have a dog and pick up his waste not only along the trail but if he should run off the side of the trail. It all need to be picked up! We also are doing a better job of always hiking with a pack and garbage bag to pick up waster we find. If we all step up a bit it will change our landscape.

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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.

Mary Beth Sellers 4/29/2020 6:41 AM

Our beaches are being flooded. And there is concern about PFAS in the water

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Wildlife Support Pollinators

Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

Mary Beth Sellers 4/15/2020 6:18 AM

I receive emails from Grand Traverse Conservation and it is where I’ve purchase many native plants that support our pollinators. With out the pollinators we will not have fruits, berries, good wine, good beer, good food.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Fresh Water Dishwasher Efficiency

How can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?

Mary Beth Sellers 4/15/2020 6:16 AM

In my household i constantly remind family members to not run the water at full force and turn it off when not in use. I ask question like, do you need to wet your tooth brush before brushing and does the water have to run the whole time your are brushing? It has been a challenge with teaching others to not wash the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. Just scrape and place, but to assist I’ve been keeping a wet dish rag available so use if it is so necessary. Sometimes it is just hard to teach old dogs new tricks, but we are getting there.

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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?

Mary Beth Sellers 4/15/2020 6:12 AM

In my opinion steak has been considered an expensive dining experience. It’s like a status symbol going to all those fancy steak places. Before retiring, I experienced this often due to my job. I’d make reservations at expensive steak places for marketing/sales people to meet with clients and often times I’d join too. I’d order side options no beef and they were shocked and constantly wanted me to try the best steak ever. First the raising of beef takes a toll on the environments from use of water, to gas emission. Second beef consumed often is not good for cardiovascular health.

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Mary Beth Sellers 4/15/2020 6:06 AM

It is going well, however i forget to sign and check off the list. I’m getting excited to use my compost pile for the garden hopefully in May when the ground warms up. I composted all winter long and really enjoy putting the wast back to the soil!.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Weekly Meal Planning

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money?

Mary Beth Sellers 4/07/2020 6:40 AM

Actually we put this plan into place and used the savings towards our retirement.

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