Char Osterlund

springfield vt

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
527 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

3.0

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

300

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

30

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

pound of paper

has been saved

Char's actions

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Choose Two-Sided Printing

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper each day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 0 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Create Your Own Action

Creating a Culture

My goal is to post something once a week on the energy committee's facebook page relating to the environment, renewable energy or energy conservation. I believe that creating a culture means promoting a new norm. By talking about things it makes them seem more familiar, more of that is what people do.

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
Health Happiness

How does/can practicing gratitude keep you centered and motivated to work for a better world?

Char Osterlund 10/20/2019 9:31 AM

The happiness challenge is so much fun! I am often touched by a ray of sun hitting something just so, and little things like that. Having happiness as one of my challenges makes me express that by writing it down, and then I reflect on other things that make me happy and I realize that there is a lot of positive stuff out there. I need to be positive to focus in on something good, to feel empowered. So, the short answer is that I feel empowered when I practice gratitude.

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Char Osterlund 10/15/2019 12:30 PM

I love my happiness action. With all the depressing news, writing down three things for which I am grateful continues to sustain me. Today it was mostly looking at the bees in my scabiosa. I will try to remember to take a picture of it. Scabiosa is a perennial, but it literally blooms all summer. Bud, flower and seed pods are all very nice to look at. Scabiosa attracts bees and butterflies and that makes it such an exquisite plant.

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Char Osterlund 10/10/2019 5:51 PM

My health and happiness challenge is not a challenge at all once I start doing it. It makes me stop to see the joy and to be an optimist. It takes optimism to act. Today in writing down things for which I am grateful, I realized that being grateful makes you take the road to happiness. What a better way to live. I was grateful for the song I was listening to..."Good Golly Miss Molly" by Little Richard. It was so full of energy it had me dancing and then my whole day started with positive energy.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Use a Reusable Mug

Maybe you've heard how good it is to switch from a single use coffee cup to a reusable one, but it's just hard to make the switch. What stands in your way of making this a habit? By identifying the challenges, you can begin to work through them to have better success in taking this action. Knowing the difference you are making, how does it make you feel?

Char Osterlund 10/09/2019 1:56 PM

The most difficult thing about making the switch is remembering! When we go out for our weekly breakfast it is easy to remember most of the time, but when it is an unexpected cup of coffee that someone offers me and it is in a plastic or paper cup, it is difficult to refuse.

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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?

Char Osterlund 10/07/2019 10:05 AM

Meat typically costs more, …

More resources are used to produce meat. Forests that help to sequester carbon are cut down to make for pastures so that is not good for the environment.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water 5-Minute Showers

Five minute showers are an impressive step toward reducing your water footprint. What is the next step you can take?

Char Osterlund 10/03/2019 7:15 AM

I actually timed my shower yesterday and it only took 2 1/2 minutes. That astounded me. On days of non-physical activity I could switch to a French bath. I already save on washing clothes by airing clothes out instead of washing them every time I wear them. If the item shows no dirt and passes the sniff test, it is okay. It also makes some of my favorite things last longer.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Choose Two-Sided Printing

Choosing two-sided printing can be an easy adjustment on your computer settings. How can you help others make this same switch? Can it be encouraged company wide?

Char Osterlund 10/02/2019 8:11 PM

I do not print out documents on a daily basis. I chair a few community groups and tell everyone that I am "green" and do not provide paper copies of documents unless requested by an individual. People seem fine with that.

In my short story group I have asked people directly if they can print our reading material double sided. It does not always work. My next step could be to volunteer to help the person.

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Char Osterlund 10/02/2019 9:13 AM

Last night I brought 2 glasses to a Lions Club meeting to use instead of the plastic cups that are used by the person who prepares the meals. I sometimes feel awkward if I seem like I am making a big deal about something. This was low profile, a few members noticed and made encouraging comments. Hopefully at our next meeting someone new will bring their own glass!

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Char Osterlund 9/30/2019 2:17 PM

I have been super busy with family and community responsibilities that it was nice to get back to the ecochallenge. I practiced one of my happiness challenges by email a thank you note for a person's kindness to me b ygiving me a tour of her new, organic cut flower farm. Kathy exudes kindness and energy so it felt good giving back some thanks.

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