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October 7 - October 28, 2020
Tina  Jenks's avatar

Tina Jenks

The Hartford Environmental Action Team

"To be a better me for me and my world. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 380 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    18
    disposable cups
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    320
    miles
    not traveled by car
  • UP TO
    0.0
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    110
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    18
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    1,090
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved

Tina 's actions

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

Do at Home

I will avoid sending 3 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

Do at Home

I will keep 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Research Local Waste Sites

Do at Home

I will spend 10 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Tend a Garden

Do at Home

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Work From Home

Do at Home

I will work from home 4 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Drive Less

Do at Home

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Collect Running Water...while waiting for it to heat

Many times we need warm water for a necessity but waste gallons of water waiting for water to warm even with an on demand water heater system. I'll start collecting that water to use on house plants or other water necessities.

COMPLETED 8
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?


  • Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/21/2020 5:56 AM
    Honestly, checking in daily is a challenge but it also provides additional insight questions to keep us on the right path.  
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transportation Work From Home
    It takes the average worker in the United States 26 minutes to travel to work. One way to fix long commutes would be to make cities more affordable. An even simpler option: promote the use of telework. How have you used technology to replace in-person meetings or work this year?

    Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/21/2020 5:53 AM
    Living in the city isn't a personal preference for me.  I would prefer to be given the option to work solely from home.  This would increase my time for other things before and after work hours as well as saving the environment.  Using Skype for calls and meetings and sharing screens has eliminated the need for inperson meetings for nearly everything. 
  • 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?

    Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/21/2020 5:49 AM
    Making the switch isn't hard if you plan accordingly.  Morning coffee can be prepared at home and taken with you instead of stopping to purchase it.  However, there are times that you feel, I just want a cup of coffee and purchase a cup to get you through.  I have a travel mug that I'm going to put in my vehicle for a emergency to go cup to save on wasteful one use cups.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Research Local Waste Sites
    In what neighborhoods or areas of your region are landfills or other waste sites located? Which communities are most affected by these locations?

    Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/21/2020 5:47 AM
    Landfills or waste sites are located around the area but there are time constrains for each during the week.  If they are open on the weekends, the times are limited which creates long lines and long waiting times.   As a result, I see places where garbage is pilled up, which leads to rodents and diseases. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Use a Reusable Water Bottle
    While water bottles are needed for health and safety in certain places, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. What are the barriers to you using reusable bottles and tap water instead of bottled water? How could you make this a permanent habit?

    Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/21/2020 5:44 AM
    I take my reusable bottle every where I go.  The biggest obstacle is planes and events where you can't bring in your own beverage containers or have size limitations.  I may purchase a water bottle to get from point A to point B but I almost always have my reusable bottle in tow to utilize when I can for additional uses or refills.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transportation Drive Less
    How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?

    Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/21/2020 5:41 AM
    Transportation options have been limited in the places I've lived.  As a result, I've always thought outside the box to combine trips to save multiple days of travel and wasted time to do other things. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Healing and Renewal Tend a Garden
    Have you ever had a significant experience in nature that altered your perspective or focus? If so, please describe it.

    Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/21/2020 5:40 AM
    Growing a garden for the first time was open eyeing.  Yes, it required a lot of work up front to get the soil and plants in place, then tending them religiously to bring forth fruit was very rewarding.  One year we planted 103 tomorrow plants, canning all those tomatoes but was a huge undertaking but so worth having our own crops to eat all year long without searching elsewhere and with less salt and preservatives. 

  • Tina  Jenks's avatar
    Tina Jenks 10/20/2020 5:52 AM
    My part of the challenge is going well.  I'm a normal conservative of things such as food, water, money, gas etc.  I've always tried to discard less, buy less and use less but I'm focusing on it even more.