Reflection: Weeks 13-15 & Overall Course

Junk Project - Door Turned Cork/Memory Board

Weeks 13-15

I can't believe the semester is over!  As I said in the last reflection, the time really has flown by.  Over the last couple weeks, our main focus was on finishing up our advocacy projects and our junk projects.  Advocacy was a totally new concept to me when we started this class.  Sure, I knew about it, but I did not really do that much of it.  After completing our advocacy projects, I see just how important it is to actively promote the profession and any issues you are passionate about.

Don't Hate, Advocate!

My advocacy project was about cleaner alternative fuels and our nation's air quality.  After doing my research, it was clear that our air quality is the culprit of many health concerns nationally.  It was fun to read everyone's letters and to write my own.  It made me feel a lot better having the guidance on how to write a political representative.  My favorite part of the advocacy project was definitely the online learning activities.  What a great way to learn about a topic!  I enjoyed completing this activities and learned some great facts along the way.

Whatchya Gonna Do With All That JUNK?!?

Finally, I want to discuss my FAVORITE activity of the semester which was junking!  It was great to see everyone's creativity shine in the show and tell on Monday.  It was fun to create usable art with my cork board and know that I was recycling a door that literally one step away from being thrown out.  Crazy.  In sticking with the junk theme, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit the local Goodwill and see what they are all about.  It was so great to hear that there are still people trying to do good in this world that is so obsessed with making economic gains.

SO, what are you going to do with all your junk?

Overall Course Reflection

As a few of our classmates said in class on Monday, what didn't we learn in this class?  Blogging alone could have been a course for me.  I really grew in this class and was able to fine tune some skills that I already had but also learn a bunch of brand new skills.  I enjoyed the Read 'n' Seeds because they allowed us all to read about topics that interested us and then practice educating others about it.  It was great to follow everyone's books.  

We covered various other topics including junking, advocacy, SMART goals, documentaries, and more.  Another favorite of mine was seeing everyone's Share & Voices.  It was great to have creative reign on those posts and show topics that interested us most.  We definitely ended with my favorite which was junking projects.  As stated above, I LOVED doing this project.  It was great to learn from all of you over the course of the semester.  Good luck in all you do!

Reflection: Weeks 9-12

Where HAS the Time Gone?

I feel like it was only last week when we were all standing in a circle out at Bagley running around like a bunch of crazy people!  I can't believe the semester is almost over (I am excited though).  For only having class once a week, it is amazing all of the topics we have covered and explored on our own.  We started learning about advocacy and really focusing on our Healthy People 2010 objective and THOMAS Bill and are now becoming experts on our topics.

Advocacy and Why it Matters...a lot

When we first started talking about advocacy and our elected officials, I thought, "GREAAAT.  I don't pay attention to politics at all.  Why do I care about my governor?  And how does this pertain to health?"  Well, now I realize that paying attention to politics is an essential part of health education and that they are the people in power who can put health policy into place.  I am beginning to understand that by advocating for health, we can get a lot accomplished.  I am looking forward to seeing how everyone's letters turn out.

Photo Essay

One of my favorite assignments we've done thus far was definitely the Photo Essay.  It was great that we got to present these to the entire class because everyone had something different to share.  I was impressed with the creativity of our classmates!  My photo essay was about hidden treasures that I found in my grandpa's basement.  Man, did I have a blast doing the assignment.  It was such a great trip down memory lane.

A final activity that I want to highlight is the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change project.  I LOVED picking a SMART Goal and implementing it in my life.  I changed my goal last week and I am working towards meeting it this week.

Bittersweet I'd Say

I am learning to love our environment more and more everyday and I can see SO many people on our campus making an effort to reduce their footprint.  I am excited to continue learning and advocating even after this class is done.  Only a few more weeks people!  Bittersweet.

Reflection: Weeks 5-8

Over the past few weeks, a lot has been brought to my attention.  Between the eye openers, read 'n' seeds, and all of the documentaries we have viewed, I was almost on information overload.  It wasn't a bad thing, just a new one.  In finishing my book, I gained a new world view.  My book focused a lot on human connection to nature and how many of us have lost that connection.  I am starting to realize that we are all connected and that even the smallest microorganisms have a role in our environment.

One of my favorite in-class activities had to be creating the graphical header for our blogs.  I loved working with Picnik and enjoyed seeing everyone's creativity.  I am also looking forward to seeing even more creativity from my new group members in our junk projects.


 I thought the concept of junking was really cool but I wasn't so sure it was practical until I saw all of the great projects from JUNKMARKET Style.com.  I am glad to see that there is a whole community of people out there who turn junk into treasures.  It's great that you can junk just about anything.  You can make something small, such as a trinket, OR you could reuse something larger, such as furniture.  I love it!

Another final thing that really stood out to me was watching "Tapped."  Although it was one of the more recent films we viewed, it definitely had the biggest impact.  As Dr. V and many others said, it makes me feel like I don't want to touch another bottle of water EVER again.  I know that that may be unrealistic, but I definitely am committed to cutting back on bottled water.  It is something that all of us can do.

Overall, I have really just opened up my eyes to different issues and have learned that there is always more to things than what we are led to believe.  Hearing about Nestle just really threw me for a loop.  I see now that we have to look behind the curtain, if you will, and see what injustices are really going on.  In the final chapters of my book, the author talked a lot about hope and change.  I am now hopeful for change.  Change in myself, our community, our environment, and change in our world.  I hope that everyone is growing as much as I have and that we all continue to learn how to make an impact.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's JUNK!

Reflection: Weeks 1-4

Challenging the Way I Think

Prior to this class, I had never really though too much about the environment or environmental health.  I was not too conscious about the impact I was making or the impact that I could make.  I have really been challenged in this class to look within and think globally.  Before this class, I would say I practiced a lifestyle that is unofficially referred to as "congreenience."  That is, been green only when it is convenient.  Sure, I would recycle plastic bottles, IF there was a recycling bin close by.  Now, I have acknowledged how to make a difference and have a different view of the world around me.  I also realize that there are many more aspects to becoming "green" besides just recycling.  It is all connected.

Over the past four weeks, we have covered topics including how to create a blog and the many aspects of a blog, our ecological footprint, the Balgey Outdoor classroom, some little steps that we can take to make a big difference, and more.  One significant thing that I learned about myself was how lazy I tend to be when it comes to the environment.  But I have also learned how much potential I have as an individual and that gives me hope.  The star wars activity really impacted me because I learn kinesthetically.  It put a lot of topics into perspective for me and I was able to physically see how our environment is shrinking, and that we can come up with new and creative solutions to use what we have in a more resourceful way.  Blogging is another tool that I have used only on a rare occasion.  I think this is a great way to share our thoughts on certain topics and to provide and receive feedback on our posts.  This is a unique way to learn, and it enhances the learning process.

Overall, I have a long way to go in terms of thinking and going "green."  I am just starting to begin the entire process and am learning a lot along the way.  I love that I am able to give my family members the URL to my blog so that they can share in the experience if they choose.  Every week I discover something new that I am able to pass along to them!  I hope to continue this process as we learn more about advocating for health and how we can make a difference.  This is a growing process for me and I look forward to what lies ahead in this class.

Welcome to Kristen's Coral Reef!

Dead fish due to oil pollution, toxic materials, runoff and more.

Hello everyone!  My name is Kristen and I am a sophomore at the University of Minnesota Duluth.  I would like to welcome you to my coral reef.  This blog was created for my Environmental Health class and will be updated weekly.  I chose to make mine a coral reef because they are beautiful to look at, but we are also on the verge of losing them because of our actions.  For this class, we will be posting different assignments and commenting on our group members' posts as well.  I hope to gain a better understanding of my immediate environment, as well as the earth as an environment, and how I impact the environment every day.  This blog will be a great tool to do so as we learn from each other.  

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog.  They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read 'n' Seed
6. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels.  This post has been labeled with all six kinds of posts.  You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page.  All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.  

The members of my web group are:

1. Samantha@Samantha Green with Envi
2. Adam@Adam's Outdoor Connection
3. Alyssa@Treeific Time with Alyssa
4. Emily@Eco-quest with Emily
5. Katie@Through Green Eyes with Katie
6. Carly@Go Blue Too with Carly

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column.  You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow This Blog" in the gadget column.  I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget.  You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."

I am excited to see what you all come up with as we begin our journey and I hope you are too.  (I am also already looking forward to next week's eco-chic snack).  Thanks for swimming by and checking out my coral reef.