Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14 combined withReflection: Overall Course

The last two weeks of this class went by way too fast, and I am sad that its almost done :(


Week 13 started with a tour of Goodwill, which was insane!! I had no idea that place was so big, nor did I know how much they recycle used items. Our tour guide was very informative, he knew the business in and out and gave us a great tour. He talked about jobs they give to people with disabilities and how much their company saves our landfills. Our letters to a public official were due as well, and I got an response from Al Franken, I believe it was a pre-written response but still cool, inviting me to a breakfast at the white house with his committee. 

Week 14 began with our junk project show, it was cool seeing what everyone came up with! I took the motherboards from a couple computers that my friend had and decided to used them as end table-tops. They look really intricate up close. We had a discussion about the overall things we learned in class and it was really nice, even though I've spent all semester with these people, I felt like I got to know them in a different way and like we were more unified after this discussion, it just seemed more personal and we all were comfortable saying whatever as we sat in a circle. 


Overall Reflection: As I stated in class, this class has hugely impacted my life. Not only do I feel healthier, but I've nearly turned into a vegetarian due to this class. I see life differently. I think that every freshman coming into college should take this class! We need to see these issues that we learn about first hand, and this class shows us and puts us right there! The eye opener about skin products was probably the 2nd most important activity to me personally because I learned about how dangerous my skin products were, so I'm slowing incorporating safer, more environmentally friendly products into my life and I feel much better. 

Reflections: week 11 and 12

The past two weeks have gone by extremely fast! It seems like just yesterday I was posting my last reflection...I can't believe there are only 2 weeks of class left! wow. The past two weeks also proved to be challenging for my SMART goal, but I did my best! I also finished my Read'n Seed book and found the last couple chapters to be very intriguing!


Week 11 started with an environmental literacy activity where we got into groups and tried defining environmental literacy in our own words.We then did an intro to junking project where we were asked to come up with different  uses for random pieces of junk which we had no idea what they originally were used for. Some groups came up with some very interesting things! My favorite piece of junk was this random wire-y thing with a wood stand that we decided would make a good spice rack!


Week 12 introduced us to blog hopping...which panned out to be very useful for showing each other our photo essays! The essays turned out really well, I enjoyed seeing everyone else's pictures and really learned some neat ideas from other people. We also talked about communicating with decision makers and how we would write a letter to an editor or policy maker. This was also pretty helpful because our next advocacy assignment will involve writing to an editor about our issue.



Pictured at right is what is called STEAMPUNK!! The junking project reminded me of this because it actually is a type of junking. If you have not heard of it, check it out. The people that create this art are genius's. They take old antique appliances, and put in the parts that make them run, they basically resurface, refurbish and rebuild modern day things that we use and make them look like they're from the 1800's. Just type in STEAMPUNK into google images and see all the amazing stuff that pops up!

Reflections: week 9 and 10

The last two weeks have gone by extremely fast; I feel like this semester has just been flying by!
Week 9 started with an introduction to advocacy in environmental health class; we got into random groups and each group presented one topic about understanding advocacy. We also learned how to use THOMAS to find a bill that would relate to our advocacy project choice.  This brought us into our first and main assignment of the advocacy project which was to chose a Healthy People 2010 goal and a bill that related to it. I chose the topic of reducing foodborne illness and poor sanitation due to my specific interest in environmental health. 
This week was extremely packed for me, so my lifestyle change goal didn't go as well, and I felt like I was just getting behind, but all in all everything worked out after the week was over. 


Week 10 introduced a video in class on Monday called "unnatural causes" which documented the lives of many people who are barely making ends meet. It discussed the idea that health correlates with wealth; those who do not have as high of an income of much less of a chance living a healthy lifestyle when it comes to many variables such as healthy eating, less stress, less everyday problems, etc. It was an interesting video, but it really did make sense. Next, we got into groups again and discussed how to "understand an issue" relating to advocacy. 
All in all, this week was much better than the last, I was able to catch up on everything, and my goal was on track as well. 


See you all Monday!

Reflections: week 7 and 8

The past two weeks have been really informative! 
I did a lot of personal research for this class for my share and voices, as well as for maintaining my lifestyle change.

 

Week 7 started with a discussion and a movie called "Green" which was about chemical plants near residential neighborhoods causing dangerous health problems to citizens who do not have the resources to just up and move. It was sad because it is a huge problem that seems to be far overlooked.
The activity (researching products at Skindeep) for this week actually got me started on browsing new, safer make-ups to try, which is really awesome because I learned that my make-up is actually terrible for my health, as well as many other skin products of mine. 
Week 8 started with the movie "Thirst" which actually inspired my last Share and Voice blog about the company Coca-Cola. The eye opener about "junking" for this week was also cool because I have always been into recycling and reusing materials, especially for art projects at school and home. Learning about different thrift shops and "green" shops was really helpful because I love browsing through second hand stores and seeing what I can find! I actually found different parts of my halloween costume at Savers and Goodwill, so it was nice to research and see other places around town I can go. I actually visited the "Green Mercantile" which had a lot of really neat, safe to the environment products! Everyone should go check it out!

Reflection: Weeks 5 and 6

Week 5 started with a quiz activity on Monday, followed by a movie on the "Future of Food," and a discussion. It was a really eye opening movie, sad as well. Farmers appear to be getting the shaft from large companies such as Monsanto, and GMO's are taking over America's food supply. We can't give in! Our discussion after the movie was informative as well, it was really interesting to hear everyone's take on this. 

As the week progressed, I delved deeper into Newman's Own and really enjoyed the facts on organic food, and incorporated some of what I learned into my diet to add to my Lifestyle Change project.

Week 6 began with "Diet for a New America" which was a film by John Robbins addressing how terrible many American foods are, and discusses portion sizes pertaining to meat and dairy. I learned that what is considered to be a "normal" meat portion here is 5 times greater than average in many other countries such as Japan. We as a society really need to make some huge diet changes if we all don't want to die from heart diseases and cancers in our 50's and 60's. 

Weeks 5 and 6 overall were very informative and interesting to me, and helpful in my aim towards cutting out meat and some dairy from my diet. 

Reflection: Weeks 3 & 4

The past two weeks have been very beneficial for me. During week 3, we figured out what book we wanted to read for our Read 'n Seed; I chose a book in which I had special interest. This book is called Newman's Own: Guide to a Good Life. We also made sure we had all blog requirements and learned how to use Google Reader. Week 4 started with questions we discussed in class, which benefited everyone because most of us had some uncertainty. Additionally, we watched An Inconvenient Truth which stars Al Gore. This movie is a documentary discussing the reality and seriousness of global warming. This movie was really an eye opener. The thing that stuck out the most to me, (it sounds weird because it's something really small..sort of) was an image of Lake Chad in Africa full of fresh water in 1963! I remember learning about this huge lake from 8th grade geography. The images below show how it has shrunk dramatically, nearly drying up! That really stuck out to me and made me sad. Moving on, Wednesday our Lifestyle Change plan was due, and in doing research on what my plan would be, I learned so many more reasons on why I want to be a vegetarian, as well as change many other aspects of my life to be more eco-friendly. This class has really been life changing even in the short amount of time I've been in it. This class will definitely be the push I needed to make all the lifestyle changes I have wanted to make. The ecological footprint activity showed me how disastrous my lifestyle really is, and that isn't my only motive. I have been researching on my own, as well as discussing with friends and classmates why we need to advocate these lifestyle changes and recruit as many people as we can! Even if its just simple things, like carpooling more often, taking shorter showers, and not eating red meat! Now, hopefully my mom wont be too disappointed when I don't eat her famous tator-tot, ground beef hotdish when I come home next weekend. 

Reflections: week 1 and 2

The first two weeks of Environmental Health have brought me new places in the blogging world. This being said, I have never had a public blog before, and feel like a child learning how to read; I’ll eventually get it, and hopefully recruit others.

I thought the Star Wars activity was a good way to start class; we were forced to work together as a team right off the bat. The in class discussions also helped me get a feel of what other people were like and what kind of opinions they had. I personally enjoyed the quotes relating to nature which gave me the urge to read some Robert Frost.

Blogging itself opened me up to a whole new world. Just learning how to personalize my blog let me use my imagination and creativity, forcing me to bust out some artistic skills as well. My goal is to connect my creative side to environmental change, and my personal focus on preserving the beauty of nature.

More cute environmental poems I found! 

(below) A recent visit to Gooseberry falls!  Check out the beautiful falls before it gets too cold!

Welcome to Danielle's Discoveries

I am Danielle Wall, an art and community health student, and I am all about discovering the beauty in our natural surroundings. So far I have highlighted my interests in art and nature, and I would like to tie that into my blog and doing my part in preserving our natural environment, and helping others become healthier, well informed decision makers!



Thanks for checking out my blog, I hope you enjoy!

Blogged for the Welcome Linky Party hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy