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Jamie Frees Miller's avatar

Jamie Frees Miller

Washington College

"My mission is to achieve a sustainable relationship with Mother Nature taking care of her for future generations. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,047 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    590
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    245
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    720
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    330
    minutes
    not spent in front of a screen
  • UP TO
    33
    more servings
    of fruits and vegetables

Jamie's actions

Food

Try a New Way to Prep

I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Support Pollution Reduction

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about water and air quality issues in my area, how they are impacting human and environmental health, and how I can help.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Take Control

Both systemic and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Cloth Diapers

I will cloth diaper at least 2 days a week keeping a minimum of 14 disposable diapers out of the landfills.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Plant an Herb Garden

I will plant an herb garden in my home, workplace, or dorm room.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Adjust the Thermostat

I will adjust my thermostat down 2 degrees from usual when I use the heat, and up 2 degrees when I use air conditioning.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Work-Life Balance

I will not work more than 8 hour days each day to practice work-life balance.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 30 minute(s) each day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Forage for My Food

I will use the resource below to find where I can forage for my own food locally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

More Fruits and Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 3 cup(s) of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Exercise Daily

Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 10 minute(s) each day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Track my Purchases

I will spend 15 minutes each day maintaining a record of all my purchases and learning about my spending habits.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Go for a Daily Walk

I will take a 30-minute walk outside each day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will spend at least 10 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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?


  • Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/26/2020 7:15 PM
    Who here started their own sourdough starter and baked bread? 

  • Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/26/2020 10:31 AM
    Last day of the challenge! How did you do? I  got poured on by the rain today because I  was determined to get a walk in and enjoy nature! 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Plant an Herb Garden
    Consider the ways you can garden: a plot of land? a patio container? hanging basket? windowsill gardens? What would work best for your living situation and lifestyle?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/25/2020 6:36 AM
    We do a little bit of everything. Since my parents have an in ground garden down the street from us, this year we are doing an herb garden  in a container. I  also enjoy windowsill gardens grown from veggie scraps! 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity Work-Life Balance
    How might practicing work-life balance lead to a more sustainable life for yourself? How might it contribute to sustainability more broadly?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/24/2020 7:12 AM
    Learning how to turn the computer off after a certain time or taking breaks to get up from a computer allows you to move your body more, and provides time for self-care. While a fulfilling career is  important for feeling good in your life, you also need to find time to also spend in your relationships, and spirituality and making sure you are physically active. When you let work consume you you are more likely to make poor nutritional choices which will also affect your quality of life negatively. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Forage for My Food
    People are motivated to forage for many different reasons: as a source for food, a means of income, to connect with nature, to participate in cultural tradition, transmitting specific ecological knowledge, or as a means of stewarding local and native plant populations. What is your chief motivation for foraging?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/24/2020 7:10 AM
    My chief motivation for foraging is a connection to nature. I  think it is most Important to know where our food comes from.  When you forage, for your safety you should know how the land has been treated because you don't want to eat things that have been spayed with chemicals. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Spend Time Outside
    Rachel Carson said that we need the beauty and mysteries of the natural world for our spiritual and emotional development. Does that ring true for you? What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time indoors?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/24/2020 7:08 AM
    I  don't practice a specific religion but when exploring my spirituality I  have found that I  am most connected to nature. I  feel my best outside, I  can find power to ground my thoughts and always feel better when I  take time to connect with my surroundings. I  feel as though the majority of Americans spend too much time indoors and as a result have poor physical and in some cases poor mental health. Obesity and Depression are probably a correlation to our current nutrition and health care systems, not supporting the lifestyle changes necessary to make noticeable difference and instead covering up signals from our bodies with pills. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Go for a Daily Walk
    How do you experience your neighborhood or city differently when walking instead of driving?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/24/2020 7:05 AM
    I   have a much greater appreciation for my surroundings when I  walk instead of drive. If I 'm not the one driving I  often find myself sitting on my phone. When I  walk I  purely enjoy nature around me and find myself practicing deep breathing.  
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health More Fruits and Veggies
    How does eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat positively affect yourself, other people, and our planet?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/24/2020 7:03 AM
    I  have found when I  am looking for a snack that keeping fruits and veggies on hand and I n some cases washed and prepped they are easier to grab. Replacing other snacks with fruits and veggies naturally decreases my hunger for processed foods. I  still eat meat but only when I  know I t has been sustainably raised or harvested.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Find Local Recycling Depots
    Our ability to recycle certain things ebbs and flows based upon many factors. Luckily there are places that accept uncommon things to recycle or dispose of in a less harmful way. What did you find when looking for places to recycle items that can't be recycled in your curbside bin?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/24/2020 7:01 AM
    I  will donate books to local libraries and clothes to second-hand stores. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Take Control
    How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?

    Jamie Frees Miller's avatar
    Jamie Frees Miller 4/20/2020 11:58 AM
    Environmental health is closely related to community and personal health for me. As someone with two autoimmune diseases, the past 9 years of my life have been a true journey of seeking health. I have discovered that for me stress is a huge contributor to when my diseases start to flare. For me, I  find a lot of relief from stress by spending time outdoors whether it is just being outside, hiking, or riding my horse. I  want the environment to be a healthy place to make my time outside more enjoyable so I  choose to make sustainable and environmentally friendly choices to live. Community health is also huge for me. I  love talking about healthy choices to anyone who will listen to me because I  think spreading the message of health and wellness will help everyone live their best lives, and when those around you are happy and healthy it makes staying on track for your own health easier to do and the world is a better place to live. In fact, I recently have become so interested in helping spread the wellness bug I'm studying in my spare time to become a certified holistic health coach part-time.