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Mike Hardesty's avatar

Mike Hardesty

Washington College

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 646 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    28
    miles
    not traveled by car
  • UP TO
    450
    minutes
    not spent in front of a screen
  • UP TO
    199
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    3,270
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    32
    locally sourced meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    450
    minutes
    spent exercising

Mike's actions

Food

Locally-Sourced Meals

I will source 2 meal(s) each day from local producers.

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

Do Nature Activities

I will engage in nature-based activities alone, or with my friends or family, for 120 minute(s) each day. (This can be anything from going on a walk or hike, to noticing the leaves changing color, to reading a book with nature themes.)

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Go for a Daily Walk

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

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

Water

Eco-friendly Gardening

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of plants and trees at my home or work.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Leave No Trace

I will practice the seven principles of Leave No Trace when doing nature activities alone or with family and friends.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Work from Home

I will work from home 5 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

I will not travel for meetings and will instead conduct them virtually.

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

Nature

Tend a Garden

I will tend to a garden each day, work on starting one, or find a local community garden to get involved with.

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?


  • Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/26/2020 8:30 AM
    Un monstruo!   Our neighbor, jub-jub, the spotted salamander. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Go for a Daily Walk
    How do you experience your neighborhood or city differently when walking instead of driving?

    Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/26/2020 8:26 AM
    It is a huge difference, but I think the mindset is just as important as the mode of transport.  Walking with a mind mired in thoughts better suited for a traffic jam doesn't get you anywhere. 

  • Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/26/2020 8:22 AM
    A walk in the woods in Potomac led us to a showy orchid and ground cones!  The orchid is beautiful but the ground cone is pretty cool.  It is a plant-with tiny flowers that were actually dispersing pollen at the time we saw them. But unlike other green plants that get carbon through photosynthesis (autotrophic) the ground cone get's its carbon as a parasite of other plants (heterotrophic).
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity Needs Vs. Wants
    How is creativity necessary for practicing simplicity?

    Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/26/2020 7:54 AM
    It is kind of counter intuition, the idea that you simplicity takes creativity.  I think that is just a reflection of how entrenched complexity is in our lives. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Do Nature Activities
    What did you observe while spending time outside -- through sight, sound, smell and touch?

    Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/26/2020 7:51 AM
    Site is something we rely on often, perhaps too much.  Sounds are the most rewarding for me outdoors.  There is so much to sound that I take for granted.  They can set my mood without even knowing it.  The difference between a spring day and a summer day are all about the sounds. 
  • 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?

    Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/24/2020 6:54 AM
    I believe the importance of being outdoors extends beyond spiritual and emotional.  Richard Louv and others have illustrated the connection to intellectual development as well.  
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Leave No Trace
    Educator Stephanie Kaza advises her students to focus on what they care about most when addressing the enormity of ecological problems. Is there a specific area you feel particularly called to work on?

    Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/24/2020 6:37 AM
    Food and the intersection with our climate crisis. 

  • Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/24/2020 6:31 AM
    "Give me more s'mores!!!!"  Mutiny.  
    Kids take over the camping trip.
  • 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?

    Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/20/2020 5:13 AM
    It is a simple equation: the happy you are at home, the harder you work, all around. Satisfaction should be applied across all fronts, not when just considering "work" or "personal life." 

  • Mike Hardesty's avatar
    Mike Hardesty 4/20/2020 5:07 AM
    Look for the bumble bee....working the flowers of our "north country" blue berries planted last year!