Leonard Black

So it is the end of EcoChallenge 2017.  As in past years, it has been a growth experience.  Thank you, Northwest Earth Institute, for the event.  And thank you, Amy, for being the Simply Living Team Captain.

One of my challenges was to volunteer 20 hours in my community.  For the past several years, I have been volunteering at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank and at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, two of my favorite organizations.  I had to pick up the pace to get 20 hours, but today I finished 23 hours since the EcoChallenge started, in 6 sessions at the Food Bank and 3 sessions at the library.

Today I researched cleaning products using the Environmental Working Group's Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which is an excellent and incredibly comprehensive resource.  It allows you to click on type of cleaner and see a long list of products, graded A to F (this allows you to find green products to switch to as well as toxic products to get rid of).  You can also search by product, so you can find out about a specific cleaner you have pulled out of your cupboard.  I've been converting over to green cleaning products for the past couple years, so most of the toxic products I found are ones that I have stopped using but haven't disposed of yet.  I also researched appropriate disposal methods.  I discovered a website called Earth 911.com, which is also a great resource.  It recommends that toxic household cleaners be disposed of like hazardous materials.  On Earth 911.com, I typed in "Household Cleaners" and my zip code, and it routed me to SWACO's Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility.  I will be making a delivery there this week.  I'm so glad to find all these excellent resources, and to have a place to take the materials!     

One of my challenges was to explore a new nature trail or hiking area.  I initially looked for one in my vicinity, but couldn't find anything worthy nearby that I had not already experienced.  I was in Dublin this morning running a couple errands, so I looked for something up that way and discovered Emily Traphagen Park, one of Delaware County's Preservation Parks.  It is not large, only 72 acres with only 1.2 miles of trails, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality.  It is surrounded by upscale residences, but contains a surprising diversity of habitats: pond, wetland, woodland, meadow, & prairie.  The Whitetail Loop is wooded, with a trail running down to overlook the pond.  The meadow trail is not quite so scenic, but I noticed lots of milkweed & goldenrod (now gone to seed), with many birds and a few butterflies still hanging around.  The park has a really cool playground, too, with a children's climbing rock (yes, I climbed it).  I'm glad that Delaware County has a program to preserve some of the natural features of the county, and thankful that Mr. Traphagen thought to memorialize his wife in such a beneficial way.  Did I mention the weather? Upper 60s, bright & sunny, perfect hiking weather--I enjoyed it so much I hiked both trails twice!     

I have been a bit behind on documentary watching, so checked out three food-related documentaries that I have been wanting to see and watched them over the past several days: Forks Over Knives, Food, Inc. and In Defense of Food.  All are excellent and I highly recommend them.  After discussing them with friends, I find it  interesting that people can watch them and then essentially ignore them.  Old habits die hard, I suppose. 

It's been a hiking weekend, Highbanks yesterday & Prairie Oaks this morning. I exceeded my challenge time of 60 minutes of exercise both days and I'm feeling a little weary, but happy to have been out in nature.  I do love the metroparks, I'm so glad they are there.  And I am grateful that I still have the ability to appreciate them. This afternoon I worked in the yard, collecting daisy & black-eyed susan tops for replanting later.  It was windy, as a front blew through, bringing in cooler weather. Feels like autumn! 

I went to the Worthington Farmers Market this morning. I haven't been able to go for about a month.  I am so thankful that it is there and glad that it stays open (indoors) all winter long.  I bought local apples, sweet potatoes, peppers, cauliflower, mushrooms, micro greens, egg plant, green onions, chard, and kale.  And sweet corn (I didn't expect to find it this late in the season).  I am particularly grateful for Franklinton Gardens, a private non-profit company that grows vegetables in vacant lots in west Columbus, not far from downtown.  They have several greenhouses, and grow as long as they can through the winter.  Last year (a mild winter) I bought salad greens and micro greens all through the winter.  I was so glad to buy local greens and not have to give up my salads in the winter, I hope I can do it again this year.  

I noticed there aren't any Health challenges involving meditation, mindfulness, & yoga.  That's an oversight, in my opinion, as these are as important to my mental & physical health as eating & sleeping. I'm glad to have discovered the benefits of meditation, and glad to be making progress every day in mindfulness. I've been doing yoga for 2 1/2 years, and have made slow but steady progress, and have made some very good friends. Namaste! 

I chose primarily food & health challenges this year, as I have been improving in these areas over the past couple years and wanted to refine my practices.  I was encouraged to see that I have already done or am already doing 5 of the food challenges and 4 of the health challenges.  I am glad to have found several books to guide me, including Food Over Medicine by Pamela A. Popper & Glen Merzer, How Not To Die by Michael Greger, The China Study by T. Colin Campbell & Thomas M. Campbell, and The China Study Solution by Thomas Campbell.  I am also grateful to have discovered Chef Del Srouf's incredible cookbooks, including Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook, Better Than Vegan, The China Study Quick & Easy Cookbook, & Great Salad Dressings from an Oil-Free Kitchen. Last autumn I was fortunate to attend a lecture by Frances Moore Lappe, and followed up by re-reading Diet for a Small Planet (actually, the 25th Anniversary Edition is a great update of the original version I read in the 70s), which encouraged me further by letting me know that the practices I have been adopting for my health are also good for the planet. I was inspired to read a couple of her more recent books, EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think to Create the World We Want and World Hunger: 10 Myths (the latter co-authored by Joseph Collins).  I highly recommend all the books I have mentioned.