Skip to main content
October 11 - October 25, 2017
Mason Gensman's avatar

Mason Gensman

ESR 171 PCC Sylvania Fall 2017

"Conservation is key!"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 580 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    2.0
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    13
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    390
    minutes
    spent outdoors

Mason's actions

Community

Connect with a Nonprofit

I will connect with a local nonprofit, environmental or otherwise, and find out how I can get involved or become a member.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Host a House Party

I will host a house party to watch a movie or present a guest speaker on an environmental issue that matters to me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Recycle Everything I Can

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Visit a Waste Management Facility

I will visit a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about the waste stream.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Eat Meatless Meals

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) per day.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Buy From a Farmers Market

I will purchase produce and meat from a local farmers market or food co-op.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Spend Time Outside

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

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Share My Actions

I will make my environmental actions visible with a lawn sign or bumper sticker, or by posting to my social media networks.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Express My Support

I will find out who in my state makes decisions that impact the environment and express my support for more environmental actions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

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?


  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/24/2017 8:53 AM
    Got a great start to the day by replacing some time inside with a 100 flight of stairs workout. Afterwards I had a delicious vegetable scramble for breakfast and now I'm heading to a meeting at the Wild Salmon Center downtown with Matt Sloat the centers resident ecologist!

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/23/2017 5:47 PM
    Stopped by a local fruit vendor in Hood River and scored close to 20lbs of different fruits all grown in the Gorge and as an added bonus I had a conversation with the owner about switching from plastic to paper bags for their produce. He seemed really into it!

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/22/2017 9:52 PM
    After hearing about our challenge from SOC 228 I decided to step it up and add a couple one time challenges to my list since those can be easier to complete (sometimes) and usually are pretty fun too! Tonight I had a couple people over who are not nearly as interested in fish as I am to watch a great documentary on the harm farmed salmon cause in the ecosystems around them. The documentary is called Salmon Confidential.  Well worth a watch and very likely to make you question some of your fish eating habits if you have any...

    • April Ann Fong's avatar
      April Ann Fong 10/23/2017 2:49 PM
      Nice job! Did your friends like the documentary? I'll have to watch this!

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/22/2017 10:42 AM
    Got swamped yesterday (no pun intended) between doing 2 Salmon Surveys  and trying to navigate the horrible portland traffic made worse by the rain. I failed on eating at least 1 meat free meal yesterday but on the other hand my Survey teams collected 2 30 Gallon trashbags of recyclable materials from Johnson Creek each which was a challenge in itself but one that was also quite fun!

    • April Ann Fong's avatar
      April Ann Fong 10/23/2017 2:50 PM
      Yay for surveys and collecting recyclables!

    • Paul Wolfe's avatar
      Paul Wolfe 10/22/2017 10:55 AM
      Worse things to get stuck in traffic for!  I appreciate your contribution and the watershed thanks you as well : )

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/20/2017 9:30 PM
    One of the challenges was to visit a wastewater treatment facility so of course I accepted it! I decided to go out to the Tualatin river after class to fish for a while (below where cleanwater services drains their water) and while I didnt land any fish I did enjoy thinking about the water surrounding me and the recent processes it undertook mere miles from me. It really gives you a better perspective after a visit and tour like we had today!

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/19/2017 7:25 PM
    Today after our Information Festival I went out and enjoyed a small lunch surrounded by my fishy friends in the Learning Garden. I've been making it a habit to spend some time there each week instead of doing homework in the library or eating lunch inside which has worked well for one of my challenges which is to spend 30 minutes typically spent indoors outside.. Plus my friends laugh when I tell them I still get to hang out with fish on campus!

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/18/2017 7:52 PM
    I just took out my garbage and recycling and I noticed how empty my trash can was.. My recycling didn't look too different but I have noticed a decrease in my generating of waste. I am usually pretty good about single use plastics and rarely purchase plastic bottles because I carry my water bottle everywhere but yesterday I caved and bought a coke from the vending machine in the CC.  I noticed when I checked my bank account today that that soda cost me $3.50 for a 20oz coke. On one hand I cant help but wonder if thats in an effort to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks/ single use plastics or if thats just the school/ vending company nickel and diming me even further. In any case it was a great reminder to stay away from those machines!

    • April Ann Fong's avatar
      April Ann Fong 10/19/2017 5:23 PM
      It is hard not to cave every now and again when it is so easy and available. Nice job carrying your water bottle!

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/17/2017 9:51 PM
    HEY Y'ALL
    Apparently if you score 200 points NWEI gives you a free 90 day subscription to the Chinook Book App . This app is pretty cool, it gives you coupons to use at local sustainable and green businesses. Pretty sweet, and a nice little incentive to challenge yourself a little extra and get a few more points!

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/17/2017 9:46 PM
    One of my challenges was to express my support for an environmental issue and today was the last day to submit comments to the EPA regarding the decision on the pebble mine currently being proposed for Bristol Bay in Alaska. This bay is one of the most salmon rich ecosystems in the world and the construction and mining of this area would result in untold damage to both the salmon populations of that region and the populations of our own. I wrote a few page essay in which I deconstructed why a decision to allow this mine would be a slap in the face to the indigenous peoples, natural ecosystems and America itself by allowing a foreign company to destroy our ecosystem, our economy and one of our nations greatest natural resources. I also sent this essay to a few different Oregon government officials and asked they please support the denial of the proposal. I have previously received correspondence from Sen. Ron Wyden about issues I wrote to him about so I am hoping this may warrant a response as well. 

    if youre interested in adding your name to the long list of opposers and helping fight the pebble mine proposal you can do so very easily through an organization called Trout Unlimited (figures I'd be affiliated with them huh)

    https://www.tu.org/action-center?vvsrc=/campaigns/53572/respond 

  • Mason Gensman's avatar
    Mason Gensman 10/16/2017 8:19 PM
    It was quite difficult to not have some fresh salmon with every meal today but I refrained during dinner instead opting for a vegetable stew that I have been saving for another cold night but since Im staying in my cousins house here in Bend I wont be nearly as chilly as the last 2 nights!