I was fairly ambitious for my project. Originally I proposed a year long project about a video I would make regarding outdoor adventure and local ways to get involved. I am still sticking with this idea but have made a few alterations. The video project will be my second semester project, this way I can use both first and second semester to gather footage and build a foundation for the movie. This also makes the video project less monstrous. My first semester trip will be doing Habitat for Humanity in Birmingham, Alabama through Buck-I-Serv.

I have attended the kick off meeting and am planning to meet up with members of my trip. Regarding my video project, I have started taking some footage but will also use a portion of my Buck-I-Serv trip for my video. I will begin contact clubs and programs that promote outdoor adventure more second semester. This semester I’m mainly focused on getting a baseline of footage for the video and preparing for Buck-I-Serv.

Regarding both my projects, I would say I’m at a fairly comfortable spot. I cant do much for Buck-I-Serv besides attend the meetings, get to know the members, and get some education on the program and it’s goals. For the video, I just think I should be filming interesting activities that students could easily get involved in to get them off their phones and outdoors!

Clearly my project did deviate what I had originally in mind, but I am glad in the direction it is taking. Not only am I able to participate in Habitat for Humanity but I can also still do my video project. I think that everything has pretty much worked out for the better. I do recognize that the trip will be more concentrated work for a week where as the video will be spread out over time but I think the two different work styles will be an interesting and helpful way to show how specific projects require different work and time management strategies.

            I love making videos. I didn’t know I did until two years ago when I made a movie clip of my family backpacking trip in the Adirondacks. This new found love was then applied to everything I did from cliff jumping and basic camping to Spanish class projects. I find videos to be a true reflection of an experience without anyone pretending to be candid or any distortion of a single moment, which people often use photographs for. This isn’t a bad thing about photographs, it’s what makes them quite wonderful, but for adventure and conveying my message correctly I found videos to be most effective.

            Now that you’ve gotten an idea of where I’m taking my second year project and why I chose that media, you need to know what I’m going to do with it.

I was panicking at first when I found out I couldn’t use STEP as my project but now I’m glad that I couldn’t. I first asked myself what I love doing and what would send a message to people about a theme that ENR scholars promotes. Originally I wanted to create a recycling video about promoting correct recycling habits around campus but I wasn’t sure if I could create a quality video with enough footage that was encouraging. I thought I could film some recycling bins with incorrect things tossed in them and then some action shots of people picking up trash from natural areas and possibly figure out how to edit in some animation of putting plastic cups in recycling bins and putting food in the trash bins. That all sounded a little high school class project to me though. I really wanted this video to be something people wanted to watch and something that impacted them.

So I have been thinking for two weeks now and finally have developed an idea that I am very excited to film about and have experience with this type of subject. I wanted to create a video promoting outdoor adventure. This video will hopefully inspire others to put down the game controller, lock their phones, and shut off Netflix and go outside. This video will give statistics of technology use and under-utilization of adventure resources close to campus and around Ohio. It will also provide clubs and organizations available on and off campus that encourage outdoor activities and are accessible to students (ENR scholar’s events, Mountaineering Club, the OAC, the Sierra club, etc.).

This message of adventure is what drew me into ENR scholars because it’s a personal passion of mine. Walking through campus all I ever see is people looking down at their phones and deliberating over what their Instagram caption should be. I hope that this video helps students realize that there is more out in the world than a virtual reality and it’s possible to explore it! My ultimate goal for this project would be to get it shown to the orientation classes, or even at meetings for the clubs I am promoting, or to be shared on the internet so that more people can see it and hopefully get inspired.

I think that the 30-hour minimum shouldn’t be a problem between filming, contacting clubs, doing research, editing, and broadcasting. I am very excited to work on this and hope it comes off more than just an assignment, but a beacon to the outdoors and all it has to offer.

Earth Month Challenge is winding down to an end, but that doesn’t mean the habits have to stop. As cheesy as that sounds, what I mean is that myself, along with many other scholars, have challenged themselves this past month with sustainable practices that occur in their daily lives. I believe that scholars will decide to implement these challenges that they chose in their daily lives hopefully for years to come, even if they just choose one.

My challenge mainly focused on diet and how changing my diet would be more sustainable to the environment. Having a purpose behind the challenge allowed me to be more focused on what I was doing. I will admit, as my challenge progressed, I did slip up a little bit but by making mistakes I learned how to apply those to my daily life when dealing with diet.

The overall experience for me was very powerful. I have been wanting to go vegan for quite some time. This challenge allowed me to wean myself off of meat and animal products. When I go home for the summer I want to practice veganism, I believe it will be easier once I am able to produce my own meals and buy my own groceries, it’s possible on campus but a bit more stressful.

I learned that you can do anything sustainably, but the choice is only yours and not everyone will go to such lengths to do things the right way. Being sustainable will save you money in the long along with helping the planet. Economics aside, it is very beneficial for your health (if you do things the right way). What I mean by this is if you become a vegan and only eat Oreos and bread, that’s not very healthy. But, if you become a vegan and utilize locally grown, in season, and organic foods like fruits, vegetables and grains, your body and the earth will thank you.

I want to do some more research on diets and examine their effects on my body before I entirely commit to veganism, but like I mentioned before, it is something I am going to experiment with for some time this summer and possibly commit to as a lifestyle choice.

I definitely would try another challenge, not just during Earth Month but year round. I am always looking for ways to be more sustainable and even picked up some good habits from other ENR scholars’ challenges, like eating at sustainable restaurants.

Overall, I would say this challenge was very unique, personal, and rewarding. It was great how students got to pick what challenges they wanted to do and what difficulty they were comfortable with. I liked how my challenge built on itself every week and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to practice sustainability in their diet or just considering veganism.

This semester I decided to go on a trip the Outdoor Adventure Center. Actually, I decided I had wanted to go on this trip a year ago in the winter of 2015 at Scholars Day here at OSU. I had been sitting in a meeting for prospective ENR scholars and Esther mentioned a sea kayaking trip they were going to take to the Florida Everglades and 10,000 Islands. Immediately this drew me in to and helped my seal my decision for choosing ENR Scholars.

            This trip was nothing like I had expected it to be. I heard I would be sleeping on beaches, kayaking all day, and spending time in the sun. All I could think about was adventure and how great it all sounded. I didn’t consider the strenuous activity, the bugs, and the heat. Truthfully, I was mostly worries about alligators, and I didn’t see any of those during my time in the water, I did get to camp next to a baby one though.

            Throughout this 10-day journey there were a lot of highs and lows, along with some self discovery and mindfulness. Some of my favorite experiences of the trip would include the drive down there. While feasting in Wal-Mart parking lots and playing hackey sack at any moment we could get, the group instantly bonded with one another. We also played a game called five minutes of fame, it was uncomfortable talking about yourself for five minutes but I enjoyed hearing about everybody else. Tasks were abundant, from loading the kayaks, cleaning the kayaks, cooking dinner, cleaning up, directing the group and navigating. However, they held everyone accountable to be a team player.

            Once we got to the 10,000 Islands, we spent an entire day kayaking for about seven or eight hours. This was pretty irritating because the tandems were having trouble learning to navigate, those things are hard to get the hang of, and kept bumping into the mangroves and other single kayakers. I kept getting ran into so I decided to hang out in the back most of the time with one of the other leaders, Harry. Harry asked me random questions at the time like what I was thinking about and how I was feeling. Later that day he explained that he was trying to get others to practice mindfulness. He gave us prompts for the rest of the trip and these soon became a highlight to look forward to every day.

            If I had to pick a favorite experience, I couldn’t do it. I loved too many aspects of this trip. I could pick a favorite experience from every day, but for the sake of this paper’s length I will just name a few, but don’t worry there are many more than this. The ultimate experience was waking up at 4 a.m. to go paddle through a bioluminescent channel and catch the sunrise on Panther Island. The bioluminescence was unlike anything I had ever done before. As I scraped my paddle against the water’s surface glowing sparks shot off in every direction. The beauty of a glowing channel of water with a full sky of stars above you head is indescribable. I also like coconut bowling, Ethan and Harry snuck off to get some coconuts and surprised is with them. We turned it into a game by setting up our Nalgene’s as pins, our headlamps as strobe lights, and the coconuts as bowling balls. It was even better accompanied by the opening of the golden egg and s’mores. I also enjoyed our zero day, probably more than anything honestly. We didn’t paddle at all this day and just stayed on Panther Island, in the shade while some read, some napped, some drew, and some aspired to build a kite. It was nice because all of our clothes got to dry and we got to rest. Also Stan’s, a memory that I will never forget.

            The most important skill I learned on this trip would have to be navigation. Everyone on the trip, excluding the leaders and the leaders in training, helped to get us back to the marina on the last day successfully. I also learned a lot of the Everglades how the public views them as opposed to how they should be seen, along with the programs in place to protect them. Teamwork was definitely enhanced as well as mindfulness and perseverance. This trip has led me to want to develop another skill, trip planning. I would like to be able to go on a trip like this again one day, but without the assistance of the OAC. I would like to plan and navigate myself.

            Although this trip was one of the best experiences of my life, there were some lows. No matter how I adjusted my seat, the plastic kept digging into my back rubbing it raw every time I paddled, slowing me down substantially to adjust it every couple strokes. On the second day, I was way behind the pod with another girl, Hannah. She asked me what was wrong and I instantly spewed everything on my mind, from my broken seat to the wind blowing my kayak in the other direction and everything in between. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one having a hard time. At that time, me and her were the only non leaders in single kayaks, everyone in the tandems were beginners, and those things are much easier to control due to the power and rudder they have, so in retrospect we weren’t doing too bad, but I didn’t know that then. Also the sun had burnt me so bad that a layer of my lips had been shed and there were blisters on my neck. I learned to cover everything, sunscreen doesn’t completely shield you. Along with there being a crack in my bowl at the bottom, so I ate a lot of sand. Not to mention the no see ‘ums and the mosquitos. My hand and my feet were open season. Although everything else that was covered up wasn’t so bad.

            If I had to give advice to someone else aspiring to go on this trip I would say push through the first couple days. The leaders will challenge you and so will the elements, we did a successful sea launch into the Gulf of Mexico our second day, a feat not many people thought we could accomplish. I would also say bring enough clothes to cover your body all the time, gloves and a buff are personal recommendations for those who burn easily like me, seriously my hands were scabbed even two weeks after from the sun. Also I would say invest in some good camping gear. My own pack towel, bug jacket, wool socks, and mountain pants were very useful and helped to reduce a lot of stress. Also practice mindfulness, even if your leader doesn’t encourage you to. Most importantly, keep an open mind and share with your group, it will bring you close and make the journey a lot more enjoyable.

Three weeks into Earth Month challenge! I must say, this past week has definitely been harder than the past two. This week I eliminated all meat from my diet along with always carrying a water bottle or reusable mug everywhere I went, on top of not eating meat on Fridays, but this was expanded into no meat at all. Because I was practicing pescatarianism for some time, this challenge was entirely too bad and helped jump start me back on changing my diet to being a vegetarian. I am nervous for next week which is no dairy on top of all of the challenges I am working on now. This is going to be hard because I love cheese and ice cream! If I had to chose to do one thing differently to help with my challenge, I would say bring more snacks! Having filling snacks on hand really helps keep me full and not tempted to eat meat and unhealthy foods. I have learned that I have more will power than I would’ve thought and that eliminating meat isn’t really bad because there are still great food options! I have felt like I’ve had a little bit more energy since cutting out meat, which is a plus! My CO₂ savings for this week were a whopping 91 pounds! I calculated this because each vegetarian day that I ate saved eight pounds lbs., multiplied by seven days a week totals to 56 lbs. of CO₂ saved plus the 5 pounds of CO₂ I saved each day for using a recyclable water bottle, seven days a week is an additional 35 pounds. Approximately I have saved over 134 pounds of CO₂ during these past three weeks. I would say I probably saved around $30 this week due to not buying disposable water bottles and having vegetarian meals be slightly cheaper in most cases. I am very nervous for this nondairy week but I believe it’s possible! I’m going to have to stock up on almond milk, which luckily I recently trained myself to like.

Two weeks through of Earth Month and going pretty strong. My challenge this week was to carry a reusable water bottle or mug everywhere I went along with no meat on Fridays. It wasn’t too bad because I typically do this most days but it was especially helpful this week because I just started training and needed all the water I could get. I also made my own tea in a reusable mug and brought that to class instead of buying tea in a disposable mug. However, the no meat on Fridays was a little challenging because I did go out to eat with my friends at Panera Bread and they didn’t have many protein packed options other than the meals that included meat, everything else was mainly carbs. However, on campus there were lots of vegetable and grain options that helped get me through the day. I am nervous for week 4 because I am nervous to cut all dairy and meat out of my diet, I think I will have a nice group of people to give me advice and tips though. I wasn’t able to update my carbon and financial savings on the website provided but I calculated it on carbonfund.org. I saved around 51 lbs. of carbon this week. This is because I saved 5 lbs. for each water bottle I saved, one a day for 7 days and I also saved 8 lbs. for each vegetarian meal I had, which was twice. If I had to pick one thing to do differently I would say plan ahead so that it’s easier to pick vegetarian options.

Week one of Earth Month has past and my challenge was to eat no meat on Fridays. This principal will stay with me all four weeks of Earth Month and I will build on it each week, adding another challenge. It was fairly easy to avoid meat on Friday because it was Good Friday and since I practice Catholicism, I was already not eating meat of Fridays due to Lent. However, because Lent is over now I am technically allowed to eat meat of Fridays along with other Catholics, so this challenge is going to get difficult. Often times on Fridays my friends and I will treat ourselves to something special like Panera or Cane’s, so my Catholic friends can eat meat again but I can’t. I think to help me with this challenge, I can suggest cooking for my friends vegetarian meals on Fridays or suggesting restaurants that offer good vegetarian options. Because I was already practicing meatless Fridays, I learned that I am able to restrict parts of my diet at my own will. I was consuming fish on Fridays during lent but not I will not be eating fish either.  This might be hard because I love fish. I think the next few weeks will go fairly smoothly because I haven’t really struggled too much cutting meat out one day of the week. I practiced pescatarianism for several months until I got very ill last semester and my doctors suggested I eat meat again until I got better. I would like to go back to pescatarianism and hopefully move toward veganism by the end of the semester. I believe this challenge will allow me to do that and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. Week two of earth month should be pretty doable, I will be carrying around a reusable water bottle everywhere I go. I do this most of the time and hopefully this will encourage me to stay away from tea and juice, which come in disposable bottles. By not eating meat for one day, I saved 8.22 pounds of CO₂. I calculated this because a vegetarian saves 3,000 pounds of CO₂ in a year compared to a meat eater, divided by 365 days, and you get 8.22 pounds of carbon dioxide saved. Financially, I don’t think I saved any money because I just ate at home with my family, but spending no money is still saving money by not eating out. Hopefully the rest of Earth Month runs smoothly and I can incorporate these habits into my everyday life.

My challenge area for Earth Month is food and water. Each week I will practice a new technique that helps the earth out in addition to what I was doing the following week.

• Week One: Meatless Fridays. I will not consume any meat on Fridays.
• Week Two: I will carry a reusable water bottle or coffee cup everywhere I go so that I won’t have to use a disposable one. In addition, I will not be eating meat on Fridays.
• Week Three: I will go all week as a pescatarian, so I will be able to consume fish and animal products but no meat such as pork, beef chicken, etc. I will also still carry a reusable cup and not eat any meat on Fridays (including fish).
• Week Four: No dairy. I will not be consuming milk, cheese, or any other dairy products all week in addition still practicing pescatarianism and carrying a reusable water bottle.

Some challenges that this might pose will be restricting my diet. Most of the weeks progress towards veganism, but not entirely vegan because the last week I will still be consuming fish. Other than that I will have eliminated most animal products from my diet which is a much more sustainable diet. It might be hard to stay motivated because sometimes it’s hard to find food options on campus that support this type of lifestyle. I also think it may be hard to influence others to do the same as me.

My area of focus for Scholars Earth Month is food and water. I chose this focus because this has effected me me for quite some time. For the past year I have done research on diet and how it effects the environment and oneself. I have come to learn a lot about how one can alter their diet to better their health and the world. Although veganism seems the best route with the most benefits for this there are other less drastic options. I myself am a pescatarian, which is another option, along with being a vegetarian or simply reducing one’s intake of animal products. College students eat several times everyday, so it is obvious how small changes can accumulate to a large difference.

Things you can do to help the environment [centered around a food & water changes]

1. Eat more locally grown foods
2. Use a water filter (instead of buying disposable water bottles)
3. Become a vegan
4. If that’s too drastic for you… consider being a vegetarian or pescatarian
5. Still not feeling it? The least you can do is not eat meat one day out of the week
6. Eat more plant based foods
7. Buy Fair Trade
8. Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth
9. Turn off the water in between washing dishes
10. Take shorter showers
11. Always carry a reusable water bottle with you
12. Have extra swipes? Don’t let them go to waste, buy a homeless person a meal
13. Only wash your laundry in full loads (bonus; this will save you money too)
14. Start a compost pile
15. Use less paper napkins during meals
16. Skip taking baths, instead just shower
17. Shower every other day (bonus; your hair will also get healthier)
18. Ditch the paper plates and plastic silverware for meals, go reusable

3 resources around campus and Columbus that can help get you informed and involved:

1. The Ohio State University Vegetarian & Vegan Society: For anyone trying to change their diet to decrease their impact on the environment this is a great club here at OSU to support and back up your new lifestyle. They meet biweekly and have a Facebook page so there are always updates and new events going on within the club.
2. Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District: This organization is committed to the conversation of water in Franklin County. They offer workshops, volunteering opportunities, and advice on how you can conserve water at home and around Columbus.
3. The North Market: This market is located in the Short North and caters to those who like to purchase fresh produce and food locally grown by individual business owners. Many food options here are organic and locally grown. Not only are you helping the environment and your health, but you’re also supporting small businesses when you shop here!

Websites that can help get you informed and involved:

1. http://www.chooseveg.com/environment : for those looking to change their diet for a more sustainable lifestyle this website is great. It helps give pointers on leading a vegetarian lifestyle and is full of statistics about why becoming a veg head helps the earth. For example, raising animals for food uses 30% of the earth’s land mass. These facts will definitely help reinforce your new diet decision!
2. http://www.50waystohelp.com : If you’re looking to make changes in small ways this website offers 50 things you can do to help out the planet. Not all of these are related to food and water, but there are a lot of water conservation tips (like only running the dishwasher for full loads) along with a few diet changes examples (like going vegetarian once a week) that can make a difference. If everyone started doing these there would be immense change.
3. http://eartheasy.com/live_water_saving.htm : This website offers a lot of great ways to conserve water at home. It ranges from small things like shutting off the facet when you’re brushing your teeth to at home projects like checking your plumbing for leaks. A lot of these options are not only great for the planet but save you money.
4. http://www.peta.org : Oh the infamous PETA. Despite what you may have heard from those who have only heard rumors about PETA and extremist actions, this organization is actually amazing and very dedicated to helping the earth and all those who inhabit it. This website offers a lot of animal rights information along with why being vegan or at least vegetarian helps reduce one’s impact on the environment, how it can help push the world in a right direction, and why it is beneficial to your health. The videos are quite impactful and I would only recommend watching them if you want to change your diet, otherwise you will just feel guilty anytime you eat a hamburger

Give a few of these changes a try and check out some of the resources. They are influential and show how small habits and steps you can incorporate into your daily routine, not just for a month but for a lifetime, can change the world.

This semester I will be sea kayaking in the Florida Everglades and 10,000 Islands. This OAC trip will be my Columbus To-Do List experience.

This opportunity presented to me through OSU, the OAC, and ENR Scholars is obviously not something everyone gets the chance to do. I am looking forward to just about everything, as cheesy as that sounds. If I had to pick though I would definitely say that getting to sleep on a different beach every night for six days sounds pretty amazing. Also, I have heard a lot about how the team bonds on this trip, and that is something I am definitely looking forward to. Ethan talked about there being a channel that has bacteria that create a bioluminescent protein that makes the water glow. I have studied this before and I would also love to see that in person. I think I’m going to develop a lot of new skills on this trip because it is such a unique opportunity.

I really want to learn about knots, as silly as that sounds, but I believe we will being have a knots workshop. Looking at bigger picture objectives I hope that by the end of this trip I will be able to navigate and plan a trip of my own one day (to a less intense scale). Also I want to gain a deeper appreciation of the Everglades and nature in general. The Florida Everglades usually just get labeled as a swamp and disregarded as a national park. However, from what I’ve studied so far in preparation for this trip it seems to harbor a lot of beauty and diversity. I think being there first person will definitely help this mindset evolve in not just me, but everyone on the trip.

An experience I’ve already had so far in relation to the trip would be the pre-trip Brunch. Here a couple other scholars, myself, the leaders, Esther and her dog Linus chowed down on some delicious breakfast food and talked about the trip, the Everglades, the animals, and some good advice. A lot about the history of the Everglades, some “nature nuggets”, and past experiences were shared to get everyone hyped for the trip. I’m preparing for it now by getting a lot of clothing that will actually be beneficial to have during the trip and doing some research on the Everglades. The leaders said it’s much more fun when you know information on something in the Everglades and you come across it and get to share it with everyone. Also I am told to bring a journal, so I am mentally preparing myself to having to write in that every night (I use to try and journal but I always get lazy and put it off). I really can’t wait for this amazing experience and to reread this blog post and see how I’ve changed post-trip.