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Week 1:

For the first week of Earth Month, I could begin by eating healthier and more organic foods in order to reduce supporting companies who waste food and cut down on my consumption of preservatives. A challenge associated with this action will be finding ways to eat healthier. As a college student, I rely on my meal plan for the majority of my food. Finding ways to eat more organically will be challenging because of the lack of availability of organic food on campus. A resource I could use to achieve this action is the bus system. I could use the bus system to make trips to farmer’s market selling organic produce.

Week 2:

In addition to eating healthier, I could shop places that I know support my issue or have a non-waste policy such as Panera. This way I would be supporting companies who support my cause. A challenge for this action will be researching places to shop in order to find those that support my issue. I could also use the bus system as a resource for this action as well.

Week 3:

This week I could volunteer my time at a local food pantry. This way I will be physically going out and working toward my goal hands-on. A challenge for this action will be traveling to the food pantry. I do not know the Columbus area very well, so finding my way to the food pantry will be difficult. A resource for this will be google maps. I can look up the food pantries in the area.

Week 4:

This week I could talk to the people in my workplace about what they do to reduce their food waste. I could also talk to my employers about donating leftover food at the end of the night to those in need. A challenge for this action will be talking to my employers. Conversations like this one are not easy conversations to have. A resource I can use are the people I work with. I am familiar with them, so they could help me figure a way to go about bringing up the topic.

There are many non-profit organizations working to make a difference in world hunger. Over the years many different non-profits have popped up to help rid the world of malnutrition. Some of these organizations are Hands Against Hunger and Action Against Hunger.

I personally have volunteered with Hands Against Hunger and can confidently say that their program is phenomenal. Before beginning work packaging the food, they have you watch a video about the work they do that really makes you love helping them. Then, they send you to a table with a team where each member has a specific job. One person might scoop rice, another might weigh the full bag of food, and the last person at the end of the table fills a box with the bags. It is a very good system. Other organizations might send people abroad to work with the hungry in underdeveloped countries. Those that travel abroad might help plant and maintain gardens or build water wells.

Many non-profit organizations will regularly take volunteers to help package food and sort donations. A good place to start looking for volunteer work would be to search a specific issue and see what comes up. Another good way is by word of mouth. Talk to people who volunteer or are looking for work; they might have ideas.

Challenges for non-profit organizations can include not having enough volunteers or the funds to cover any unforeseen expenses. If there are not enough volunteers, there is no way for a non-profit to function– they would not have enough help. If the non-profit can not gather enough donations or funds, they have no way to cover the cost of shipping food or supplies across the ocean to a different continent.

The most important things to consider when viewing world hunger through the non-profit lens include remembering that it is important to get the word out about your cause and saving funds and donations at the very beginning to jump start the ability to buy and ship supplies. Getting the word out about your organization starts the process of gathering donations and volunteers. Saving any preliminary funds helps you at the very beginning by giving you the ability to fund your non-profit before donations can be acquired.

Through the Justice-Oriented Citizen model, a personally responsible citizen would donate to a non-profit organization, a participatory citizen would volunteer at a non-profit, and a justice oriented citizen would seek out policies to make it easier for non-profits to fund raise and travel abroad.

The Ted Talk I found relating to this issue can be viewed here:

My key takeaways from this Ted Talk are summarized in two points. The first point is that many people believe non-profits do not play a serious role in changing the world. It is widely believed that business and social enterprise will will cover every need. However, There is always ten percent left behind consisting of the most unlucky and disadvantaged. That ten percent is covered by non-profits. the last point is that you con not monetize love and compassion. “Philanthropy is the market for love.” Non-profits and philanthropy are the things that help those most in need through love and compassion.

What I heard from our guest speaker does not greatly affect my initial thoughts on social enterprise. However, it has made me rethink aiding small businesses. Though I could begin by helping businesses, it could be more effective to start a business of my own. That way I would know exactly where the profits would be going and I would be in control of who the money would benefit.

As I continue to explore this issue, I should be more aware of the organizations I help as well as research the organizations. I may also look into starting a company someday dedicated to helping my cause.

My biggest takeaway from this class session is that when it comes to social enterprise it is not very practical to donate the entirety of the profits earned. It would be necessary to put away some of the money for future expenses that may arise.

I think after listening to our guest speaker, right now I would like to support the local businesses supporting my issue. As a college student it is difficult to find time to put into fighting hunger around the world. But in the future I could look into coming up with a business plan for beginning a local business dedicated to finding a solution for malnutrition.

Social enterprise applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being. One company working to fight malnutrition is called Mannatech Incorporated. They patented a technology specifically used to create PhytoBlend. PhytoBlend is a special powder with nutritionally effective levels of natural and plant-sourced vitamins and minerals. This product is made exclusively available to not-for-profit organizations looking to combat malnutrition in developing countries.

I am able to become more involved in this issue through social enterprise by finding a company in the area working toward the same goal and volunteering my time to aid them in their efforts whether their goal is more local or international. The challenge associated with this would be finding ways in which to help that company. Because companies are already so widespread, finding one that would need that help would be rather difficult. However, I could find smaller businesses that are trying to end hunger in local areas.

The most important thing to consider when viewing this issue through the social enterprise lens is that working with large companies that depend on profit can be challenging, so working with non-profit organizations would be more ideal. They don’t expect to make profit, so they aren’t concerned with the bottom line.

Through social enterprise, a personally responsible citizen would donate to a food bank, a participatory citizen would start a food bank or work in a soup kitchen, and lastly, a justice oriented citizen would most likely run for a government position in order to help create policies that would end hunger on a larger scale.

The Ted Talk I found can be viewed at:  https://www.ted.com/talks/josette_sheeran_ending_hunger_now/transcript?language=en

What I took away from the Ted Talk is that there are a few ways to combat hunger globally. The first is knowledge about breastfeeding. Apparently a child could be saved every 22 seconds if there was breastfeeding in the first six months of life. Second, one thing that is being accomplished is transforming the technologies that are very available in the food industry to be available for traditional crops. And this is made with chickpeas, dried milk and a host of vitamins, matched to exactly what the brain needs. It costs 17 cents to produce this. There is much more in this Ted Talk, but I found these points very interesting. The second one especially because it pertains to social enterprise.

The first issue I chose to explore is ocean acidification. This topic is not exactly a well known issue, but it is certainly becoming a larger problem as time progresses. I chose this issue because I became somewhat familiar with it a couple of years ago when I went to a biotechnology program. I thought that the issue was rather interesting and I and some of my peers came up with an idea of how to combat the problem. However, because we had not taken that time to look at the issue with the three pillars of sustainability in mind, the solution we found at that time does not work with the pillars either, so I chose not to look at this issue. This issue appeals in different aspects to the three pillars of sustainability: society, environment, and economy. To begin with, The carbon dioxide in the water is potentially causing reproductive failures in pods of shellfish on the west coast of the United States. Because of this, fishing and boating companies have less prey to catch which in turn hurts their industry and the economy. If they can’t sell their product, they go out of business. An environmental factor of this topic is the inability of coral to rebuild faster than it is eroding. The increased acidity of the ocean water significantly impacts reef-building coral by inhibiting it’s ability to produce it’s outer skeleton. This could eventually impact the one million species that depend on the coral reef habitat. Lastly, the societal impact would be the inability of humans to enjoy the ocean and the creatures that call the ocean their home. Humans find in enjoyment in scuba diving, snorkeling, and visiting places like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. If acidity in the ocean continues to rise, humans may no longer be able to enjoy these things.

The effect of the acidic water on pteropods:

My second topic was slightly more broad, but just as important: sustainable energy. Sustainable energy is most commonly referred to as renewable energy. This include things such as wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy. I chose this topic to analyze because I thought researching this topic might inform me enough about renewable energy that I could apply it to my own life, though I decided not to work my project around this topic. Once again, I chose to look at this topic using the three pillars of sustainability. The economic aspect of renewable energy that I thought of is an increase in spending due to lower energy bills. If individual people were to implement solar and wind energy in their homes, they would greatly reduce their use of energy from power plants, thereby reducing their bills and increasing spending elsewhere. Not to mention there would be less damage from power outages due to access to backup power. The environmental aspect of this topic is that clean energy would not affect the earth. utilizing wind and the sun as sources of energy would reduce things such as waste from nuclear power plants from going to the earth. Also, using less fossil fuels means causing less pollution which would help reverse global warming and the melting icecaps. Lastly, the social aspects of this topic include saving money and being able to live a healthier lifestyle. With the money that they save from their lower electricity bills, people would be able to invest in more sustainable and healthier living. Of course, not everyone would be able or willing to do this, but it would put them on the right track, whether they choose to follow the path or ignore it.

 

The final topic I chose is the one that I want to explore and that is access to food. I chose this because this topic because it is more challenging than the other two I chose. Not many people realize it, but the world produces enough food to feed over ten billion people, and yet one billion people still go to bed hungry at night because they lack resources for farming and the income to buy groceries. The issue here is not lack of food, but actually wasting it. The most hungry are women and children living in developing countries without the resources to survive. I chose this country because I feel very strongly that there is a solution to this issue waiting to be found. As the semester progresses, I hope to figure out ways to support food banks and outreach programs in the community to help those struggling to feed their families. I may run into difficulty when it comes to working and communicating with local businesses asking what they do to help their community and if they would be willing to donate any food that they can not sell in their stores. I chose to look at this issue using the three pillars of sustainability as well. For the economic aspect, I realized that if more people were able to eat, more people would be able to work because they would be physically capable and it would lower the unemployment rate. The environmental factor would be less soil cultivation. If the food that was produced was used instead of thrown away, less food would need to be produced which would lead to less farming and soil cultivation which would help the earth. This would also lead to less carbon dioxide getting into the ocean because their would be less runoff from farms into streams. The societal aspect would be a higher average life expectancy. There would also be fewer deaths from starvation. About 21,000 people die from starvation everyday, most of them being children. If more people volunteered their time and effort to help, that number could be drastically reduced.

For the remainder of the Columbus To-Do List experience, I traveled to German Village with Ally, Jesze, and Olivia. The first place we visited was Thurman Cafe. We went inside and waited for a table for about ten minutes before we were seated. It was an interesting environment– not at all what I had expected– there were signs and nick-knacks covering the walls. I was honestly expecting your run-of-the-mill cafe. The kind that serves coffee and tea and accompanying treats. Instead, I got onion rings and hot water (Olivia brought her own tea bags just in case). My favorite thing about the cafe, though, was also the thing that confused me the most: the ambiance. Even though the cafe was completely different than what I expected, I really appreciated that it surprised me. From this experience, I learned that you really should not make assumptions about anything before you know what you are dealing with. Honestly, Based on their onion rings alone, I would probably not recommend this place. However, I would probably be willing to try it again.

The next place we visited was Schiller Park. I have to say that I absolutely loved this park. It was by far one of my favorite places that we visited. It was gorgeous and it had a play area! With swings! The only thing I regret about visiting on that day is that I wish it had been warmer. Really, it was a beautiful park and I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I would DEFINITELY recommend this park to every single one of my friends and I would LOVE to go visit again… But maybe when it is warmer.

The third and last place we visited was Pistacia Vera. This place had the best macaroons I have ever tasted! My absolute favorite flavor was the apple butter macaroon, though it is nearly impossible to choose just one. We each ordered sweet treats and Olivia ordered more tea and we were finally able to escape the outside chill for a short period of time. The ambiance of the small cafe- type shop was the confusing part of this experience as well. The shop seemed very sterile, almost clinical. It didn’t seem very warm and welcoming as the name suggests. Other than that though, it was wonderful! Great treats and evidently great tea. I would go back without a doubt and I would certainly recommend it to a friend. Yum!

My favorite experience from this list had to be the Scioto Audubon. Not only was I able to explore it with my best friend for her birthday, but it was gorgeous and took my breath away. From this experience as a whole, I learned that you can not just judge Columbus based on it’s downtown areas. You have to look at it as an entire city, including all of its green space and suburbs. Those are the areas that give it its beauty, color, and character. This project has definitely led me to want to explore more of what this beautiful city has to offer and really enjoy that I get to discover it with my friends. To anyone who might want to endeavor to complete this list– Explore with an empty stomach. Seriously. Most of what you will find is a ton of yummy food, all of which you will want to try. Happy exploring!

For this semester, I have chosen to explore German Village.  Considering the fact that I’ve never really seen any of Columbus, I am really hoping to get to know German Village and experience everything it has to offer. I am probably most excited to see the recreational areas. I am quite positive that they will be absolutely beautiful. I’m most hoping to gain some familiarity with the Columbus area through this project since, as I previously stated, I have never spent much time in this area before.  After watching the video about this area, I thought it was kind of funny how people originally settled that area because the land was cheap and they didn’t want to continue into areas that supposedly had cholera.

At this point I have already visited a couple of interesting places in German Village. The first of these is the Book Loft. I am not exaggerating when I say that it was one of the best places I’ve ever visited. Seriously, thirty-two rooms! How could anyone not love that? My favorite thing about the Book Loft was probably that I encountered books I probably would not have found anywhere else (except maybe Amazon). I mean, I found Shakespearean versions of two episodes of the Star Wars Saga! I also thought it was pretty great that the whole place was so confusing that they provided a map for the building. Really, the only confusing thing about the Book Loft would be navigating the building.

My second German Village experience was the Scioto Audubon. We followed the Scioto Trail for a short period of time until we reached this small building (I’m guessing it was a recreation center of some kind) where a wedding was taking place. In fact, we may or may not have accidentally gotten into some of their bridal party pictures. We walked past the building to the rock climbing walls where we rested our feet and took pictures of the Columbus city skyline.  My favorite thing about the metro park was probably the trail because it was very quiet and picturesque. It also had several places where you could go down and sit by the water, which was gorgeous by the way. The only thing I was confused about during this experience was how something on Earth could be that beautiful. It was really very pretty.