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February 27 - March 20, 2019
Ashley Dean's avatar

Ashley Dean

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

"My mission in this challenge, and other areas in life, is to determine how I can make a difference...in simple ways and in larger commitments, for my own life and for others, for people and the planet!"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 749 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    240
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    60
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    500
    minutes
    spent outdoors

Ashley's actions

Simplicity

Buy Only What I Need

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant

I will use the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant finder to choose a Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant when I dine out.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my Home

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day for two weeks that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Online Energy Audit

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 20 minute(s) per day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Go for a Daily Walk

I will take a 20-minute walk outside each day.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Explore My Area

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Go for a Daily Walk

I will take a walk each day.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Try a New Way to Prep

I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Go get a check up

I will make an appointment for my annual physical.

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?


  • Ashley Dean's avatar
    Ashley Dean 3/19/2019 7:54 AM
    If you haven't checked out the resources for each category I recommend looking through them! If you scroll towards the bottom of your dashboard there is a section for resources, and you can select each category for more information. One that I just looked at is a link with recipes for making your own home cleaning products!

  • Ashley Dean's avatar
    Ashley Dean 3/18/2019 7:59 AM
    Also, if you're talking with anyone else in your departments who hasn't joined but seems interested, they are still able to join! Please feel free to encourage them to check it out, or they can talk to me or Meghan for more information. Thanks!

  • Ashley Dean's avatar
    Ashley Dean 3/18/2019 7:56 AM
    Hi Everyone, for those who don't know, you can still add actions and account retroactively for your completion of them if you haven't selected the maximum actions allowed. I was able to add a few more one-time actions, which I plan to complete today or tomorrow. We are currently in 3rd place, but we're not far behind! The main purpose of this challenge is for folks to give themselves a personal challenge/self-assessment and have fun. While that remains the case, the reality that we are close enough to be the #1 organization has also spurred on some friendly competition! We can do this!

    • Emily Johns's avatar
      Emily Johns 3/18/2019 12:20 PM
      Your post inspired me to complete my home energy audit!  Now for the next step of making some changes to improve my home's energy efficiency...

  • Ashley Dean's avatar
    Ashley Dean 3/15/2019 6:42 AM
    Come join us for lunch today at 12:30 in the CSL classroom! Bring your lunch with you and we'll plan to have a discussion surrounding the challenge, things we've learned and ways we can encourage each other! I hope to see you all there!

  • Ashley Dean's avatar
    Ashley Dean 3/14/2019 8:04 AM
    I've been doing the happiness challenge of writing down three things every day that I'm thankful for. I'm generally a positive person, but this has been a great exercise to "stop and smell the roses," in a way! There are some days that what I'm thankful for is very evident, there are other days that I really have to stop and think about. One question I've asked myself is "what made me smile today?" I've been writing down some really simple things, which is refreshing to realize that there is a lot to be thankful for, not just the big things. Very simple things make a difference! I've appreciated this part of the challenge, as I wouldn't normally think of happiness/thankfulness as directly tied to sustainability.

    • Jerry Crockett's avatar
      Jerry Crockett 3/15/2019 6:10 AM
      Working with numbers all day can make life feel very "black and white" (or, more appropriately, black and red) and flat; things either are or they aren't. Happiness exercises have been something I've done for a long time to try and combat that matter-of-fact relationship I have to have in my line of work. A lot of times, I find it easier to tell other people why I'm thankful first, and it helps me to get in touch with what part of that makes me happy. It's encouraging to see other people actively making those efforts to find their inner happiness and makes me feel like less of a weirdo. :-) 

    • Meghan Scanlon's avatar
      Meghan Scanlon 3/15/2019 4:53 AM
      I love that you ask "what made me smile today"? That's a great way to get in touch with those smaller things that you might overlook with a traditional gratitude practice.

  • Ashley Dean's avatar
    Ashley Dean 3/08/2019 7:07 AM
    Hi Everyone, an all staff email was just sent out with a reminder regarding the CSA that we are setting up to be delivered here for Phipps staff, through Edible Earth Farm. Participating in a CSA is one of the challenge options, so this is an easy way to complete a challenge if you've been interested in joining a CSA but need a little motivation!

    • Jerry Crockett's avatar
      Jerry Crockett 3/12/2019 5:23 AM
      We signed up! Susan had some insider info on it! I did the math, too (because of course I did!) and the cost ranged to $20-$30 per week for vegetables, which isn't that much different than what you normally be charged at your grocery store! 

    • Michelle Allworth's avatar
      Michelle Allworth 3/10/2019 6:30 PM
      Signed up. :)