Reflection: Weeks 13-14 combined with Reflection: Overall Course

These past weeks have flown by and this class has continued keeping us busy.  We were still able to cover a wide range of topics and continued expanding our knowledge of our surrounding environment.


Our final weeks started off with a tour of the Goodwill organization here in Duluth.  It was very intriguing to go behind the scenes and see how things are played out.  Goodwill provides a beginning for those who are unable to complete daily tasks as we do with ease.  They offer them a career in hopes that they will move forward and be able to find successful jobs elsewhere.  It was good to see a larger organization like this to have the patience and heart to work for others.


Our Goodwill tour didn't end just there...we met with our new blogs groups and were set up with a challenge.  We had to find an outfit, wedding gift, and something we could not live without for a destination wedding that we were attending.  Our destination- Hawaii!  Outfit, a lovely Hawaiian shirt along with some puka shells.  Gift, a unforgettable wine and candle basket.  Thing we couldn't live without- sunscreen!  It was fun to see what we could get for bang for a buck.


We also finished our final eco-chic lifestyle change.  I'm glad I got to hear about the changes the other members of our class accomplished.  Throughout, everyone seemed to be very successful.  We finished with one last final online assignment.  Everyone was to create an activity for other blog followers to complete.  It was a fun finishing touch and a good reflection of what we know.


Our big finale was at class time- milk and cookies- and show & tell!  Similar to what we had to put together, we all created junk projects that we created on our own time.  I'm still shocked at what we can find for so little- I really should start doing this more often.  Everyone had some amazing ideas and I may even have to steal some of those ideas for future gifts!


Overall, I don't think this course could have been any more jam packed with so much to do and so much to remember...and I don't think I have ever learned so much from any of my other classes.  With all these things to cover, we took the time to have each in the spotlight, focusing on a specific topic each week.  For only meeting one day a week, I was impressed how much our knowledge (through assignments & other activities) was expanded!  This course definitely left an imprint in my memory and the lessons learned will not be forgotten.

Reflection: Weeks 9-12

It's winding down now...more things have been covered and taken place: Photo Essay, Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change, THOMAS, Junking.  This one was a little more tricky for me.  I'm sad to say the law and government are not high on my list of interests...The THOMAS project allowed us to look up the history of a topic that is of interest to us and see how the government has taken part of it.  The Photo Essay was a fun one.  I included my SMART goal in it.  I took pictures of different parks around the area for the community to visit.  It was a lot of fun.  Junking should be very interesting as well...we used random items and made lists of what we could make each into.  I think our group had at least 10 new ideas for each of the 5 items.  I'm excited to see what is to come in the remaining two weeks of the semester.

Abby likes the environment so much...she turned into a squirrel.

Reflection: Weeks 5-8

These have been a very busy past few weeks in our Environmental Health class.  Every week we were introduced to a new topic and watched videos focusing on each of them.  There were a couple main topics that stuck with me and instigated some new changes in my life.   

The video "Fresh" was the main one.  How these industrial and factory farms are taking over our nation is scary, plain and simple.  Watching how they treat the animals, what we feed them, and what we end up consuming have long term affects that so many of us are unaware of.  I joked with Dr.V how I no longer want to eat anything because we truly don't know what we're buying at grocery stores.  It was inspirational to see throughout the video, the farmers that were out there changing how they operate.  They want to provide better quality (not quantity) for us.  These local farmers are aware of the troubles we will encounter over time.  Now I know what to look for and how to incorporate healthier food choices in my daily life.  This video showed the benefits of supporting local farms around the country.

The second video, "Tapped," was an exciting one as well.  It provided information of plastic water bottles and how companies get the water we purchase.  It never crossed my mind that by buying bottled water, we are purchasing a product we could have had for free.  It seems so simple, but I guess I never thought twice about HOW these companies got the water...from the same place we do!  Out of the faucet!  The video mentioned how we are continuously looking for "easy access" to products...but we are getting it at the cost of our environment.  Rivers, lakes, oceans, are slowly being destroyed at our expense.  The little things are what matter and can make a difference!  Recycle and clean up after ourselves...simple.

Overall, this course has provided some very powerful information.  I just wish that others outside of this classroom, outside of this city, every where could see and learn what we have these past few weeks.  Knowledge is power.   Think of the things that could take place! :o)

Welcome to Jamie Says Jump...!

Hello everyone!  My name is Jamie.  I'm a senior this year & studying health education.  This blog is going to contain information of the environment & sustaining the world we live in...<3

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog.  They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read 'n' Seed
6. Share and Voice

MEMBERS: Brier S., Kristy S., Jamie S., Elly S., Lauren W., Mary X., Sarah Z.

1. Brier@lovin nature with brier
2. Kristy@kristys fun in the sun spot
3. Jamie@jamie says jump
4. Elly@elly dreams green
5. Lauren@laurens pourin grain
6. Mary@blue skies for mary
7. Sarah@take a hike with sarah

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Hope you enjoyed!  Stay tuned for more information and fun adventures to follow!