I vowed to commit multiple goals for the EcoChallenge 2016 and can honestly say I achieved each one with not too much difficulty.

I walked to campus for my classes so the daily walking and transportation goals were not too difficult for me to meet but I was curious as to how I would meet the goal for exploring a new nature trail/walk.

I decided the easiest way to do this was to go with my friends to Grandad's Bluff in La Crosse WI and then deviate from my friends to find a path down the bluffs I had previously never explored. About halfway through the drive up the Bluffs I had my friends pull off and drop me off and I was on my way down the trails.
Having seen the Bluffs from high up it was different to see them and La Crosse from a lower perspective.

Between the walking every day and the adventure up the Bluffs I think I gained a better understanding of not only what nature is, but more importantly, I discovered how easy it can be to appreciate the environment and take steps(literally) to preserve it.

This challenge was difficult for me at first since this is my first year with a car and it is really convenient to just drive to pick up items I might require. To combat this challenge, I planned ahead in the week so that I would only make one trip every week.  By planning ahead I found this challenge to be not as difficult as a result.

I learned that it isnt so hard to help make a difference. Even taking a little shorter shower helped to save over 300 gallons of water. This to me seems like a very large amount of water saved and i feel pretty good about that.   

In addition to saving water during showers I also made an effort to save water from my kitchen sink.  I use my kitchen sink quite a bit for dishes, drinking water, and I also use it for defrosting food.  I let the water run to defrost my food and at the same time I do all of my dishes.  Otherwise, I would run water from my sink for both of those on separate occasions.  
I did manage to keep all of my showers under 5 minutes during the span of the challenge.  Especially in the morning, I want to take long, hot showers because my house hasn't had the heat on and it get extremely chilly in the morning. But the way I look at it is I can get out of the shower and into warmer clothes sooner if I take shorter showers.  If I can keep up these habits I  will be able to save a lot of water throughout the course of the school year.  

For my EcoChallenge I chose to help the environment by using at least 1 reusable bottle of water per day. It wasn't a challenge for me to pertain to this goal for me because I usually am drinking water out of a reusable bottle. Building off this goal I also tried to reuse the bottle for a few days before buying a completely different bottle. I also saved more than 28 gallons of water by taking shorter showers then I am used to taking. This challenge seemed to be a little more difficult to me fortunately I was able to still have an impact on the environment.

For my EcoChallenge I chose to shower for less than 5 minutes and to turn off the faucet while brushing my teeth. It was a challenge to get in and out of the shower that fast and to use shampoo, conditioner and body wash during that time period. Turning off the faucet while brushing my teeth however was easier to accomplish yet difficult to remember. Saving water and the you help the planet out makes you feel good and more happy during the day and in life as a person. It also helps you develop a strong relationship with the environment knowing that you're doing your part to help save water or anything beneficial you're doing to help. I discovered that I don't need to take longer than 5 minute showers and neither do I need the faucet running while brushing my teeth, which the EcoChallenge has helped me discover, now I know that I'll be doing my part by reducing my water use everyday!

Taking on this Ecochallenge, I perceived completely replacing disposable water bottles with 1 reusable water bottle as a much easier task than it actually was. Using on average 4 water bottles a day, sometimes not finishing then and wasting the rest of the water just to open a new bottle, proved to be EXTREMLEY wasteful. For one it costs more money to constantly be buying new cases of water. If I am using 4 bottles a day and in a case there is only 24, (not including my roommate) then I have to spend about 5 dollars every 6 days to replace my case of water. Using a reusable bottle significantly reduced the amount of garbage that I create. Using the reusable water bottle was fairly challenging because I frequently forgot it places (I had to use a combination of 3 because one would randomly disappear and another would randomly show up). I was tempted to use water bottles at time when I forgot my reusable one, but I decided to take frequent trips to the water fountain instead. The water from the water fountain actually tasted a lot better than bottled water too. Overall, I completely support everyone using reusable water bottles. I'm going to try to continue using my reusable water bottle as much as I can because it is completely beneficial and has absolutely no downsides (except for when I lose them).

Hey everybody! For my EcoChallenge, i decided to use my bike not only to get to and from class but also to get around town in place of driving my gas guzzling truck. I biked to my friends house and then to the grocery store to pick up a few things. I found that with a little organization and determination, you can go almost anywhere you want with only your bike. It was great exercise and i kept my less fuel efficient SUV of the busy roadways!

Not only am I saving a considerable amount of water everyday by taking 5 minute showers, but I also am being more financially responsible because my water bills should be lower. Win win.

After a day we recently had in class where I got to see just how much wattage I was using every time I plugged things in, I was much more motivated to go through with the "turn it off" challenge. I'm usually pretty good with turning light off when I'm not in rooms, however, I did  keep a fan running in my room and a string of lights on pretty 24/7. For this challenge I made myself turn off my fan and the lights, only turning them on when I actually used them. Between that day in class and turning my stuff off everyday I learned that I was saving a lot of energy, and therefore preventing some harmful emissions that would be released into the atmosphere from the power I would have used.