- My first goal was to keep taking my online course and learn more about civic ecology. I accomplished this goal and during the past two weeks I learned about biophilia (love of life) and topophilia (love of place). They are both important in the context of ecology because they are the driving force for people to care about nature and spend their time restoring it. For topophilia especially, the connections that people have to where they grow up or a place in nature that they love are what get them to go back years later if that place isn’t doing well. I would consider participating in this class to be my greatest accomplishment over the past two weeks because it taught me a lot of valuable information about community garden spaces and general ecology. My main goal when taking this class was to gain knowledge, and it is nice to know that I am accomplishing that. My evidence of the work that I did in this class is a google doc where I saved screenshots of my discussion posts and the overall progress that I have made in the class so far. Google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RrzuSrR0hxvNsCuziXYZfF0ALbZ3uihYTuCmklboLTw/edit#heading=h.8ztmtoes7i94
- My second goal was to learn how to set up a community garden space. I partially accomplished this by participating in my online class. In it, I learned that one of the most important things for creating a successful garden space is to get the community to care about what I am doing and feel invested in the progress of the garden. Everything else won’t matter if I can’t get people to use the garden and appreciate it. I didn’t figure out the logistics of the space yet, but I don’t think that that will matter unless I know how to get people involved. I am planning on doing more research about the garden after I have discovered a way to convince people to use it. My evidence for the part of this goal that I completed is in the screenshots of my progress in the class on the google doc.
- My third goal was to either attend one of the workshops of the garden clubs of the area or contact one of them. I researched the workshops of the clubs and discovered that most of them are held in the spring, so I can’t attend them before this class is over. So, I decided to contact one of the garden clubs instead and send a message to the Southborough Gardeners with my email attached. In the email I said that I was a high school student planning on either creating my own garden space in Southborough or volunteering for an already existing one. They haven’t emailed me back yet, but hopefully will soon. My evidence is a screenshot within the google doc above of the message that I sent to the garden club.
- My fourth goal was to create a list of materials that I would need for my garden space, but unfortunately I didn’t complete it. Since I have not heard back from the Southborough Gardeners yet, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make a garden, and if I make a list of materials only to find out that I don’t need it, I’ll have wasted a lot time. I’m planning to wait on this goal until I hear back from the garden club, so I will focus on my class and learning what is necessary to create a garden instead. I think that this is an area where I could have done better because it was the one goal that I didn’t make any progress on, and therefore will have to do in the coming weeks instead.
Two Week Plan (Jan 4-15)
My first goal was to keep taking my online class. I completed this goal, and I would consider it my greatest accomplishment of the two-week plan because I was able to finish the online course. My evidence for this is located in a google doc which I have linked below. Link to google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fqOO1bt86z3C1ZXgmzKm66rUmZ0vDkp2FYuq2Wdows8/edit?usp=sharing
My second goal was to listen to and take notes on another podcast. I accomplished this goal and found the podcast episode “Future Ecologies presents: Race Against Climate Change” about agriculture in Canada. The podcast focused on the relation of agriculture to climate change and possible ways to make the agriculture business sustainable. Until now, I hadn’t really considered how we can improve agriculture to help fight climate change. I learned a lot about agriculture and I’m really happy that I was able to listen to this episode. My notes are located in the same google doc as listed above.
My third goal was to read an article and take notes on it. The article that I chose is titled “The Economic Perspective: Conservation against Development versus Conservation for Development” and it is about the difference between conservation for economic purposes and conservation for the sake of nature. I found the article interesting and learned a lot about the distinctions within the conservation world. Although a lot of people advocate for conservation, the motives behind them carry a lot more importance than I thought. My notes from this article are in the document linked above.
My fourth goal was to find an article focused on the environment of Northborough or Southborough. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find an article related to this topic, so I couldn’t complete this goal. Instead of trying to find an article about a different subject, I decided to spend more time on my online class. I am happy with how I spent my time because I was able to finish the online course before term two ended. If I had to find another article and take notes on it, I probably wouldn’t have been able to complete the online course.
Global Issues
One global issue that I feel compelled to learn about is climate change. In class, I am learning about ecology which crosses over a lot with global warming, but there is still so much to learn about the issue and what I can do to make a difference. I know that the Earth’s surface temperature is rising, that the number of natural disasters is increasing, and that it is mostly because of humans. However, there are so many ways that people contribute to global warming so it’s very difficult to know what to do about it. Some people say that the only thing to do is create political change, but others believe that if individuals try to lower their own carbon footprint they can help. I want to discover what the best thing to do is so that I can then follow that in my own life.
Most people know about global warming already, so the best way for me to help would be by showing people what they can personally do about it. By providing ways to fight against the issue, I believe that I could get more people to care about it and realize that what they do matters. Many are hopelessness about global warming and therefore don’t think that their actions will have an effect on it. I think that I could serve as a reminder that every action helps, especially things like voting for political figures who are trying to help.
Many scientists and organizations have been warning us about climate change for years, but not enough people are taking actions to make a difference. There is still time to reduce the harm of global warming so long as people take the issue seriously, get involved in politics, and support organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund (https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Donation2?df_id=14597&14597.donation=form1&s_src=AWE1800OQ18511A01430RX&msclkid=2448c51cba5211c48f9ca4cedc904598&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Wildlife%20Charities&utm_term=world%20wildlife%20organizations&utm_content=Wildlife%20Organizations) and World Meteorological Organization. I want to be a part of the solution to the problem which is why I want to pursue environmental science in college and possibly become an environmental scientist
Two Week Plan (Nov 29 – Dec 10)
My First goal was to continue taking my online class. I accomplished this goal and over the past two weeks I learned about the benefits that come with caring for nature and the negative effects on humans from loss of nature. I also learned about the positives and negatives that can come with placing a monetary value on nature and the ethical debate currently occurring over the issue. The evidence for my work is screenshots of my progress throughout the class and the discussion posts that I wrote over the past two weeks. This is all located in a google document. Link to google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M6rH3gv_Kj6GbcBjHE7BNnn7cx-1fk1PGGlGaNvjHCc/edit?usp=sharing
My second goal was to listen to and take notes on a podcast about ecology. I accomplished this by listening to an episode called “What is a Species” from the podcast “Ecology Everywhere.” I found the episode pretty interesting, and I definitely enjoyed learning about the qualifications for a species and how they relate to conservation efforts. There were a few dull moments throughout the episode and the quality wasn’t amazing, but I am happy that I listened to it because I learned a lot. I would consider listening to this podcast to be my biggest accomplishment because the episode was an hour and twenty minutes, and I dedicated a lot of time to listening to it and taking notes. I also felt like this was a really great source of knowledge and I learned a ton about a subject that I had never really considered before. The notes are located in the google document from above, along with the link to the podcast.
What is a Species? · Ecology Everywhere (spotify.com)
My third goal was to read and take notes on an article centered on ecology. I chose the article “Ecological Change and the “Ecological Mapuche”: a Historical Sketch of the Human Ecology of Chile’s Araucania Region.” This article was about the three stages in history for the Araucania Region and at which stage its ecosystems were the best protected. The evidence from the article showed that the colonization of the area was the reason for its ecological downfall and examined the effect that subjective disposition of communities has on the way that ecosystems are treated. This idea basically states that the way that people within different cultures respect nature has as much as an impact on ecological impact as technological complexity and population density. I found this article really interesting because of the way that the authors laid out their arguments over the course of time. I thought that it was an extremely effective way to present their core idea and evidence. My notes from this article are located in the same google document as linked above.
I unfortunately did not accomplish my fourth goal of talking with Mrs. Connoly. I had a lot of club meetings and college work scheduled over the past two weeks and had to stay after school almost every day to accomplish everything. In the future, I may want to keep my work restricted to the classroom and weekend work because I don’t see my schedule getting any clearer.
How I Built This – Podcast Response
I chose the podcast “Back to the Roots: Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez – How I Built This with Guy Raz” from November 8th, 2021. As said in the title, the two guests were Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez and they talked about the gardening business that they created in college. Nikhil’s parents immigrated from India and he grew up in Southern California while Alejandro was born in Columbia, but immigrated to the US with his family when he was eleven. The two men met at Berkeley when they were seniors there. They both got interested in the amount of waste created by coffee grounds and after doing research, discovered that growing mushrooms on those grounds was a creative solution. This launched a business that is now extremely successful and this year alone they are predicted to make $100 million in sales.
One takeaway from this podcast is that it’s important to get your hands dirty to see if something will work out or not. Nikhil and Alejandro watched Youtube videos and did a lot of research on how to grow mushrooms, but eventually reached the point where they had to do their own experiments to see if the mushrooms would grow. After their first test run, one of the ten buckets that held the mushroom spawn yielded a great crop of oyster mushrooms. They immediately took them to a local restaurant to see if they were worth anything and found out that they were. On that same day, they took the mushrooms to a Whole Foods and made a deal that they would sell them mushrooms once they grew more of them. Without their hands-on work, they never would have gotten their first customers or made any progress in their business.
Another takeaway from this podcast is to follow what you are passionate about instead of what you think will make you the most money. Both Nikhil and Alejandro had jobs lined up in finance for when they graduated, but they decided to follow their interests and build a mushroom business instead. Now, they are both incredibly successful, making a difference, and happy with their choices. Alejandro said that the summer before his senior year he worked in finance and didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as the few weeks he spent growing mushrooms. Even though there was no guarantee that their business would be successful, they decided to take a chance because they enjoyed it more, and that choice paid off for them.
The last takeaway from this podcast is that it’s important to be persistent. At the start, Nikhil and Alejandro struggled to create and build their business. They were still new to mushroom growing and had a lot to learn in order to consistently grow high quality mushrooms that they could sell to stores. There were also a lot of factors that got in their way such as funguses that would ruin entire crops of mushrooms. in summary, they were facing a lot of challenges right after they abandoned their potentially great jobs for this new business. However, they persisted and with that persistence were able to create an extremely successful company.
2 Week Plan (Nov 8-19) Summary
My first goal was the same as usual, to continue taking the edX course, “Reclaiming Broken Places: Introduction to Civic Ecology.” I accomplished this goal, learning about social and biological memories and how they can help restore ecosystems once they’ve suffered damage. My evidence for this goal is located in a google doc. with images of all of my discussion posts and the overall progress that I made in the class over the past two weeks. Link to google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FCwjgfa3MbpBp8LBEYLGepdEFe-B3fzV4XcYkltv-iQ/edit?usp=sharing
My second goal was to volunteer at Chestnut Hill Farm sometime over the course of the two weeks, but unfortunately I was not able to accomplish this. There weren’t any volunteer opportunities at the farm and I haven’t heard from the man who manages it about any future ones. Hopefully I will be able to volunteer there in the future, but I think that I will stop making it a goal for my two week plans unless I am positive that I will be able to volunteer there.
My third goal was to find an article about civic ecology and take notes on it. I wanted to find a source of information other than the online class that I am taking, and I think that I was successful in this pursuit. The article that I found is about the difference between civic environmentalism and environmental citizenship, and why it is so difficult to get people involved in environmental movements. My notes on the article are located in the same google doc. from above. I would consider accomplishing this goal to be my biggest achievement because I was able to find another source of knowledge that was interesting to me. I enjoy taking the edX course, but getting information in another way was really refreshing and reminded me why I was so interested in the topic of civic ecology. I consider that to be a great achievement because it will help motivate me to complete goals in the future.
My fourth goal was to reach out to someone and ask them to talk with me about ecology. I did not complete this goal, but I did think of someone that might be willing to speak with me about this subject. In the next two week plan, I might reach out to Mrs. Connoly who teaches AP Environmental at Algonquin. I think that she would be a great source of knowledge for me and also just fun to talk to about a subject that interests both of us.
Failure and Success
This lesson was interesting and showed me that maybe I should start developing a better mindset surrounding success. I always tie success and failure back to the grades that I get in school because that is a clear way to show if I do something well or poorly. However, this video showed me another side of that mentality and that what I thought would help me later in life (emphasis on hard work and completing tasks) might actually hinder me because I’ve never faced a true challenge. I think that I should start judging my failures as refusing to try new things and learn from my mistakes instead of any bad grades that I get. I would tell someone who feels like a failure that they haven’t really failed until they give up on something entirely and stop their learning process.
To me, growth mindset means having the ability to look at failures as an important step on the way to success. Being perfect at everything on the first try is nearly impossible, so it is important for people to accept that they have to practice something and occasionally fail to do things in order to reach overall success. This is an important attribute for people to cultivate because it will prepare them for everyday life when occasionally they are going to fail. At a new job it is very likely that someone won’t know how to do everything, so believing that getting a “bad grade” at something they do is a failure is a really bad mentality to have. Instead, it is important for people to remember that they are still learning how to do things and have a lot of great potential. I think that teachers and adults can help people create this growth mindset by reacting positively instead of negatively to bad grades that kids get. If kids are shown that failing something initially isn’t so bad, they will be much more likely to react positively to any challenges that they face later in life.
Overall, these videos were really helpful to me. I definitely don’t have a great growth mindset and I’ve realized that it would be helpful for me to develop one. I judge myself very harshly whenever I get a poor grade and instead of just accepting that I have something to learn, I consider it a personal failure of mine. If I don’t get an A it must mean that I should have worked harder or studied for a longer period of time. This is not a very healthy way to think and it has resulted in a lot of late nights and very little sleep. Hopefully I’ll be able to start changing my patterns and adapt to get a more positive way of thinking.
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2 Week Plan (Oct 18-29) Summary
- My first goal was to continue taking my online class “Reclaiming Broken Places: Introduction to Civic Ecology” and learn more about the way people interact with their environments. I was definitely successful in this, as I was able to learn a lot about social capital and what makes a community more close-knit. Social capital is the network of relationships between people in a society which contributes to that society’s success. I learned that higher amounts of social capital and relationships between inhabitants of a community are what help people trust each other enough to do more volunteer work for their community. Essentially, good relationships between people foster good relationships with the nature surrounding those people as well. My evidence for this is within a google doc. which also holds the evidence from my other goals. Google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/195bKDW6-dI2S7KrLXquqBPNHww95COkJI2sHyRMg3uQ/edit?usp=sharing
- My second goal was to reach out to the manager of Chestnut Hill Farm in Southborough and ask him if there were any volunteering opportunities open for me. I did reach out to him and he replied, but unfortunately there are no opportunities until the middle of November. The evidence for this is a screenshot of our messages and it is within the google doc. from above.
- My third and fourth goals were written with the hope that I would be able to volunteer at the farm before writing this update, but unfortunately I was not. I think that it would have been better for me to make goals that didn’t depend so much on the requirements of an outside force and instead were all up to my work. Next time I will make my goals more focused on myself unless I can be sure that the volunteering is going to happen.
Just like in the last two week plan, my biggest achievement was what I learned from the online class. As I take the course, I understand more and more about civic ecology and it is a great feeling to see myself progress. I am also enjoying the work from the class which makes it feel like even more of an achievement to me.
I think that my goals could have been more realistic for this plan because I wasn’t able to complete two of them. I was working with the knowledge of my past volunteering at the farm and I should have known that in the fall it would be much harder to volunteer than in the summer.
Takeaways from Design Thinking
Design thinking is a process with five steps: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Empathizing is the beginning of the process where you have to understand your audience and what they need from you. Next, defining is where you ask the audience more questions to find out what is motivating them. The ideate stage is the creative process where you start forming ideas using the information that you have been given. Prototyping is where you design the product in a simple way that doesn’t have to be perfect, but gets the idea out there so that you can interact with it. Finally, testing is the stage where you can find any errors in your design and get feedback from other people
My “How Might We” statement is: how might we provide hope about preventing climate change for people who want to reduce their carbon footprint by designing a sustainability project with garden space and plants. I will use this to tailor my research towards understanding how to set up a garden area to revitalize a space that isn’t currently being used. The research that I am doing now is through an online class where the professor talks a lot about community sustainability, and I think that this would be a great project for a community to engage with.
Another takeaways that I have from design thinking is that understanding your audience is crucial to creating a good project. Empathize is the first step of the process for a good reason. If you don’t know what people are looking for, then you won’t be able to create something effective. I can incorporate this idea into my project by talking with people in the Northborough/Southborough communities and asking how they would like to be more sustainable. I can then tailor my project to the responses that I get and the interest level for what I will be doing.
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