Makenzie Brundage

This week I chose to exercise like some of my other classmates, due to this beautiful weather we were having! I hiked around Mount Vista with my partner, where we walked the WSU trail through Salmon Creek. While I didn't see any wildlife other than wild rabbits this time around, once we saw two young bucks only about 20 feet away form us. They were eating from bushes and rubbing their growing antlers (horns?) against a tree. It was really beautiful to see, and they didn't seem to notice us at all. It was a very nice moment where I got to feel like a part of nature, rather than someone invading the area. This time around, we heard plenty of birds and got to have our dog play in the creek. We also had the chance to speak with some other hikers and bond a little with the surrounding neighborhood. Because of our hike last week, my roommate and I will be hiking a lot more this summer, which is exciting!

2/18/25: Was somebody going to tell me that carrying 6 reusable bags 1.5 miles home is way easier on my body than using paper? I have mobility issues with my joints and often have to carry bags weirdly so I don't slip my joints out of place; The reusable bags were able to handle a lot more strain than plastic or paper, although I think I will invest in some thicker-strapped bags for even better support. I've been using reusable bags the past few weeks, but found carrying the bags awkward and a little embarrassing. I usually do small shopping trips to be able to carry things home, but there was enough difference with the cloth bags that I may be able to do more large order trips.

2/12/25: I have convinced my boyfriend to use a Bottle Drop bag at his apartment 🙌 He was skeptical because Washington doesn't have a Bottle Drop program. We researched and talked about what he can put in there, and it led to a longer conversation about what can and can't be recycled. He's pretty Type A and get scared that he'll get in trouble if he doesn't recycle lately so I have officially created a new recycling warrior. It's very exciting!

I have not kept up with logging my challenges here at all, but I have amazing news! My ecochallenge has been organizing my trash rooms recycle out from the trash and keeping our trash going down the chute instead of on the floor. I have only cleaned it twice, the first time took me an hour and the second ten minutes! I think my floor is picking up on the kind of organization is needed to correctly recycle. One guess is that they think the building staff is doing it and want to not be a nuisance, or they just actually needed to be shown what to do! Either way I think people are inspired!

For my daily challenges I have been using only double sided paper and using a reusable bottle wherever I can, and if I use plastic or cans I am carrying them around with me the entire day. This way I am kind of training myself to make sure I'm not forgetting my bottle. This is saving me money in the long run and is even making me cut back on my soda drinking habits. My medications make me thirsty so I usually drink a lot at a time, so it's a bit awkward and difficult to carry around a large bottle rather than multiple in a day. Campus also makes it difficult in certain areas to refill bottles, but it's also making me more aware of resources on campus.