Barbara's No Impact Week
by Barbara Koneval, Program Associate for Education & Training, Second Nature
No impact week started on an unfortunate day, the day I flew back from California from Bioneers and a mini-vacation. After being inspired by the Bioneers conference, my sister and I drove to Yosemite for some inspiration from nature.
A big part of personal sustainability for me is making sure to reconnect to these areas, disconnect from my computer and get outside. The park was amazing and in addition to the physical rewards of hiking in Yosemite, the visual rewards were immense. Here are a couple of snapshots:
So I’m back in Portland and more in control of my choices for the rest of the week. And Wednesday is food day, yay! Lunch today was “The Democratic Republic of Peanut Chicken” soup made by my friend Jed who runs a soup delivery business, by bike. Soup Cycle was started in Portland as part of the growing bike delivery business, sourcing organic ingredients delivered only by human power. I get a weekly drop off of soup and luckily, Jed was delivering Monday night just as I got home from the airport. Score. As much as I like to grocery shop, after flight delays and plane travel I was not in a cooking mood.
I’m super lucky to live in Portland which has an amazing assortment of local food options. New Seasons Market is pretty much the best supermarket out there- with access to local, sustainable fare and a really great assortment year round. Most Saturday mornings you can find me at the Portland Farmers Market. Being in the NW, the season is a lot longer and the farmers market runs from March through December. Love it!