SPONSORED BY NATRACARE
“When we walk like we’re rushing, we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth. Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.” – Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master
It’s 2 a.m. and you’re cramming for an exam. You’ve been up for 24 hours straight. You’re running on nothing but caffeine and potato chips. You’re craving much needed shut-eye. But that final waits for no one. So you stay up in attempt to study, sacrificing health and well-being to pass the test. Sound familiar?
Now consider a radical alternative: you put yourself first. What would that look like?
During PGC, we’ve asked you to think about the big picture: your ecological footprint, waste you generate, food you eat and more. Given all of this information, it can be easy to forget to care for yourself. But YOU are everything, the key piece to any larger picture.
To care for the planet, you must first care for yourself.
Making wellness a part of your lifestyle helps ensure that you have the energy and stamina to be an effective and enduring changemaker. In moments of high stress, wellness may feel like a low priority. But with a toolbox of techniques and commitment to prioritizing health, you can actually accomplish a lot more in all aspects of life.
Today, we invite you to sustain yourself! Take time to celebrate what you have accomplished over the past couple of weeks.It’s quite extraordinary. Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and, as Thich Nhat Hanh suggests, feel your feet on the earth.With that, let’s get started on your daily dose of wellness.
Here are eight easy ways you can begin improving your health and well-being!
Our partners for today’s challenge are on the front lines of looking after the wellness of people and planet through business practices and missions. Natracare provides organic, plastic-free personal care products that champion health for women, societies and ecosystems worldwide. Women’s Voices for the Earth works to eliminate toxins harmful to women’s bodies and the environment. Made Safe is the first third-party certified non-toxic seal for daily use products.
Throughout PGC, we’ve learned a lot about what we can do for the planet that does so much for us. By taking time outside to experience all Mother Nature has to offer, we can better appreciate our interconnectedness. Being in nature has also proven to improve concentration, increase happiness and even boost our bodies’ ability to heal!
We know it’s hard (and somewhat ironic), but let’s all try to be more aware of the world around us, instead of solely having our heads buried in tiny screens!
Practice disconnecting. Turn your phone off or put it on airplane mode to leave distractions behind. Get outside in a place you enjoy. It may be as simple as stepping outside your building, finding a trail, or strolling a nearby garden, field or park. Observe your surroundings with particular note to nature. Tune in to your senses: what do you see, smell, feel and hear? When you have returned from your walk, here are some things to think about:
Upload a PDF Document with your responses. Please include your name (or team name), username, email, and school.
Submission Guidelines
Showing appreciation for life and those around us is one of the simplest ways to improve well-being. Yet so few of us make gratitude a daily practice. It’s never too late to start being thankful, so today’s challenge will help you kickstart that or put it in higher gear!
Start by watching “An Experiment in Gratitude: The Science of Happiness” video. After reflecting on this video, think of a person for whom you are grateful. Write a letter to this person detailing why you are grateful. Include at least 5 ways they have positively contributed to your life. Be personal, intentional and genuine.
After you have written your letter, read it to that person face-to-face, by phone, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype or send by snail mail. Take note of their reaction and how it made you feel.
Share your letter and their reaction (submissions will be kept private for this challenge). Write a short reflection on this experience.
Upload a PDF Document with a copy of the letter. Share how they responded and also how you felt. Please include your name (or team name), username, email, and school.
Submission Guidelines
The benefits of mindfulness are widely known, promoted by health professionals, celebrities, self-help gurus, even marines and inmates. While it may seem difficult, mindfulness is simply practicing the art of creating space for ourselves – to think, to breathe, to recognize connections between ourselves, reactions, others and surroundings. We hope that heightening of self-awareness will help you think about and develop a clearer vision of how you want to make change in the world.
Read this “Mindfulness Techniques to Reduce Stress” article. Check out this infographic for a more in-depth explanation of those practices. Throughout the course of today, make time to try at least two of the mindfulness practices. After practicing mindfulness for the day, tell us:
Share your experience and encourage others to practice mindfulness with a social media post. Tag @TurningGreenOrg and @Natracare with #PGC2019.
Upload a PDF Document with your responses and a screenshot of your social media post. Please include your name (or team name), username, email, and school.
Submission Guidelines
Extra Credit due on October 24 @ 6am PT.
Up to 100 bonus points awarded for outstanding work.
Now that you have thought about wellness in your own life, it’s time to think about wellness on your campus.
Look through the following campaigns from today’s partners:
Think about each of these campaigns in the context of your school. Are you exposed to any of these toxic, wasteful products on your campus? Select a campaign and do some research on where your school stands.
Next, gather fellow students to educate and empower your peers around the campaign. Consider starting a petition!
Lastly, put together an overview report of how you rallied on your campus. What actions did you take? Was it successful? For next time, what would you suggest on doing differently or improving?
Upload a PDF Document with your responses. Please include your name (or team name), username, email, and school.
Submission Guidelines
Up to 10 Greener and 10 Greenest of the most outstanding submissions will be chosen as winners and awarded prize points to redeem in the PGC Prize Store. Greener wins = 75 prize points, Greenest wins = 100 prize points. Check the Winners page to see if you’re selected!
5 submissions will be randomly selected to receive:
Natracare “Green Enough” by Leah Segedie
Wish Garden Deep Stress Tea
Option 1:
Natracare Organic Cotton Tampons, Ultra Pads, Panty Liners
Natracare Organic Cotton Makeup Removal Wipes, Reusable Tote Bag
Option 2:
Guayaki Yerba Mate Organic Cotton T-Shirt, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Balm
Each time you submit a challenge, you get an entry. Complete Green, Greener, and Greenest to triple your chances!
Extended deadlines and extra credits do not apply.
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