Monday Motivation #49 (4/19/2021)

Happy Monday!

When I was in middle school, I organized a paper recycling project to celebrate “Earth Day.” I collected brown paper grocery bags, stapled on the triangular recycling symbol, and distributed them to every classroom. My best friend helped, and we were excited to have a place to deposit our three-hole-punched papers and mimeographed worksheets when we were done with them.

And then it was time to collect the recyclables. It soon became clear that we hadn’t really thought this project through to its natural conclusion, and we were overwhelmed by the volume and WEIGHT of all that paper! It took hours to collect all the bags and load them into my parents’ 11-passenger van. They were pretty good-natured about driving us to the local “Litter Landing” recycling center, where we then had to unload the thousands of sheets of paper and carry them to the appropriate bins.

Recycling was a LOT more work than we had realized, especially when there weren’t recycling containers in every school hallway and curbside collection bins at our homes. Our interest in the project faded pretty quickly after we gathered and recycled that first load, and I wasn’t particularly thrilled to help at home with collecting, sorting and hauling recyclable materials to Litter Landing. But the lessons lingered, and as an adult I can appreciate the benefits of recycling enough to overcome the (mild) inconveniences of cleaning and collecting containers for pickup from our house every other week.

As we celebrate the 51st Earth Day this week, I’m sharing some resources about the world around us and ways we can enjoy and relax in nature.

Katy

Three Things to Try This Week

Enjoy the View — check out the finalists from this international nature photography competition.

Take a Purple Pause — this South Korean island is known as the “Purple City” for its inhabitants’ efforts to wear, plant, and paint their town in shades of purple.

Immerse yourself in the Outdoors — reseachers are examining the powerful role being in nature can have on stress levels. Going for a walk or spending time at a park are great ways to sneak some natural relaxation (pun intended!) into your day. Check out this article for more of the science.

More Resources

• Still need RCR training hours? Or looking for help getting your summer research project set up effectively? Check out the workshops and services offered by MSU’s CSAT.
• Come cheer on your fellow graduate students and learn about the MSU Future Academic Scholars in Teaching (FAST) Fellowship program at their annual symposium on Tuesday, April 27.
• Sign up to present or attend the 2021 Engineering Graduate Research Symposium, to be held virtually May 5th — 12th.