Reflection week 1

      This week has been a massive learning experience for sure! We have had our ups and downs and navigated each of our days to make the most out of them. We went into this project thinking we were going to pick up trash every single day but we started to incorporate talking to small businesses as well which was a great addition. Each of us contribute to the project in positive ways, Caroline has helped a lot with the formatting of flyers, Catherine has provided us her home and shown us all of the spots we have traveled to, and I have helped by providing the drip grabbers buckets and gloves we use. 

     We started our trash pick up journey at Lowe’s where we stocked up on equipment. This was a fun day, and we also decided our first stop for project period. Kezar Lake was the first trash pick up site we did. It was a windy day and the sun was out, all three of us were excited to get to work. This was a small lake with a lot of camping ground and we found it shocking that there was not a single public trash can in site. We found a good amount of trash that day and we’re pretty disappointed to say that a lot of other places we have been to don’t have trash cans either. That’s when an idea came, “trashnomo” decided to start placing trash cans on maps of the places we go that would make it easily accessible for public use. This was a fantastic idea and Caroline deserves full credit for it, she also is amazing with tech ig loft and has helped a lot with the canvas app we’re using for our project. We started an Instagram and it was one of the best decisions our group has made so far. It not only keeps us motivated, but we feel the support from our friends and classmates. It’s also a fun way to express what we’re doing and expressing it in our own ways while also spreading awareness!!! We have over fifty followers, the three of us manage the app.

     Our mentor my mom came up for mothers day weekend. Just before this, trashnomo took a trip to boanefied where we got to see people making a business and living selling sustainable products. We thought right then and there, we need to interview this company to get their thoughts on sustainable and renewable products that help save the Earth. It was an awesome store that had many unique and quirky qualities about it. For Mother’s Day, one of the gifts I got for my mom was a card that you could plant and flowers grow out of it! So awesome, she loved it and we loved showing her a taste of what our days look like when we took her to the rail trail at Proctor. I’m excited to learn more this week and explore/pick up trash at different parts of NH during this time of the year!