Go Outside

My parents live at the foot of Box Springs Mountain behind the University of Riverside under the embedded “C” that faces the eastside of the mountain facing Riverside. The Big “C” was built on Box Springs Mountain in 1957, approximately 1,500 feet above the University of California. It measures 132 by 70 feet and is a poured concrete block letter. Click on the Google map link to see it:

http://maps.google.com/?ll=33.971178,-117.302034&spn=0.004271,0.005096&t=k&om=1&z=17

Box Springs Mountain contains a variety wildlife habitat in the Inland Empire region. There are many populations of snakes, lizards, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and deer, some of which wander into the populated areas below. My parent’s yard is at the top of the street in the neighborhood. Can you see the “C” at the top?

Their yard butts up against the mountain. Because they're are so close to the mountain and have had coyote visitors – they have not had many pets in fear that they would be eaten or taken.

For my assignment I will soak in the environment around me. I will sit quietly and visualize a large imaginary sphere around me. I take in biotic and abiotic things.

This is the view from the backyard. I sat here in the quiet in order to observe the world around me.

I was hoping there would be a train.

That is a little bumble bee on the edge of the pool skimmer. In the distance I saw hawks cruising at the top of the hill. First I saw two hawks and then there were four. I was unable to capture a picture of them since they were so far away.

That is a plane in the center of the picture above. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see the plane.

As I sat outside on this beautiful day I could hear children playing in the distance from the nearby school. I heard birds chirping. After I sat there for a few minutes I could hear beetles. At first I only heard one from an area across the yard. Soon I began to hear beetles in many directions. Birds flew by and circled around. I even saw a plane pass by. The wind blew and I could hear the rustle of trees and plants. The yard contains many different types of plants. There are yucca’s, succulent’s, birch trees, orange trees and grapefruit.

I use to snap this plant at its neck and stick it in the ground and watch it grow.

My favorite is the giant bird of paradise….

I think I could stay here all day! 

Check out a link to the City of Riverside website!
riversideca.gov

America's 50 Greenest Cities

I found the Article....it is from 2008 but guess who is # 28. Check it out!

http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-02/americas-50-greenest-cities?page=1

My Ecological Footprint

For my Environmental Science class I have been asked to calculate my ecological footprint. I never really thought about how many planets it would take to support my lifestyle. According to the results on http://www.footprintnetwork.org/ the activities in my lifestyle if everyone lived like me, there would be the need of 4.4 Planet Earths to provide enough resources. I am a little surprised about this. I always thought I was doing ok. I drive a VW and I don’t drive very far. I try to recycle and I conserve water. I guess I need to take a better look at the way I have been living. 19.6 global acres of the Earths productive area is needed to support my lifestyle. I need to take a good look at what I can do to improve my lifestyle, especially concerning what I eat. I should consider reducing the amount of animal-products I eat by half. If everyone could cut animal-products consumed by half than 645 million fewer global acres would be used. That’s a lot. Not to mention better for your health and well-being.  

A Little About Me

Hello my name is Kirsten and this is my first blog. I am taking an amazing class at RCC with Dr. Huff. The class is Environmental Science. I would like to tell you a little about myself.

I was born and raised in Riverside. I work less than a mile from the RCC campus. I live maybe two miles. I was born at Community Hospital which is basically across the street. The funny thing is that my children were born there too. That’s right I have two children. Actually I have two teenagers. I have a daughter named Zoe who is 19 years old and a son named Jonah who is 16. They think it’s rather unexciting that we haven’t lived anywhere else. We have been in the same house for 13 years. I love Riverside and I love my neighborhood and my job.

Let me tell you a little about my job…I work for the City of Riverside. I work in Public Works. I love my job! It's exciting to be apart of everything. Here’s another little funny something…both my parents worked for the City of Riverside. Of course they are retired now but they worked here too. My kids laugh at me and make fun of me because I love Riverside. I rarely leave it. The furthest I might go is the Galleria which is only a few miles away and within the city limits. My parents live up behind UCR and my sister lives on my street. So I have everything I need within a few miles.

I have been a long time RCC student. When I graduated High School I enrolled in CSSB. But I met my ex-husband and we got married very young. The marriage didn’t work out but I did get Zoe and Jonah out of it. When I turned 30 I decided to take a class at RCC. That was 11 years ago. Because I am a single mom and have a full time job I couldn’t take but one class at a time at first. So here I am now 11 years later with 62 units. I have increased the amount of classes I could take as my children got older. Now that both my kids are driving, this Spring I am taking 12 units. I can now take my education a little more serious. I am one class away from earning an AA in Administration & Information and AS in Business Administration. That one class is the class I am taking with Dr. Huff, Environmental Science. Luckily Dr. Huff is very enthusiastic and I think it’s going to be great! I checked Dr. Huff out on Rate My Professor and I liked what students had to say about her. The class description is very interesting that’s why I choose this type of Science class. I am already excited and it’s only the first week..