Ecochallenge.org

2018 People's Ecochallenge

October 3 - October 24, 2018

Whitney Owen

UWRF Green Team

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
978 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

5.0

donations

made
UP TO

2.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

34

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

195

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

30

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

17

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

54

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

53

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Whitney's actions

Nature

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of C02 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Know My health

I will get my Core Four Biometrics tests (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and BMI).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Go Paperless

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by opting into paperless billing and ending unwanted subscriptions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Launch a Recycling Program

I will start a recycling program at my workplace or school. If a recycling program exists, I will advocate for ways to improve and expand it.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Try a New Way to Prep

I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Learn More about Food Deserts

I will spend 15 minutes learning about food deserts and find out how I can advocate for healthy and fresh food in my region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 1 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Track my Purchases

I will spend 10 minutes each day maintaining a record of all my purchases and learning about my spending habits.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Say No to Plastic Straws

An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. When they ingest plastic, marine life has a 50% mortality rate. By asking for no straw when placing a drink order, I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) of out of the ocean each day.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Choose LED Bulbs

I will replace 2 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Raise Money For a Nonprofit

I will raise money to support Northwest Earth Institute or another local nonprofit.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place?

Whitney Owen 10/13/2018 1:08 PM

I in general love being outside, I love taking my dogs to new places and letting them run around. I think when you get outside more you really get to connect with the world around you, and it helps you want to protect it. For me especially when I spend so much time outside it makes me appreciate the trees and the flowers around me and makes me want to take care of them. Our house is filled with plants of all kinds, and we keep them all through the winter until I can put them outside again.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Switch to Cold Water

What do you plan to do with the money you save from making more energy efficient choices?

Whitney Owen 10/11/2018 6:27 PM

I will save any money I can for future purchases! Someday I would love to own a home that has solar panels on the roof to power my house's energy.

Read More
- Monica Martin 10/11/2018 7:00 PM
  
  I too hope to have solar power someday....
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Learn More about Food Deserts

What are the implications of access to nutritious food for a community?

Whitney Owen 10/09/2018 3:42 PM

I work at a nutrition club,( I am sure many of you have been to Nutrition 4 Ever here in River Falls). I work at the exact same style of club, but in Ellsworth, WI. We provide healthy meal replacement shakes, and energizing teas that help you burn calories, and cut down on caloric intake. The shakes have so many different flavors from snickers, to birthday cake, to chocolate caramel cheesecake. These different flavors give you that sweet (sugar free) kick that you want, but in a healthy way! I am so happy that I am part of this business because our community never had anything like this. It allows a safe, and supportive environment for people who want to try and live a healthier lifestyle.

Read More
Whitney Owen 10/09/2018 3:39 PM

I work at a gym, and a nutrition club. This is where I tested for my BMI (I personally don't use this as a measurement of my health) and got my blood pressure taken at a normal checkup at the Dr. I learned that I have a pretty low BP, but she told me that is a good thing because it means I am active. Blood sugar is something I am conscious about because of my family history of diabetes, as well as cholesterol because my grandma also has a heart condition.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Know My health

How do you deal with the physical and emotional stress of the big problems we face? How can you help others cope?

Whitney Owen 10/09/2018 3:35 PM

I personally have gone through a lot of emotional and mental health problems within the past couple of years. I took it into my own self care to finally go to the doctor and figure out my problems. It turns out that I have a depression and anxiety disorder. My family has a history of these related disorders so it wasn't surprising to my doctor. We worked together to figure out a plan, and I can honestly say that I have never felt better. I took it upon myself to start caring about my physical as well as my mental health, and want the same for anyone else who is going through the same things. I now feel myself being more positive and also showing this positivity toward other people. I think life is too short to be anything but happy, so I want everyone to know that it is completely possible, and to not be scared to ask for help on how to get there.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than in other places, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How do we start shifting a meat-focused food culture?

Whitney Owen 10/09/2018 3:29 PM

I think people in america eat so many meat products because it is simple, and surrounds us everywhere we go. Fast food restaurants especially glorify eating meat everyday on commercials, in ads, and in person. I think by showing people all the alternatives are, rather than eating meat, we could be less focused on it. I personally do eat meat because I need a lot of protein intake for my lifestyle, but I also explore a lot of other options such as plant based protein, and eating healthy fats.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Happiness

How does/can practicing gratitude keep you centered and motivated to work for a better world?

Whitney Owen 10/08/2018 8:23 PM

If you know what you are thankful for it helps you pass that on to others. If you know how to be grateful you can do things that bring out the same in others 😀

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Go Paperless

Reducing your paper mail can be such a freeing action to take -- by reducing what is coming in, you can reduce what is going into the recycling bin too. How does it make you feel? What is the next step you will take to reduce your waste?

Whitney Owen 10/07/2018 8:47 PM

It’s nice to not get so much paper anyways to reduce clutter in my home as well as staying organized and up to date with all the new technological advances that are around everyday. I can’t wait to try and incorporate these things into my work life as well as my home life to try and keep the ball rolling!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Launch a Recycling Program

How might thinking creatively help us address big systems problems differently?

Whitney Owen 10/06/2018 8:08 AM

I am currently working at a nutrition club, where we use a lot of cups and straws. I am currently working on replacing our non-recyclable cups with biodegradable cups and straws. It is a tough task considering they are more expensive, but I am going to do what it takes until it happens!

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Whitney Owen 10/03/2018 5:04 PM

Hey Everyone! So excited to be helping out the sustainability project. I was so happy to see that it is still kicking on campus, I don't hear much about it!

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