Ecochallenge.org

2018 People's Ecochallenge

October 3 - October 24, 2018

Christiana Paradis

SU Student Life River Hawk Recyclers

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
728 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

4.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

18

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

2.0

documentaries

watched
UP TO

48

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

240

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

60

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

180

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

18

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill

Christiana's actions

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 0 meatless meal(s) and/or 3 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 2 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Forage for My Food

I will use the 'Learn More' resources below to find where I can forage for my own food locally.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Explore My Area

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Organize a Course

I will organize NWEI's discussion course 'Voluntary Simplicity' with my family, friends, coworkers, or classmates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Support Local Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 60 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Install a Toilet Tank Bank

I will reduce the amount of water flushed and save up to 11 gallons (41 L) of water each day by installing a toilet tank bank.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Limit Social Media

I will limit my social media use to once each day reducing my daily use by 10 minute(s)

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Historically, marginalized and low-income communities live closer to landfills, contributing to a multitude of health problems. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

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
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?

Christiana Paradis 10/24/2018 11:45 AM

We have really extreme policing of gender roles in the United States, in some ways more so than other Western countries. As a result we equate a lot of random things to masculinity--meat consumption is one example, there is this very gendered notion that "Real men eat steak." Think every Hungry Man or canned soup commercial you've ever seen geared towards men. In a society that is patriarchal where masculinity carries such a strong value it's no wonder we see more examples of how to add meat to things rather than to take it away.

I think in order shift from a meat-focused culture people need to be more connected to the food that they are eating. We go to a grocery store and pick out something on a shelf. We never think about how it got there and the toll packaging it and getting it there had on the environment, let alone the animals that died for it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Limit Social Media

Social media is a great way to keep us connected with loved ones, makes us laugh, and helps us to learn new things. It can also take more time than we realize or intend to give. After doing this action for a few days now, how do you feel? What do you notice?

Christiana Paradis 10/24/2018 11:37 AM

I noticed, I miss some things going on among friends, but I also feel a lot more present because my notifications are not distracting me from other tasks.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Explore My Area

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

Christiana Paradis 10/16/2018 5:33 PM

At the end of the day, regardless of your background and/or identities, we all only have this one planet to share. It's a reminder of why we need to be more fiercely compassionate.

Read More
Christiana Paradis 10/10/2018 3:50 AM

Switched to bamboo toothbrushes in our house! Cheaper and compostable when it goes bad!

Read More
Christiana Paradis 10/08/2018 7:13 AM

Ordered my toilet tank bank for my one-time challenge. As I went to install it, my cat apparently thought it was a water bed...jumped on it and punctured a huge hole into it. :(

Read More
- Susan Lantz 10/11/2018 2:21 PM
  
  Oh no!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Support Local Pollinators

Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

Christiana Paradis 10/05/2018 3:39 PM

I learned that over 180,000 species of flowering plants rely on insects, birds and mammals, as well as the wind for pollination! There is a symbiotic relationship between plants and pollinators. So while plants rely on pollinators for reproduction, pollinators rely on plants for food.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Install a Toilet Tank Bank

Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

Christiana Paradis 10/03/2018 6:27 PM

Support local farms, farmer's markets, etc.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Weekly Meal Planning

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money?

Christiana Paradis 10/03/2018 6:21 PM

One way to reduce food waste at my house has been to cut up and freeze bananas when they start to go bad, because I can always use them in smoothies later, versus tossing them!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bringing your own bags and containers to the grocery store, and even to restaurants for leftovers, are a couple of ways to reduce your waste. What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Christiana Paradis 10/03/2018 5:09 AM

Replacing plastic produce bags with reusable produce bags!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Use a Reusable Mug

Maybe you've heard how good it is to switch from a single use coffee cup to a reuseable one but it's just hard to make the switch. Think about what stands in your way of making this a habit. By identifying the challenges, you can begin to work through them to have better success in taking this action. Knowing the difference you are making, how does it make you feel?

Christiana Paradis 10/03/2018 5:07 AM

Bringing or using a reusable cup is such a small, but helpful contribution!

Read More