Ecochallenge.org

2018 People's Ecochallenge

October 3 - October 24, 2018

Kristy Strain

UWRF Green Team

"Seeking ways to make the world more sustainable one action at a time!"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,012 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

energy audit

conducted
UP TO

300

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

30

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

22

pounds

waste composted
UP TO

3.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

66

zero-waste meals

consumed

Kristy'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

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will spend at least 15 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Support Pollution Reduction

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about water and air quality issues in my area, how they are impacting human and environmental health, and how I can help.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Express My Support

I will find out who in my state makes decisions that impact the environment and express my support for more environmental actions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Collect Rain Water

I will create a rain garden or bioswale, or use rain barrels to collect water for outdoor watering needs.

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my Home

I will spend 20 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Avoid refined sugar

I will adopt a diet free of refined sugars, which eliminates sweetened beverages, candy, and processed foods.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Online Energy Audit

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Zero-Waste Cooking

I will cook 3 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Recycle Everything I Can

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 10 minutes researching and recycling all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Compost Food Waste

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 22
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
Nature Explore My Area

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

Kristy Strain 10/24/2018 9:07 AM

Spending more time outdoors allows you to connect more with your city either through following trails or going off the beaten path every once in awhile. For me, especially in being in a new city, after walking around the city and hiking trails throughout the city, I felt that I could walk anywhere and not feel lost. Also, being out doors is just naturally relaxing in my opinion!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Find Local Recycling Depots

Our ability to recycle certain things ebbs and flows based upon many factors. Luckily there are places that accept uncommon things to recycle or dispose of in a less harmful way. What did you find when looking for places to recycle items that can't be recycled in your curbside bin?

Kristy Strain 10/24/2018 2:06 AM

I was surprised that there are a lot of alternative ways to recycle items! I know Best Buy takes a lot of electronic items, Cub Foods will take plastic bags to reuse, and a lot of locations will recycle batteries. I even learned that UPS will accept polystyrene foam packing peanuts for re-use! All it takes is a simple google search to find a location to take those hard to recycle items.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Personal Waste Audit

Why is it so difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places? How might your experience with this challenge impact your future consumption and choices?

Kristy Strain 10/24/2018 1:58 AM

I think it is difficult for people to understand the impacts of purchases and waste is because we rationalize things; for example, if I buy this one thing, it will not matter that much. Or we think that we need something when we really do not, again because we do not think it is a big deal. Also, we do not follow what happens to the waste when we are done with it and how it effects others. I think in collecting my non-recyclable trash I am more aware of how much waste I do produce, so when I am looking for items that might not be the most environmentally friendly, I will look to more eco-friendly options.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Support Pollution Reduction

What environmental factors affect human health in your region, and how do they affect it?

Kristy Strain 10/24/2018 1:50 AM

There are quite a few environmental factors that I did not even know about. For water quality, pollution is still very relevant coming from pesticides, metals, and industrial chemicals. With water levels rising, it seems that there is more water drainage that contains these pollutants. One of the issues with increased pollutants in water is that it gets within fish which people eat, unsafe water for recreational sports, and increased invasive water species. After being abroad, it amazes me how clear the water is in European countries, so turbidity is a growing concern within Minnesotan waters. From an air quality perspective, with the increasing usage of cars air quality is decreasing. However, the particles coming from gas vapors, live stock and ammonia, and many other less known sources are effecting air just as much. As a result of these issues, there is an increasing issue with asthma, COPD, and other respiratory complications. Luckily, there has not been too many known issues relating to water quality, but it is not certain how long this will last.

Read More
Kristy Strain 10/22/2018 1:35 PM

I have really enjoyed the challenge so far- I cannot believe that it is almost over! I am still having to remind myself not to eat refined sugars, but really have enjoyed learning about environmental initiatives. While I return to campus, I will be sure to implement more sustainable measures within my living arrangements (composting, limiting waters, etc.).

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Express My Support

What sustainability issues are most pressing or prominent where you live?

Kristy Strain 10/21/2018 1:24 AM

The most pressing issue within my region is preserving wildlife areas and ensuring that water remains clean. Especially with the recent repeal of protection from the Boundary Water... In addition, being abroad has let me see how other countries attempt to remain sustainable- we have a lot of work to do.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Collect Rain Water

Trace the water that flows down the drain from your house to the largest body of water nearby. What is the route it takes?

Kristy Strain 10/15/2018 3:25 AM

Most of the water that comes from the drains off of my house flows into the streets. The system within the streets seems to take it to a small lake area about a mile from my house! However, the water that is collected from the rain barrel goes to the garden.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Avoid refined sugar

Before you started this challenge, did you think you were 'addicted' to sugar? How do you feel now?

Kristy Strain 10/15/2018 3:20 AM

Before starting this challenge, I knew that I was 'addicted' to sugar. When coming to Slovenia, I used to buy a chocolate bar in which I split it between my meals throughout the week to satisfy that urge of "needing" sweets. However, in doing the Needs vs Wants challenge, it was an extra incentive to step away from this habit. However, since stopping eating refined sugars, I can feel myself getting headaches and cravings for these items. But, in the mornings, I now have some sort of fruit to help curve the desire. I am hoping that by the end of this month, I will not feel those urges!

Read More
Kristy Strain 10/12/2018 11:22 PM

The challenge is getting a little easier each day, but I am still finding myself needing to reminders about certain challenges (like no refined sugars). But yesterday I was at an Open Kitchen in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and they had workers at the garbage cans teling people how to categorize their waste! Pretty neat to see a country so focused on the environment and being sustainable.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Forage for My Food

Amongst the motivations for foraging are: a source of food; means of income; connecting with nature; cultural tradition; or transmitting "local ecological knowledge, and a means for stewarding local and native plant populations" (McLain et al. 2012, 13). Which of these would be your chief motivation and why?

Kristy Strain 10/09/2018 12:44 PM

Food foraging is something that I never considered for myself. However, after reading the "Learn More" sources and other cited works, my main motivation would to to further connect with nature. The choice to forage seems cleaner, healthier, and more cost-effective!

Read More