Ecochallenge.org

2018 People's Ecochallenge

October 3 - October 24, 2018

Megan Chandler

PAE and the Lumatics

"“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,961 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

energy audit

conducted
UP TO

440

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

2.0

hours

volunteered
UP TO

870

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

120

minutes

spent outdoors

Megan's 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 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of plants and trees at my home or work.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Track my Purchases

I will spend 30 minutes each day maintaining a record of all my purchases and learning about my spending habits.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Learn More about Food Deserts

I will spend 60 minutes learning about food deserts and find out how I can advocate for healthy and fresh food in my region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Take Control

Both system and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Volunteer in my Community

I will volunteer 2 hour(s) in my community during the challenge.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Know My health

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 1 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

Water

Insulate Water Pipes and Water Heater

I will avoid wasting water while waiting for the shower or sink to heat up.

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 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Explore My Area

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

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

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
Health Learn More about Food Deserts

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

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 11:31 PM

Ignore poverty and obesity, but instead focus on the education of the community. Learning how to not only help increase availability and access to all areas, but enabling security of having a meal (like healthy snacks for low income schools and communities) and additionally educating generations that come from these areas what healthy options are. We have to support the larger communities, and in turn we all become a healthier global community.

Read More
Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 11:02 PM

Something I’ve learned - it sometimes takes a village to make change :) glad I was able to recruit family and friends to help me wrap my hot water heater up!

Read More
Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 10:42 PM

Great job everyone! This was a fun year :)

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Needs Vs. Wants

How is creativity necessary for practicing simplicity?

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 2:07 PM

Joining local buy nothing groups, finding ways to check out from tool libraries, and really stepping back to make good choices when you purchase can not only be frugal, but well for the communities you live in.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Track my Purchases

What have you noticed about your purchases? Where are you inclined to make shifts, if any?

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 2:06 PM

I need to find ways to reuse or borrow more - some of the things that feel like needs could be borrows.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Insulate Water Pipes and Water Heater

How do you think climate change will affect your region’s water supply? Think about the effects of weather, storms, salinity, and sea level rise, among other changes. How can you find out more about climate change’s impact to your region's water?

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 2:05 PM

As Portland gets warmer seasons, it is important to recognize that the water in our lakes and rivers are decreasing. If I can waste less water (especially during the waste of that initial cold spill from my shower), we can help maintain a beautiful state.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Where are your nearest natural bodies of water? How might they be affected by runoff?

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 2:03 PM

I live off of a wetland on a hill - by stopping runoff I am helping maintain the parks and protected spaces, but also protecting my neighborhood from flooding.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water 5-Minute Showers

Five minute showers are an impressive step toward reducing your water footprint. What is the next step you can take?

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 2:02 PM

I'm interested in finding out how I can reclaim the water I am wasting - with limited funding, what creative ways can I collect the water that is safe to use on my plants or for other things.

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?

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 2:00 PM

a source of food is where i connect - I like the idea of stopping waste but also finding and learning about local, native food options. We can reduce so much waste and meet others in our communities just by leaving our direct comfort of our home.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Take Control

How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?

Megan Chandler 10/24/2018 1:58 PM

The environment and community health directly interact with personal health - the space you are in and how it is maintained is critical to your health - we are responsible for both our well being but also others as what we do has a long term impact on every faucet of our community.

Read More