Jenna Dowding
"Green is the new way of life"
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 1,480 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO378pounds of CO2have been saved
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UP TO40more servingsof fruits and vegetables
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UP TO415minutesspent learning
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UP TO1.0locally sourced mealconsumed
Jenna's actions
Simplicity
Track my Purchases
I will spend 5 minutes each day maintaining a record of all my purchases and learning about my spending habits.
Food
Weekly Meal Planning
I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.
Waste
Recycle Everything I Can
Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 15 minutes researching and recycling all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.
Health
More Fruits and Veggies
I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 2 cup(s) of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.
Health
Learn About Local Environmental Justice Concerns
I will spend 30 minutes researching environmental justice concerns in my region, their causes, and local initiatives to address these concerns.
Food
Meet My Local Farmers
I will visit my nearest farm to find out who produces my food, and will learn about the quality of life of those who produce my food in other regions of the world to make better choices when I shop.
Food
Try a New Way to Prep
I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.
Food
Zero-Waste Cooking
I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day
Transportation
Choose a Carbon Offset
If buying a plane ticket, I will also buy a carbon offset.
Energy
Upgrade My Windows
I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.
Food
Buy From a Farmers Market
I will purchase produce and meat from a local farmers market or food co-op.
Transportation
Car Share
I will sign up for a car-sharing service, or organize car sharing with my neighbors, to cut down on the number of vehicles on the road.
Water
Ditch the Lawn
I will replace my lawn with a drought-tolerant landscape and save the water, money, and time I used to spend cutting the grass.
Energy
Choose Clean/Renewable Energy
I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option.
Nature
Forage for My Food
I will use the 'Learn More' resources below to find where I can forage for my own food locally.
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?
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REFLECTION QUESTIONWater Ditch the LawnWhat is the main water source in your region?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 9:19 PMFor my region there are a few rivers and watersheds in the area where we source of our water. For me specifically, we are on well water which wonderful. Even though we don't have a rain water catch system, the rain water does go back into the water table where our water comes from. At some point, we will have rain water catch system which will be used for irrigation and grey water usage. -
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 9:06 PMIt has been a lot of fun to participate with everyone this year. Kudos to everyone for what you did to change your behavior for however long it sticks, and I know I learned a few new things along the way. Plus it is always fun to have a little friendly competition :) -
REFLECTION QUESTIONTransportation Choose a Carbon OffsetA round-trip flight from New York City to Los Angeles emits just over 1.5 tons of CO2—per person. That’s a lot of carbon! What can you do to reduce the number of flights you take per year?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:58 PMI don't know if there is a way to reduce the number of flights when you have to travel for work, but I think there is a way to be more efficient with your time while you are traveling. It does make for a long day when your flight leaves at 6am and doesn't return until 10pm, however if you are maximizing the day by booking meetings or getting items done that make you not have to return as quickly, then it is worth it. I will say when I selected this challenge, I wasn't sure what the actual cost was going to be and thought it would be quite high. I was pleasantly surprised when I went to Alaska Airlines website to find out that a 2,500 mile carbon offset is just $5, according to this website: https://carbonfund.org/partners/alaska-airlines/. That actually makes me want to do that more often since I will feel better about my travel and just not buy a coffee on the trip to save the cost of the carbon offset. I will tell other people about this including whoever is reading this! -
REFLECTION QUESTIONTransportation Car ShareTake a moment to think of places you frequent often (work, grocery store, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:35 PMThis is an interesting thing to think about and how I can modify my habits. One of the ways I did this was to walk to one of my properties rather than driving. It is a 20 min walk both ways so I had to factor that time into my day, but I did use that time for making phone calls. I was breathing a little heavy on the calls but people were impressed that I was walking. My company also offers a bike to ride around town that I will use the next time I have a meeting close enough to bike but too far to walk and I'm thinking about driving. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONNature Forage for My FoodAmongst 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?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:32 PMA source of food for me is the motivation but that is primarily in the PNW we have amazing mushrooms, fern heads and ramps that grow wild and can be turned into delicious meals. I've always wanted to grow mushroom foraging and learned that if you stop by a ranger station they will review all your mushroom picks and let you know which ones are safe to eat or not. The ranger station wants to be helpful for people and offer to help as they want people to be aware of what is good and bad. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONEnergy Choose Clean/Renewable EnergyHow might you be able to get others involved in advocating for the shift to clean energy?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:16 PMWith the easy ways to sign up for renewable energy, I think it is an easy conversation to have. I think the piece that is missing is the level of awareness. I like to hope that if people realized just how easy and the minimal cost implications to them that they would actually be more inclined to participate in clean energy. We all need to have discussions about it and not assume someone else already knows this. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONEnergy Upgrade My WindowsHow does improving your home's energy efficiency help you better live out your values?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:08 PMBeing more efficient means you aren't wasting energy to maintain the proper climate you are looking for. While we aren't able to replace our windows, we looked at our windows to see about where we can install the film to prevent heat loss and cold penetration as a way of winterizing. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFood Buy From a Farmers MarketWhat is one food choice that you make, or could make, that would do more good and less harm?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 8:02 PMI can eat meat only one time weekly. Right now we do a good job eating more vegetarian than carnivorous, but I could increase that to be more vegetarian. At the end of the day, my concern is the impact on the environment which plants don't do nearly the damage that animals do. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFood Zero-Waste CookingIn North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for utilizing every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable, including the skins, tops, and stalks during your next meal prep?
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 7:59 PMOne of the best things you can is to keep all the skins, peels and tops to make a stock out of them. Veggie stock isn't just about using the vegetable, but you can use the entire part of it. You can also use the tops of carrots to make pesto or juice the entire carrot including tops. I'm also a fan of potato skins, so there isn't a recipe for potatoes that I won't include the skins in it. -
Jenna Dowding 10/24/2018 6:29 PM