Ecochallenge.org

2018 People's Ecochallenge

October 3 - October 24, 2018

Michelle Jacobs

ENGIE Insight Spokane

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,199 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

210

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

2.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

660

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

30

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

990

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

44

whole food meals

consumed

Michelle's actions

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will spend at least 30 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Buy From a Farmers Market

I will purchase produce and meat from a local farmers market or food co-op.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day by installing a low-flow showerhead.

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

Water

Fix Leaky Faucets

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water per faucet every day.

COMPLETED
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

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.

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

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

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

Health

Exercise Daily

Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 30 minute(s) each day.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Whole Foods Diet

I will enjoy 2 meal(s) each day free of processed foods.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Eat Mindfully

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Choose Organic Ingredients

I will enjoy 3 meal(s) cooked with organic ingredients each day.

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?

Michelle Jacobs 10/22/2018 6:27 AM

Good morning! Happy Monday everyone! The challenge is coming to an end soon! What was your favorite part?

Read More
Michelle Jacobs 10/19/2018 11:30 AM

Sharing a picture of our dog while on a hike at Camp Sekani we went on recently :)

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?

Michelle Jacobs 10/19/2018 8:04 AM

I found in our community there are multiple setups in parking lots or inside grocery stores where you can recycle your plastic grocery bags. There are also different recycling facilities that accept cans, scrap metal, glass, car parts in some cases the whole car! If it's made of recyclable material, there's more than likely somewhere you can take it where it will be put to good reuse!

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?

Michelle Jacobs 10/19/2018 7:58 AM

Carrying around my non-recyclable trash made me think about how much trash we produce on a larger scale every day in places like grocery stores, restaurants, and even our workplace. We don't really think about the actual impacts because once our trash is gone, we don't worry about where is goes to after that! Being mindful of the items you're purchasing that do come pre-packaged in some sort of way that can only go into the trash can help reduce this. Take a second and think "how long would this take to break down in a landfill?"

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

How can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?

Michelle Jacobs 10/18/2018 2:36 PM

We can practice using less water in our daily lives to prepare for the times we won't have access to enough water to meet our needs!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Explore My Area

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

Michelle Jacobs 10/18/2018 2:34 PM

Spending more time outdoors enhances your sense of place in this world by allowing you to be more aware of all the good nature has to offer!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Whole Foods Diet

Michael Pollan states that "it is better to pay the grocer (our edit: or the farmer!) than the doctor." What are your thoughts on this?

Michelle Jacobs 10/18/2018 2:33 PM

There are some things that only common medicine can resolve/help with. However, most health problems people face today are brought on by the lack of essential nutrients in the food we consume.

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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?

Michelle Jacobs 10/18/2018 12:39 PM

I've always been interested in understanding the nature that surrounds us, and how beneficial foraging could be for not only our wallets, but for our connection with the world around us! That's my main motivation for researching this subject. This also plays into survival skills, I do a lot of backpacking and hiking. If you know what's edible/useful from the world around you, there is a better chance of survival in desperate times.

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?

Michelle Jacobs 10/18/2018 12:36 PM

Trash and other pollutants are the biggest issue. Whenever I am out by water and see trash, I do my best to collect and dispose of it correctly.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Fix Leaky Faucets

Fixing leaky faucets is one of the tasks that we can easily put off until later. Good job on completing this action! How will you use the momentum from completing this action to increase your water efficiency?

Michelle Jacobs 10/18/2018 12:34 PM

Our shower faucet has been leaky since we moved in. It felt really good to fix this, and this will give me momentum to check out other water sources in our home to make sure they are properly sealed!

Read More