Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Victor Culatta

Team SouthCoast

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,005 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

450

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

81

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

26

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

390

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

27

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

725

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

45

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

tree

planted
UP TO

17

zero-waste meals

consumed

Victor's actions

Industry

Practice the 5 R's

Recycling

I will Practice the "5 Rs" — refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle — to reduce my waste more than I can with just recycling alone.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Support Local Food Systems

Plant-Rich Diets

I will source 95 percent of my food from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Tend A Garden

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 120 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Plant Trees

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will plant 3 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 120 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day or 450 gallons (1,680 L) a month by installing a low-flow showerhead.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Replace Manual Thermostats

Smart Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with smart ones.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Choose Recycled Paper

Recycled Paper

I will plan ahead to only use paper products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Go Paperless

Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics

Cheap, single-use items and disposable packaging end up blowing around as litter more often in poor and BIPOC-majority neighborhoods. I will avoid buying and using 5 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Farm Irrigation Efficiency

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Zero-waste Cooking

Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Smaller Portions

Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Telepresence

I will encourage my office to hold meetings virtually whenever possible instead of requiring travel.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Use Muscle Power

Multiple Transportation Solutions

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

COMPLETED 15
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
Land Sinks Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place -- your deep knowledge of and appreciation for your surroundings?

Victor Culatta 4/14/2021 8:51 AM

It is obvious that spending time at Joshua Tree National Forest enhanced my appreciation for the variety of environments we can enjoy on the planet. I am still relatively new to living in the desert (Palm Springs) and had previously lived in non-desert environments.

Read More
- Jamie Jacquart 4/15/2021 10:45 AM
  
  We loved hiking out there the last time we went (17 years ago...). So many cool features.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Go Paperless

What do you want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in your own life?

Victor Culatta 4/14/2021 8:47 AM

Sharing quality time with my family and friends is what I want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in my life. I actively engage with my friends and family and seek out opportunities to create special moments for us to share.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Reduce Single-Use Disposables

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Victor Culatta 4/14/2021 8:45 AM

The only single-use item on the list I use regularly is plastic garbage bags. I'm not certain what can be substituted instead. If anyone reads this post, please let share your thoughts and recommendations with me.

Read More
- Jamie Jacquart 4/15/2021 10:47 AM
  
  Sometimes this is a municipal requirement. When I was a kid, we put brown paper bags from the grocery store as our garbage liners in the house and simply put them in the outdoor trash, which the garbage collectors dumped into the truck. Not sure how that would go over today.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Conduct Virtual Meetings

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?

Victor Culatta 4/14/2021 8:43 AM

I am exploring the possibility of transferring my real estate license to eXp, a cloud based brokerage from a brick and mortar brokerage firm. This new company, at first blush, appears to share similar values to my own.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Practice the 5 R's

What are some more "R's" you could add to your daily practice to reduce your waste?

Victor Culatta 4/12/2021 8:24 AM

Remembering to adjust irrigation to reflect the needs of the current conditions.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Go for a Daily Walk

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?

Victor Culatta 4/12/2021 8:16 AM

Interestingly enough, I just commented to my partner during our walk that our community association should add a sidewalk on the other side of the street as well. That's an infrastructure change that would encourage more people to walk safely in both directions without walking in the street.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Victor Culatta 4/12/2021 8:13 AM

I've learned a great deal more regarding sell by dates. It is NOT an expiration date as I once believed.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Choose Recycled Paper

Good job on choosing recycled paper! How can you take your action a step further?

Victor Culatta 4/12/2021 8:09 AM

Now that I am using recycled paper it is now time to consider recycled ink cartridges for my printer.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Zero-waste Cooking

In 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?

Victor Culatta 4/09/2021 2:56 PM

We're enjoying this opportunity to eat "garden to table." A few pictures of our eggplant, tomatoes, basil and peppers for our Eggplant Parmesian dinner!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Tend A Garden

Have you ever had a significant experience in nature that altered your perspective or focus? If so, please describe it.

Victor Culatta 4/07/2021 12:44 PM

Each time I plant a new tree, vegetable, seed or tree I connect with nature and appreciate the value of helping things grow

Read More