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Welcome to Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown expert in no time!

Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown
April 1 - April 30, 2021
Andrea Durland's avatar

Andrea Durland

Team Wyld

"To create more awareness of my daily actions and their impact."

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 726 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    donation
    made
  • UP TO
    540
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    30
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    365
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    205
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    75
    minutes
    spent outdoors

Andrea's 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 16
DAILY ACTIONS

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 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 20 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars

I will spend at least 120 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 45 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Fix Leaky Faucets

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities. Fixing leaky faucets can save up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Health and Education

Fund Family Planning

Health and Education

I will donate to supply a community with reproductive health supplies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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
    Industry Properly Dispose of Refrigerants
    How do you address your own feelings of concern, fear or despair about climate change?
    Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/30/2021 10:03 AM
    I start small with things I can control. It is so easy to fall into a thought-trap of "It's too big a problem for me to solve, so I won't try". Starting by fixing a leaky tap, eating less meat, and reducing shower times can help me feel more in control which help to mitigate the concren, fear, and despair brought on by climate change. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Animal Products
    Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?
    Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/30/2021 10:02 AM
    It takes quite a bit of resources to raise meat products. In areas with less wealth, their meat production necessarily happens on a much smaller scale. This can allow the farmers to have a closer connection with the animals and they are able to realize the benefits of raising a smaller herd that is overall healthier. In countries with access to more cash and resources, we are able to not only farm animals on a massive scale, but are able to do it out of sight of the general public. This helps these farms (I hate to even call them that) hide the atrocious and wasteful conditions in which they are producing their animal products. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Smaller Portions
    While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come from eating/serving smaller portions?
    Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/30/2021 9:58 AM
    It is much easier to avoid overeating (and the sluggishness that comes with that) if you eat smaller portions at a time and have to dish yourself up again. This gives your stomach more time to let your brain know if it is full.  It can also make the meal last a bit longer and feel more communal if the members of the table are constantly interacting to pass plates and serving dishes. 
    Read More
  • Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/13/2021 9:25 AM
    Walked to the gym instead of driving. Kind of a "Duh" moment for me
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Buildings Fix Leaky Faucets
    What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
    Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/12/2021 2:51 PM
    • Put houseplants outside when it rains to use rainwater instead of tap
    • Added a weight to my kitchen and bathroom taps so my cats can't turn them on by themselves. 
    • Put a timer on for showers.

    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health and Education Fund Family Planning
    When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting the expressed needs of women, it results in empowerment, equality, and well-being, and the benefits to the planet are side effects. Why is family planning an important civil rights consideration?
    Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/12/2021 2:34 PM
    Bearing and raising children IS labor. When you take away a person's right to choose how and when they labor (in any capacity) their rights are being diminished. 
    Traditionally child-bearing has been a woman's task, keeping her in the home with less access to resources than her male counterpart. If we are truly striving for equity between genders, we need to focus on the root causes of inequalities between them, and reproduction rights is a fairly obvious one to look at. 
    “Reproductive Justice is the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.”
    — Sister Song: Women Of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
    Read More
  • Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/12/2021 2:06 PM
    If anyone wants a link to a great reproductive cause to donate to, slack me! 
    I'd prefer not to post the link on here as the url could be a bit of a trigger. I have done my research on this org and they do some truly important work. 
    Read More
  • Andrea Durland's avatar
    Andrea Durland 4/07/2021 9:25 AM
    I love to cook, and making a bit too much is an old habit I have been trying to kick! 
    I started with purchasing smaller quantities at the store so I have less to work with, and want to make things stretch a bit more. 
    Read More