Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Andrew Jenkins

WBA UK Sourcing

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
728 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

18

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

7.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1,115

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

110

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

180

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

56

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

3.0

public officials or leaders

contacted

Andrew's actions

Transportation

Peddle Power

Today I used my bike instead of taking my car. Fresh Air, Fast Feet and Carbon Free travel!

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Lights OUT

Today I turned the lights out when I left the room and turned my tech off at the sockets when not in use. We turned it off!

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Zero Food Waste

No food waste today!

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Eat Mindfully

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

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Health and Education

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Support Local Food Systems

Plant-Rich Diets

I will source 40 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 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 90 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

Contact your Elected Officials

Abandoned Farmland Restoration

I will contact 2 elected officials to voice my opinion on the importance of restoring farmland in my region, including both public and private land.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 15 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 5 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 8
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 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Calculate My Carbon Footprint

All Drawdown Solutions

I will calculate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce my negative impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Spread the Word about Energy Alternatives

All Electricity Solutions

I will research and tell 1 people each day about the benefits of alternative energy sources like wind turbines, solar energy, geothermal energy, and methane digesters.

COMPLETED 0
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 Contact your Elected Officials

Do you have any personal connections to a farm or farmland? If so, what are they? What feelings are evoked for you when thinking about declining farmland?

Andrew Jenkins 4/30/2021 2:05 AM

This is Pingle Lane a green lane in our village. Until last year it was completely overgrown and used to dump agricultural waste. A group of villagers have now cleared it and we researched its history finding that its a 400 year old right of way. The council have now agreed to maintain it for walkers and wildlife surveys will be carried out

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Calculate My Carbon Footprint

What stood out to you most about your carbon footprint? What surprised you or sparked curiosity? Where can you take most immediate action?

Andrew Jenkins 4/30/2021 1:54 AM

My biggest impact has been due to travel but working from home this year has cut this massively

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education Learn about the Need for Family Planning

What did you learn about the need for family planning? How do the needs of different people in different places compare to each other?

Andrew Jenkins 4/30/2021 1:52 AM

On average one person emits 2tonnes of CO2 per year contributing to 20% of global emissions. There are also big inequalities, The average European emits more CO2 in two weeks than some people in Africa do in a year. Population growth will outstrip any technology fix to tackle climate change. Amazingly funding for family planning projects is being cut globally and population growth is hardly ever mentioned in big climate conferences. Lets see if it gets talked about at COP26 this year

Read More
Andrew Jenkins 4/28/2021 6:32 AM

Tidal Power - Orbital O2 was assembled at the port of Dundee over the past 18 months before making it's journey to Orkney last week, using a submersible barge. The O2 will now undergo commissioning before being connected to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), where it will become the world's most powerful operational Tidal Turbine producing enough electricity to power 2.000 homes. The turbine's superstructure will float on the surface of the water, with rotors attached to its legs. These will extract energy from the passing tidal flow.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Zero Food Waste

What did you do to reduce food waste in your house today?

Andrew Jenkins 4/21/2021 4:25 PM

We have bought a hot box composter. It costs about £120 and is about the size of a wheely bin. It lives on our drive and vegetable and food waste can be converted into garden compost in about 30 days. It took us a little while to get into the routine of chopping up food scraps and feeding it every couple of days but now it is working fine

Read More
- Andrew Jenkins 4/30/2021 2:13 AM
  
  Here are the details of the hot bin composter
  HotBin Compost Bins | Compost Garden & All Food Waste (hotbincomposting.com)
  
  Read More
- Rosie Akester 4/27/2021 2:51 AM
  
  I was wondering whether the hot composter can biodegrade bioplastics?
  
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- Rosie Akester 4/26/2021 2:04 AM
  
  Hi Andrew- any chance you could share the link for the type you went for? I have a wormery at home but it takes a long time to convert to compost! 30 day turn around is great!! Thanks, Rosie.
  
  Read More
- Baya D 4/23/2021 2:58 AM
  
  Wow sounds great!
  We have a small food waste bin on our kitchen bench. When it gets full, we take the waste to the large compost bin in the garden. Saves us going back and forth too many times!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Cities and towns need to plan for climate change. How can your city or town make its climate action plans equitable and socially just?

Andrew Jenkins 4/21/2021 4:16 PM

Interesting that the articles on this site about green gentrification are all about the built environment, but it got me thinking about products. As the cost of things like recycled materials or certified sustainable materials are generally higher this means that greener products are generally more expensive. This makes them less accessible to the disadvantaged. How can we change this so that unsustainable products carry the price premium? Education on reducing waste and levels of unnecessary consumption would also help everyone enjoy a more equitable and sustainable lifestyle

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?

Andrew Jenkins 4/15/2021 10:17 AM

Eating food little and often rather than a large plateful also has health benefits. Many restaurants still think they show value for money by serving large portions which the diner can't eat. Go for taster menus or tapas style meals. Making dishes from leftovers is also fun and can taste great as the food has had time to marinate. For ideas see: Recipes | Love Food Hate Waste

Read More
Andrew Jenkins 4/08/2021 9:08 AM

I thought I'd share this with you. The message is so simple. It should be on Boots.com for all our customers to see: The environmental footprint of a shampoo and possible ways to reduce it - YouTube

Read More
- Baya D 4/10/2021 7:15 AM
  
  I got a little sand timer from sevent trent water (for free) to reduce the time i spend in the shower. It's a really to optimize your time in the shower although i only use it for days when I'm not washing my hair. I also encourage everyone to switch off the water while "shampooing" and putting shower gel over your body, only use water at the rinsing stage.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Conduct Virtual Meetings

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

Andrew Jenkins 4/06/2021 4:23 AM

1) Acknowledge participants may live in different time zones.
2) Don't arrange meetings back to back or over lunch times
3) Allow time for participants to check in
4) be clear about the actions required.
5) allow time for everyone to have a say.

Read More
- Tanya Ashton 4/12/2021 2:19 AM
  
  Nice check list
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Support Local Food Systems

Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these (or other) advantages inspire you the most?

Andrew Jenkins 4/05/2021 4:16 AM

Since the pandemic local food outlets have opened widely in our area. Several villages now have community shops and a local farm is selling milk direct from the dairy in reusable bottles. All this has improved community spirit, food freshness and quality and reduced food miles and carbon footprint. Lets keep this up after the lockdown ends!

Read More
- Jan Povey 4/05/2021 1:42 PM
  
  We have fantastic local farm shops - my preference for our fruit, veg and meat
  
  Read More