Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

K Landon

Emerson Waldorf School

"To be as conscious about my daily impact on our planet and reduce carbon emissions "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
951 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

60

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

870

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

550

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

62

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

145

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

24

zero-waste meals

consumed

K's 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 21
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 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Recycle Everything I Can

Recycling

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, making sure to not contaminate recyclables with non-recyclables.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Zero-waste Cooking

Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

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 3 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Support Companies Leading in Green Energy

Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics, Distributed Solar Photovoltaics

I will use my spending power to reward companies leading in creating or purchasing green energy and incentivize others to invest more in green energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Improve a Bus Stop

Public Transit

I will improve a bus stop in my neighborhood by posting the stop schedule, adding seating or shelter, adding art or flowers, picking up litter, or implementing some other small improvement.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Stay on the Ground

Telepresence, High-Speed Rail

Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 20
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?

K Landon 4/29/2021 12:06 PM

It’s been really easy to fit these challenges into daily life.

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K Landon 4/19/2021 8:59 AM

The EcoChallenge is going well except that I’ve missed checking off my challenges a few days. Bummer.

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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?

K Landon 4/19/2021 8:58 AM

I love hearing the birds singing as I take my daily walks. I’m also enjoying the warm sunshine, breeze, and saying hello to other people from a distance.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Stay on the Ground

What was your process like for restructuring your trip? How can you avoid more air travel in the future?

K Landon 4/19/2021 8:55 AM

Rearranging trips from flying to a road trip was easy because we live so close to many interesting places. Instead of flying to Boston this summer, we will drive and be able to stop along the way and visit cute little coastal towns that we would miss if we flew.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?

K Landon 4/11/2021 3:24 PM

When practicing mindful eating, I find that I notice the different flavors in my food and that I feel more satisfied with my meal afterwards. I've noticed that when I'm distracted while eating, I'm more likely to eat more than I need.

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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?

K Landon 4/11/2021 3:22 PM

Juicing and smoothies are a great way to incorporate using the entire vegetable during meal prep.

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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?

K Landon 4/07/2021 5:54 PM

Eating more meat can cause the body to become more acidic which can make the body more prone to disease such as cancer. Also, the raising of meat requires and wastes an enormous amount of water compared to eating a plant-based diet. Eating more meat can also contribute to a significant increase of inflammation in the body and increases the risk of colon cancer and other digestive issues.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Recycle Everything I Can

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?

K Landon 4/07/2021 5:51 PM

I can incorporate refusing into my lifestyle by making sure I always have a reusable bag with me, refusing bags offered to me at stores or restaurants. I can also find a way to repurpose old clothes by using them into cleaning rags or towels.

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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?

K Landon 4/03/2021 7:26 PM

Because of Covid, the main single-use items that I use regularly are cups. I'm looking forward to being able to bring my reusable cups back to Starbucks for coffee and tea! Another single-use item is produce bags - I need to bring my own when I go shopping.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Go Paperless

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

K Landon 4/03/2021 7:22 PM

I want to prioritize having experiences over material 'stuff' in my life such as traveling, exercising, spending time with family and friends, and learning new things.

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