Holly Parks

St. Louis Goes Green!

"To leave a greener earth for my grandchildren"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,157 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

7.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

90

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

633

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

45

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

660

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted

Holly's actions

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Tend A Garden

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

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Dutchtown Neighborhood Cleanup with earthday365

Sat., April 24th @ 9:30am - 12p **Register prior to event using link under "learn more."** This event is hosted in collaboration with the Community Improvement District of Dutchtown, Employment Connection, and several neighborhood associations. Volunteers will provide much needed litter cleanup along the streets and alleyways. Light snacks will be available and volunteers receive an Earth Day Celebration Kit. Bring a water bottle to refill! You can register in shifts for this event.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Garden Work Day with earthday365

Sat., April 10th @ 9 am - 1 pm **Register prior to the event with the following link.**Hosted by A Red Circle in collaboration with Custom Foodscaping. Our first collaboration for our Environmental Justice Days Of Action. Volunteers will help build up the urban farm and plant potatoes at the North County Agricultural Education Center, which works to combat food apartheid. Light snacks will be available and volunteers receive an Earth Day Celebration Kit.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Advocate for Forest Protection

Forest Protection

I will contact 2 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws, as well as the rights of local people to protect and restore the land in their communities.

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 30
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 6 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Support Nutrient Management

Nutrient Management

I will research and support local farmers who have made the decision to not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

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?

Holly Parks 4/30/2021 5:36 AM

It has been an interesting month with the plant goals. Gardeners by definition have to be optimists but it is a struggle with the weather this year. I have started a lot of food seedlings based on the last frost date. It has meant putting them in pots to go in and out of the house with late hard frosts. Now the ground needs to warm up for seedlings to prosper.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Support Nutrient Management

How does environmental quality influence your sense of community?

Holly Parks 4/17/2021 1:53 PM

It is a safer community when the environment does not contain toxic chemicals, either in the water, the air or the land. The cumulative effect of even smaller, legal amounts in food, in what we breathe or even in water runoff can contribute to cancer, asthma and other breathing problems, allergies or even autoimmune diseases.

I was surprised at the number of farms and farmer’s markets in the St. Louis area. I have tried several of them including Earth Dance and City Greens. I especially like City Greens as its focus is bringing quality foods to a “food desert”.

Read More
Holly Parks 4/16/2021 6:25 PM

I have always enjoyed gardening and the pandemic encouraged me to start vegetable and herb seeds in pots on my deck. It is basically a jungle by June but I enjoy having fresh food almost for free. (Although the price of soil and seeds is discouraging.). Trying to keep track of the time I spend gardening has been a real eye opener. No wonder I am so tired by evening!

Read More
Holly Parks 4/15/2021 6:19 PM

Learning the benefits of forest protection vis a vis climate change has been interesting, not the least because other sources have independently corroborated the benefits.

Read More
Holly Parks 4/06/2021 3:03 PM

I do not have an action item for air pollution but I wanted to post this excerpt from Save the Bay (Chesapeake Bay). “About one third of the nitrogen pollution to the bay comes from air pollution. Pollution washes out of the air during rain events where dry gases and particles fall back to earth and can wash into waterways. And dissolved pollution falls as acidic rain. The air shed is greater than nine times the size of the watershed.”

Obviously this problem applies to the Missouri, Meramec and Mississippi rivers here. We all need to work to reduce pollution.

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?

Holly Parks 4/05/2021 6:02 AM

The action item is to walk; however the summary is for exercising. Can I use the 35 minutes on the elliptical in this item?

Read More
- Victoria Coleman 4/05/2021 11:43 AM
  
  Hi Holly! I noticed that too! I would say try to get outdoors as much as you can! I think this challenge really wants us to explore and better understand what can make our neighborhoods more walkable and accessible for all! :)
  
  Read More