Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Mia Cushman

Asheville High School Spring 2021!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
366 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

224

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

30

minutes

being mindful

Mia's actions

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Health and Education

I will spend at least 35 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Bioplastics

Bioplastics are a promising solution to plastic waste and climate change… but they aren’t necessarily sustainable. Find out why!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Health and Education

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Learn More about Silvopasture

Silvopasture

I will spend at least 19 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Research Peatlands

Peatland Protection and Rewetting

I will spend 25 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Eat Mindfully

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

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity

Learn More about Biomass

Biomass Power

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 35 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Learn about Temperate Forests

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

Methane Digesters

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Had you ever heard of biomass technology before you took this challenge? What did you learn that surprised you? Share your new knowledge with your friends!
Mia Cushman 4/29/2021 10:59 AM
I had never heard of biomass technology before this, and I think it is a really cool concept. One thing I learned that surprised me was that the correct biomass feedstock can be a solution for replacing fossil fuels. But we have to be careful because if we use the wrong biomass feedstock it could just cause more problems.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?
Mia Cushman 4/29/2021 10:47 AM
It was so nice to be able to eat without any distractions like I sometimes do! I feel like I got to connect and enjoy the people I was eating with.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

Much of Indonesia's peatlands have been drained so they could be replaced with palm oil or pulp and paper plantations. How can you make choices that help to protect peatlands, even if you live far away from one?
Mia Cushman 4/29/2021 10:45 AM
A lot of peatlands are being destroyed for things that people use. One of these things is palm oil. A lot of the processed foods we eat have palm oil in them so even just reducing your consumption of palm oil can help keep the peatlands alive! We can also reduce our paper usage.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

As you learn more about the scope and seriousness of the environmental challenges we face, what impact does that have on your thinking and actions? What are the parts that feel overwhelming? What parts help you feel hopeful?
Mia Cushman 4/22/2021 6:09 AM
Learning about the seriousness of climate change and all of the other environmental challenges that the world is currently facing is making me want to be more conscious about my actions and it makes me want to educate and encourage others to do the same. It is definitely overwhelming hearing about how fast these problems are progressing and that not a lot of people are doing anything about it. I feel hopeful when I realize that we do know the solutions to reverse global warming. We just have to encourage others to participate in these actions to stop climate change.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?
Mia Cushman 4/19/2021 9:18 AM
I didnt realise how much my diet might affect deforestation. To decrease this I can look for signs like Shade grown and Rainforest Alliance on coffee and chocolate and I can find products that dont have palm oil in them. I can also just decrease my animal product consumption.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

Had you heard of the term "silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?
Mia Cushman 4/16/2021 9:32 AM
I had never heard of the term silvopasture before now and I think it is a super cool concept. I personally think the biggest advantage is that the forests pull carbon out of the atmosphere. They are helping the farmers and animals as well as helping to reduce the carbon in the atmosphere!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?
Mia Cushman 4/15/2021 9:12 AM
I will definitely be viewing expiration dates differently. I didn't realize that I have sometimes wasted foods that could still be good. I will also be mindful about solutions such as putting things in the freezer if I think it is going to go bad.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?
Mia Cushman 4/13/2021 7:16 AM
I am very lucky to live in a community where a lot of the time women have equal opportunities to men but there are still some instances where women don't. All the time I hear stories of women not getting paid as much as men even if they are doing more work. Also, it is pretty rare that you will hear about a ¨stay at home dad¨ it is usually always a ¨stay at home mom¨. I think we definitely need to change these things that have become almost normal to our society.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What did you learn about the need for family planning? How do the needs of different people in different places compare to each other?
Mia Cushman 4/01/2021 9:27 AM
Family planning is when women plan for the children they want to have. It is so important and should be a basic human right that women have access to birth control as well as education about family planning. In some places women have no access to birth control. Especially in developing countries a lot of women who dont want to be pregnant arent using the correct family planning methods for reasons such as lack of education or resources. It is so important that we help the people who need it get access to family planning methods.

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