Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Ashlyn Templeton

San Antonio Zoo Crew

"I grow and donate fruits and vegetables"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
503 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

175

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

630

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

13

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

40

minutes

being mindful

Ashlyn's 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 1
DAILY ACTION

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Health and Education

I will spend at least 13 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Practice the 5 R's

Recycling

I will Practice the "5 Rs" — refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle — to reduce my waste more than I can with just recycling alone.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Tend A Garden

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

COMPLETED 18
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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Explore Other Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions

All Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Composting

Composting, Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Farm Irrigation Efficiency

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Use Muscle Power

Multiple Transportation Solutions

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 40 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Have you ever had a significant experience in nature that altered your perspective or focus? If so, please describe it.
Ashlyn Templeton 4/29/2021 6:01 AM
We started gardening in our backyard 3 years ago and each year we get more and more. My entire backyard is now dedicated to urban gardening. One of the most amazing things I love about it is that there is an entire eco system just in my backyard. When we turn the dirt each season, we see so many critters down in the soil! We compost our own food scraps and put them back into the soil, which the bugs love. We have spiders, birds of all sorts, butterflies, ladybugs, and so many other neat friends that come to visit us or live in our garden. It is extraordinary!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
Ashlyn Templeton 4/26/2021 11:32 AM
The sidewalks and dirt paths at Brackenridge park are perfect for a lunch time walk during work. When downtown, I love that we have a special space at the riverwalk for walking away from traffic/cars downtown.

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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?
Ashlyn Templeton 4/26/2021 6:27 AM
I spent some time cooking and eating my meal without distractions and thought more about the foods I was using - those I grew and those I purchased. Where were they sourced from? The tastes of the food were more apparent to me as I sat down to think about eating them. It was a very enjoyable experience that I will continue to do when possible.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

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?
Ashlyn Templeton 4/23/2021 6:22 AM
One of my favorite resources here in San Antonio is the brush recycling center. As a San Antonio resident it is free to drop off any brush from fallen trees or tree trimming. They also use this brush to make mulch, which we use in our yard each year! They make finer chopped mulch for a very small cost. What a wonderful way to repurpose unwanted fallen trees in San Antonio!

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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?
Ashlyn Templeton 4/22/2021 7:07 AM
I watched Katharine WIlkinson's TED talk on how empowering women and girls can help stop global warming. In this talk she discussed the need to close the gender gap to address planetary change. She advocates for educating girls in many areas including family planning to reduce the number of babies born accidentally. According to Katharine, this impact on the carbon footprint could rival solar energy. Interesting take!

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Ashlyn Templeton 4/20/2021 12:07 PM
Just getting started on this challenge. A little late to the online challenge but I've already started my Spring garden. We've harvested 2 rounds of radishes already and we currently have potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, onions, sweet & hot peppers, carrots, corn, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, and a small herb garden. Always looking forward to harvesting and planting my new seedlings! Picture is of some of my potatoes, which we are growing in buckets this year.

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