Ecochallenge.org

Earth Day Ecochallenge

April 1 - April 30, 2020

Emily Parent

Mid Willamette Earth Challenge

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
532 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

204

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

3.0

trees

planted

Emily's actions

Fresh Water

Find Your Watershed

We all know our street address and the name of our county, but do you know your watershed? Get better acquainted with your local geography by going on a watershed fact-finding mission!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Disconnect Your Downspout(s)

I will use the resources provided by the City of Keizer to disconnect my roof's downspout to prevent chemicals from entering waterways & reducing the wastewater load.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Forests

Forest-Friendly Foods

I will replace or remove the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Conserve Toilet Water

I will save up to 12 gallons (45 L) of water a day by flushing only when necessary.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Fresh Water

Eco-friendly Gardening

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Dishwasher Efficiency

I will scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher and only run the dishwasher when it’s full.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Fresh Water

Water-Friendly Beauty Products

Avoid beauty products with micro beads or harsh chemicals that will feed into the ground and your water supply.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Forests

Plant Trees

I will plant 1 native tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Oceans

Support Organic Growing Methods

I will buy organic cotton and foods grown without the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Fresh Water

Salmon Life Cycle Activity Book

Salmon are critical to our ecosystem. Learn about their lifecycle with this free downloadable activity book. I will print this activity book for my kids (or myself) to complete and learn about salmon!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Wildlife

Support Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators. I will plant a pollinator garden in my backyard or community space to support local native pollinators.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate

Walking Challenge

Once a week I will walk somewhere I normally drive.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Fresh Water

Erosion in a Bottle Learning Activity

Soil & water are precious resources. Learn how to protect them with this fun experiment! I will complete the Erosion in a Bottle Activity with my children to teach them about the impacts of erosion on water quality and water health.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Invisible Ink Learning Activity

Science is fun, especially when you get to write secret messages. I will complete the Invisible Ink Activity with my children to teach them about pH, acids and bases.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Walking Water Learning Activity

Water is essential for all life. Learn more about how it moves with this cool experiment. I will complete the Walking Water Activity with my children to teach them how water moves through porous surfaces (and to have fun while learning about science).

UNCOMPLETED
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?

Emily Parent 4/30/2020 12:27 PM

Final was able to get some native plants started in my back yard. Still a lot of work to do, but it was fun to get some in the ground.

Read More
Emily Parent 4/21/2020 8:58 PM

Tried the find your watershed challenge and was surprised that at the 6th level my home falls into the McCarthy Slough-Willamette River watershed. This looks to be part of the Calapooia watershed, but it didn't come up in my list of watersheds. I thought that was strange.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Fresh Water Eco-friendly Gardening

What are the most prominent water concerns in your area? Examples include drought, flooding, pollution, access, security, and privatization.

Emily Parent 4/06/2020 6:50 PM

We have both water quality and quantity problems. In particular, fertilizer runoff from lawns and pest waste are problem in my own neighborhood. Flooding and drought are both issues of concern as well depending on the season. Living in areas with lots of hard surfaces means can be an issue with storm events. At the same time, living in a place where summers are dry, drought can be a problem. It is hard to pick just one issue. I wouldn't have said that security was a huge problem, but then with the algal blooms in Detroit lake a couple years ago, it became a much bigger issue.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Forests Plant Trees

How is planting trees good for your mental, physical, and spiritual health?

Emily Parent 4/06/2020 6:43 PM

Trees are amazing! Planting a tree gets you outside, physically active, and connected with nature- all of these things are good for your well being. Once planted, the tree provides ecological, social, and environmental benefits that go beyond the planting process. There seems to be more an more research coming out about the benefits of natural spaces in our lives that is fascinating, like reducing crime and depression. I think there is still a lot to learn about the whys surrounding the benefits, but the correlations are impressive!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Oceans Support Organic Growing Methods

It is often said that “you can’t feed the world with just organic food.” What is your response to that statement?

Emily Parent 4/05/2020 8:33 AM

Well, I personally don't think organic is the right word. I think local sustainable agriculture it the right option, which is often organic, but not necessarily. I do think it is possible to feed the world with sustainable agriculture. When done right (which will be different in different places), there is a lot of evidence that you can get really good (often better that conventional) yields.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Forests Forest-Friendly Foods

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?

Emily Parent 4/05/2020 8:20 AM

I don't drink coffee, so that part is easy. I do love chocolate though. Luckily there are a lot of different chocolates that are palm oil free. It seems like more companies have been making efforts to remove palm oil and/or source responsibly. Removing palm oil from my diet will continue to be difficult though because there are a lot of products that contain palm oil! Also, labels on packaging are not very clear and often don't say palm oil on the packaging.

Read More
- Kaileigh Westermann-Lewis 4/06/2020 11:39 AM
  
  No kidding! I tend to find that the only way to eliminate things like palm oil is to just avoid processed food as much as possible, but it so challenging!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Fresh Water Water-Friendly Beauty Products

Beyond what does or doesn't come out of the tap at home, how do your choices affect freshwater locally and globally?

Emily Parent 4/02/2020 2:32 PM

Much of the water we "use" is through indirect consumption. In other words, the food we eat and products we by require water. Changing how we live to a less resource intensive lifestyle can have a huge impact on water consumption locally and globally. For example, eating less meat can lower your water footprint because meat often requires more water to produce than plant-based foods.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Fresh Water Dishwasher Efficiency

How can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?

Emily Parent 4/02/2020 2:26 PM

In my neighborhood, in particular, we are required by our HOA to have green lawns. This is not practical in a climate where summers are dry. In order to be resilient to climate change, and the resulting water shortages, we need to start changing how we utilize and care for the land. We might need to change what we grow, as well as our perceptions and expectations for how things should be done- how important is it that the grass is green, anyway? We will need to be realistic about trade-offs because we can't have it all.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Fresh Water Conserve Toilet Water

What would a sustainable water future in your region look like? What needs to change?

Emily Parent 4/01/2020 11:56 AM

A sustainable water future in western Oregon would require a focus on water conservation in agriculture, as it makes up a large amount of water use in Oregon. Using precision agriculture methods and choosing crop options that makes sense for the region, are two things that can help. Another component of ensuring sustainable water in western Oregon is recognizing that we do have limited water. It rains a lot in the Willamette Valley, but we also have dry summers with little precipitation. Thus, snowpack and the timing of snow melt are especially important to a sustainable water future. Taking steps to mitigate and adapt to climate change are also important to the climate future of Oregon.

Read More