Ecochallenge.org

Earth Day Ecochallenge

April 1 - April 30, 2020

K Landon

EWS

"49 year old Earthling trying to save the planet with daily actions every day. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,441 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

59

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

6.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

122

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

140

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

140

miles

traveled by foot
UP TO

160

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

15

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

29

pounds

waste composted
UP TO

248

pounds of CO2

have been saved

K's actions

Action Track: Building Resilience

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Oceans

Learn about Our Oceans

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about how our oceans support life on Earth by producing oxygen, regulating climate, and providing habitat, food, and jobs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Wildlife

Research a Wild Animal

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about a wild animal I find interesting, including their life cycle, habitat, ecosystem functions, and interactions with humans (if any!).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Forests

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area while following CDC guidelines for social distancing.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Wildlife

Support Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators, including monarch butterflies, to produce fruit. I will spend 15 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
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

Wildlife

Seek Alternative Gifts and Souvenirs

Bringing home unique souvenirs from trips you’ve enjoyed is meaningful, and giving people unique gifts from other places is fun. Seek souvenirs and gifts that support local communities and do not cause harm to the environment or wildlife.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate

Choose LED Bulbs

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

Wildlife

Leave No Trace

I will respect and protect biotic communities by practicing the seven principles of Leave No Trace when doing nature activities alone or with family and friends.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Connect While Social Distancing

I will connect with at least 2 person/people a day through phone call or video chat to support mine and other’s mental and emotional health during this challenging time.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Climate

Stay on the Ground

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

Climate

Use Muscle Power

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

Food

Compost Food Waste

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

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

COMPLETED 0
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 4/30/2020 2:17 PM

What a great month of daily action! Congratulations everyone. Let's keep it going!

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K Landon 4/29/2020 12:57 PM

This challenge has reminded me of how much we can accomplish to stop climate change by making smart daily choices. It's been a lot of fun too.

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K Landon 4/28/2020 1:36 PM

Even after this challenge is over, I will continue to do these daily challenges.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Wildlife Leave No Trace

Educator Stephanie Kaza advises her students to focus on what they care about most when addressing the enormity of ecological problems. Is there a specific area you feel particularly called to work on?

K Landon 4/28/2020 1:35 PM

One specific area that I can work is to focus on minimizes waste and strive for zero waste. It's amazing how much food packaging contributes to landfill waste.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Building Resilience Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

How does food sovereignty address the complex agrarian transition to modern food systems?

K Landon 4/27/2020 8:46 AM

Food sovereignty addresses the complex agrarian transition to modern food systems by allowing people to grow the healthy food they choose and need. It gives power and free choice back to the people. It allows them to challenge the system to grow their own food, hunt and fish. Currently, they are being forced into eating genetically modified foods that are very unhealthy--foods that they view as spiritually empty and corrupted.

Another reason we need to address food sovereignty is that modern food systems contribute to a high diabetes rate, an increase in cancer, and a rise in obesity.

Watching this video reinforced to me why I eat an organic whole-food-based vegan diet.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Wildlife Research a Wild Animal

What interesting facts did you learn about the animal you researched? What are some of your favorite things about this animal?

K Landon 4/26/2020 6:04 PM

Do not buy any ivory products. I chose to research elephants because they're so beautiful and known to be so intelligent. The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest of the elephants, weighing up to 12,000 pounds and between 6.5 to 11.5 feet tall. Its trunk alone can weigh 400 pounds. There are only about 2,400 to 2,800 estimated elephants remaining in the wild. The Sumatran is the most endangered elephants. They are highly sensitive and caring animals, capable of feeling complex emotions and feelings, including deep compassion for others. Like humans, they have a large cortex in their brains and are not born with survival skills. They must learn these skills from adult elephants. These amazing animals must be protected from poachers.

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K Landon 4/23/2020 4:10 PM

I learned about pollinators today and why it is so important for us to protect them. I'm so glad our school welcomed bees to live on our campus so we can help them thrive in our community!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Wildlife Support Pollinators

Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

K Landon 4/23/2020 4:04 PM

It's so important to take care of pollinators, like bees, because they help plants grow and produce seeds. Pollinators are responsible for 75 percent of our crops. Without their help, our diets would be extremely limited affecting the vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy. There are over 300,000 species of flowering plants that require animal pollinators.

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K Landon 4/22/2020 5:22 PM

8 days left of the challenge. Still time to do 7 one-challenge challenges.

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K Landon 4/20/2020 5:47 PM

It's going well but I forgot to check off my actions yesterday. :(

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