Ecochallenge.org

The People's Ecochallenge

October 6 - October 27, 2021

Samantha Boucher

Red-ucers

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
810 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

20

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

131

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

25

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

296

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

80

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

21

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

706

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Samantha's actions

Nature

Reduce Landscape Waste

I will prepare for a landscape renovation by actively preserving, reusing, or repurposing items already existing in the landscape.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

Do at Home

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

Do at Home

I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Family Game Hour

Do at Home

I will spend quality time with family and friends by playing low-tech game(s) and/or through the spirit of imagination.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community

Donate to or Volunteer for Low-Income Solar Initiatives

Do at Home

Whether it's by donating or volunteering, I will research the benefits of low-income solar and find out how I can support low-income solar initiatives in my area.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Joyful Movement

Do at Home

I will spend 5 minutes doing an activity where I'm both moving my body and enjoying myself.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Choose a Carbon Offset

If buying a plane ticket, I will also buy a carbon offset.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Calculate the Carbon Footprint of my Household

Do at Home

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Support Native Communities

Do at Home

I will use the resource links provided and spend 30 minutes learning about the native populations that lived in my area prior to colonization, and what I can do to support those that still exist.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Do Nature Activities

Do at Home

I will engage in nature-based activities alone, or with my friends or family, for 10 minute(s) each day. (This can be anything from going on a walk or hike, to noticing the leaves changing color, to reading a book with nature themes.)

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Support Local Pollinators

Do at Home

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Meditate

Do at Home

I will meditate or create a moment of silence for 10 minute(s) each day to reflect on things important to me.

COMPLETED 9
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?

Samantha Boucher 10/27/2021 1:19 PM

I remembered to check in all but ONE day - I feel so accomplished! And everybody did such a great job too. High fives all around!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Support Local Pollinators

Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

Samantha Boucher 10/26/2021 9:43 AM

Anything that attracts cute bees is OK in my book! I already knew that I wanted to replant my gardens with more pollinator plants, but didn't realize that resources were available to find LOCAL ones until clicking through the links here. I've got a lot of plant buying to do and will pick plants from the pollinator list! Pollinators are so critical. And fun to watch for.

Read More
Samantha Boucher 10/18/2021 9:27 AM

This weekend I prepared my yard for a remodel by deconstructing & salvaging useful materials (like wood, pavers, sand, and bricks) and temporarily relocating plants (that would otherwise be demolished) to reduce yard waste and to encourage us to think about reusing materials in new interesting ways. Anybody want some reclaimed picket fencing? ;)

Read More
Samantha Boucher 10/12/2021 10:25 AM

Follow-up on the carbon footprint calculator: https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/ is way more robust than the one EcoChallenge links you to. Good to know.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Calculate the Carbon Footprint of my Household

After you determined your carbon footprint, did you see what different choices you can make in order to reduce it?

Samantha Boucher 10/12/2021 10:18 AM

According to the Tradewater calculator, my household operates at around 3.28 tons of CO2 every month. The calculator didn't take into consideration things like how efficient our house runs, how many low-energy appliances/lights/etc. we have, or things like that. I might want to try a more robust calculator to see if that number is really lower or not!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Choose a Carbon Offset

A round-trip flight from New York City to Los Angeles emits just over 1.5 tons of CO2—per person. That’s a lot of carbon! What can you do to reduce the number of flights you take per year?

Samantha Boucher 10/11/2021 9:11 AM

I've never purchased a carbon offset before and was pleasantly surprised that it's not that expensive! ~$20 offsets the carbon footprint of 1.32 tons of CO2 that my husband and I will be generating during a flight later this month. We also opted for a flight with a lower carbon footprint (Google flights shows you this now! How cool!).

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Do Nature Activities

What did you observe while spending time outside -- through sight, sound, smell and/or touch?

Samantha Boucher 10/08/2021 12:24 PM

Today it was easy to get out and enjoy nature - I stepped outside and just watched the rain. It's immensely refreshing to just stand there for a little while, listen to the drops through the trees, and breathe the clean air.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Meditate

What would you like to invest more time in reflecting on?

Samantha Boucher 10/06/2021 8:45 AM

I've started using the Calm app for this challenge. They have handy 10-minute guided meditation sessions that are easy to fit into the day.

Read More
Samantha Boucher 9/30/2021 4:24 PM

Excited to get this going with the RED team! Let's try lots of new things and get ALL the points!

Read More