Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Fern Deininger

ENV 100 Physical Geography Class Team

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
348 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

4.0

public officials or leaders

contacted

Fern's actions

Transport

Use Muscle Power

#49 Cars

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 1
DAILY ACTION

Land Use

Local Perennial Biomass

#51 Perennial Biomass

I will spend at least 15 minutes finding out if anyone is working on perennial biomass projects in my region and how I can get involved.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Advocate for Forest Protection

#38 Forest Protection

I will contact 4 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Test Drive an Electric Bike

#69 Electric Bikes

I will test drive an electric bike at a local distributor to see if it makes sense to use one in place of my car, or to extend the area I can cover by bike.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Women and Girls

Support Women-Owned Businesses

#62 Women Smallholders

I will support women-owned businesses when I shop this month.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Support Nutrient Management

#65 Nutrient Management

I will buy from organic and local farmers who have made the decision to not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Fund Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will donate to supply a community with reproductive health supplies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 200 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Fund Family Planning

When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting the expressed needs of women, it results in empowerment, equality, and well-being, and the benefits to the planet are side effects. Why is family planning an important civil rights consideration?

Fern Deininger 4/23/2018 10:50 AM

I've realized with time how threatened I feel by the potential loss of Title X. Sen. Joni Ernst, Sen. Chuck Grassley, and Rep. Rod Blum are my reps. They are all conservative, and all voted actively against family planning accessibility time and time again. There's a serious feeling of betrayal when the government officials assigned to an individual actively work against the individual. As a woman, I need family planning rights and access. As a member of a family, I see how it Title X benefits everyone. We were all born one way or another. It should be a universal right.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. In what ways can you support your closest regenerative agriculture farm?

Fern Deininger 4/23/2018 10:47 AM

I attend a monthly farm forum on regenerative ag and carbon sequestering, as well as meeting every other week with a group of regenerative ag advocates and the Boulder Open Space Coalition. I buy local whenever I can, volunteer hours on farms, and now manage an organic farm in Louisville. I planted some cottonwoods along coal creek to assist in erosion on a farm there this weekend.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Use Muscle Power

How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?

Fern Deininger 4/23/2018 10:45 AM

I try to walk or bike a different path to school every day. I have found joy biking the extra distance to the bike path to get to work rather than riding on the street. I've noticed I'm so much less stressed if I don't drive in the city. Back home, driving is stress free since it's so beautiful along the gravel roads. In Boulder, driving is a pain. That's why I didn't bring my motorcycle. Biking is so much easier, especially since I work as a bike mechanic.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Learn about the Need for Family Planning

What did you learn about the need for family planning? Share some of the learning with your friends!

Fern Deininger 4/16/2018 9:35 PM

my senators and reps have voted numerous times against title x which is the federal grant dedicated solely to family planning and accessible services.

Read More
Fern Deininger 4/09/2018 8:50 PM

When I first read Drawdown by Paul Hawken I was stoked Climate change always seemed too large to be able to put in a book. Not only did Hawken do so in a comprehensive and organized why, but he also included hundreds of solutions to reverse its effects. Silvopasture is one of the ways I have been interested in approach a portion of my land. We try to approach our land in a regenerative way-- we utilize a large carbon sink, have dedicated plant/herb reserves, create intentional habitat for native bees, incorporate permaculture design, and use no-till cover crops to prevent top soil/moisture loss. Silvopasture is the next logical step for our timber. Incorporating rotational gracing and stacked planting through the alleys of fruit trees creates nutrient dense and biodiverse yields. My friend has a monocrop apple orchard that she will inherit in a few years. I think it'd be the perfect place to start a silvopasture. I reread Drawdown recently and I was juuuust as stoked as I was in the beginning. It's comprehensive and digestible.

Read More
- Deanna Pumplin 4/09/2018 9:13 PM
  
  What you are doing is so encouraging! We have a very small new orchard, with semi-dwarf root stock, recovering from deer pruning and chickens pecking around roots through wired cages. Sheet mulched over the quack grass and topped with bark. I really want to plant pollinators, some brassicas and other greens among the trees, change the soil conditions, and hope for being able to eventually have real managed pasture...at least for small sheep and chickens. Time to read up on this! Thanks for posting Fern.
  
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