Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Jessica Hoagland

OneSTL

"Eco-Literacy For All "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
288 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

locally sourced meal

consumed
UP TO

20

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

zero-waste meal

consumed

Jessica's actions

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Keep Track of Wasted Food

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Contact your Elected Officials

#23 Farmland Restoration

I will contact 2 elected officials to voice my opinion on the importance of restoring farmland in my region, including both public and private land.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 1 meal(s) from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Micro Wind

#76 Micro Wind

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of Micro Wind.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 1 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Explore Other Electricity Generation Solutions

All Electricity Generation Solutions

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching other Drawdown Electricity Generation Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Biomass

#34 Biomass

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 10 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Solar Water Consultation

#41 Solar Water

I will contact a local installer/distributor to see if a solar water heater makes sense for my house.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

#30 Methane Digesters (large), #64 Methane Digesters (small)

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching other Drawdown Food Solutions.

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?

Jessica Hoagland 4/24/2018 3:19 PM

I'm making a map of U-pick berries. Every kid should pick berries in the fields at least once, to know where food comes from. If anyone has a berry site I should know about,
ping me!

Read More
- Lisa Young 4/25/2018 11:04 AM
  
  That is really cool! What a great idea. Some of us grown-up kids would like to pick berries, too! ☺
  
  Read More
Jessica Hoagland 4/23/2018 2:22 PM

I love the DrawDown Challenge, but I'd prefer it to be presented in the dark days February, or during the Dog Days of August. Not in Spring when I want to be outside hiking or gardening with kids. The planting season is short... and soon the mosquitoes will come out.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Explore Other Food Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Jessica Hoagland 4/23/2018 2:18 PM

I'm on the right track with a plant rich diet and reducing food waste.
Working the Drawdown Challenge redoubles my resolve,
especially regarding food waste.

One thing I'm doing is sharing more food.
As they say, "The best place to store food is in other people's bellies."

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Now that you know the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates, how will you view expiration dates differently?

Jessica Hoagland 4/19/2018 12:01 PM

Wow. My husband and I were going through the canned goods the other day, many of them several years old. Instinctively, my position was to ignore the expiration dates and smell the food. Turns out I was right: expiration dates are largely a marketing ploy.
I'm a little surprised, but not really.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Zero-waste Cooking

In North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for utilizing every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable, including the skins, tops, and stalks during your next meal prep?

Jessica Hoagland 4/19/2018 11:53 AM

I watched the video and will try the quiche recipe, but I'm looking for the print-out. Otherwise, it all gets frozen until it goes into the soup pot!

Read More
Jessica Hoagland 4/18/2018 1:07 PM

I also went to the "Chef's Garage Sale" last weekend, which was a fundraiser for all farmers markets in the Saint Louis area. We have too many farmer markets in STL and so they all need to work together in order for the farmers to make money. It's like having too many McDonald's restaurants - if there are too many on each corner, the franchisers don't make money. We have to work cooperatively.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Smaller Portions

Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of this?

Jessica Hoagland 4/18/2018 1:03 PM

Smaller portions makes food seems more precious.
I guess that's the idea behind sushi.

Read More
Jessica Hoagland 4/16/2018 12:53 PM

I'm a learner and have learned that working with a team turns me into a "Super Learner", because other people ask questions I would never think to ask.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation Explore Other Electricity Generation Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Jessica Hoagland 4/16/2018 12:50 PM

The framework of these three categories is helpful: Electricity Generation Solutions, Transitional Technologies & Enabling Technologies.

I'm integrating the ideas it into my local map of understanding:

Read More