Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Dana Ecelberger

A Basin Sustainability Superheroes

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
330 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

60

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

3.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

2.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

20

minutes

spent learning

Dana's actions

Materials

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day by installing a low-flow showerhead.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY 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 1
DAILY 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
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?

Dana Ecelberger 4/21/2018 4:51 PM

The more we eat, the hungrier we feel as our stomachs expand to meet the quantity we eat on a regular basis. For most of us this means extra weight and fat storage. There is also research suggesting that overfeeding ourselves causes organ stress and leads to disease. So, eating less on a regular basis is much easier on our bodies, saves money, and helps keep us a more comfortable weight.

When you think of all of the animals slaughtered to satisfy our greed and unnecessary overeating, it makes me feel better to eat less and to think that this sends a message to meat producers to raise fewer animals for slaughter.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food composting

Producing uneaten food squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these motivates you the most to change your behavior regarding food waste?

Dana Ecelberger 4/21/2018 4:48 PM

I think there are several aspects that are motivating to me. One is the methane produced in landfills by rotting food products. Also that those foods attract wildlife, which are negatively impacted by eating our processed and polluted foods. It also disrupts their natural behaviors. We are currently losing top soil in our country at an alarming rate and applying compost is a great way to improve soil's ability to retain water and nutrients as well as keeping it in place and out of the air and water. Cutting back on food waste also saves money.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

Dana Ecelberger 4/21/2018 4:45 PM

Agriculture and poor soil maintenance can cause negative impacts in all water systems, but I have noticed that it is especially detrimental in low lying and steep slope areas. Everything that goes in the streams and rivers ends up in the oceans eventually so what we do upstream is critical to the health of the marine environment.
I am a professional landscaper and with water quality in mind, I install gardens that are mindful of where water will flow or pool and install retaining features to slow the movement of water down slopes. I also install very low flow irrigation systems and mulch heavily. Native plants that will establish and provide retaining support on headlands and stream banks are very important and will also help to clean water as it moves over the surface of the earth.
I also take a bag with me when I walk and pick up trash as plastic is one of the most devastating inputs into marine environments. Saying no to plastic bags and packaging, straws, cups, etc is essential and each one of us can have a huge impact by making these small changes.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than other countries, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How do we start shifting a meat-focused food culture?

Dana Ecelberger 4/21/2018 4:40 PM

Similar to eating local, I found it a little challenging to eat the quality fresh vegetables that living in Northern California for so many years had me accustomed to. However, it is good to realize that not everyone or every place has access to quality fresh fruits and vegetables, especially in the winter. My body doesn't love beans but I did end up with some fun lentil dishes.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Support Local Food Systems

Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these advantages inspire you the most?

Dana Ecelberger 4/21/2018 4:38 PM

This was pretty hard mid-winter in Western CO but our City Market does carry local products. Not many of them are organic so I had a bit of a dilemma, but finally decided that it is good to support both as local food resilience is important and corporate organic is not really ideal. These are layers of the issues that require some thought and balance.

Read More