Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Abigail Hamilton

Asheville High School!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
278 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

20

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

10

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

2.0

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

3.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

8.1

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Abigail's actions

Materials

Recycle Everything I Can

#55 Household Recycling

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 5 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 3 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

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 10 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 8.06 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Materials

Choose Recycled Paper

#70 Recycled Paper

If I have to buy paper products, I will only purchase products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Local Indigenous Practices

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning how local indigenous tribes are caring for the land by attending a training, workshop, or presentation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

How can you take your action a step further?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 6:30 AM
I can visit a recycling plant and learn how they do it so that I can further educate others!

Read More
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 6:21 AM
Pretty great, I have learned a lot more about the environment and how I personally can make a difference

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 6:12 AM
The skins, tops, and stalks could be used as extra flavor or texture, but with the plant parts that I cannot use, I will compost and put right back into our earth!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 6:09 AM
We would be eating the right amount of food for our body! Not only would we not be gaining as much weight all together, but we wouldn't be feeling the constant fullness of overeating.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Had you heard of the term silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 6:07 AM
I have not ever heard of silvopasture before, but I think that one of the major benefits is a shelter to those animals that protects them from the hot and cold weather.

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Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 6:04 AM
I originally joined because my friend wanted me to and I didn't think anything of it, but when I saw all of the challenges and actions they are persuading people to do, I started really be part of this because I truly wanted to and believed in everything that they were putting forth.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Now that you know the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates, how will you view expiration dates differently?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 6:00 AM
I will know the difference when looking at the dates that they give. I can decipher if they are overdue, or just need to be sold before a specific date.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 5:53 AM
Dependable fresh food, I want to be able to have fresh fruits and vegetables, and know that they don't use pesticides or any kind of product that isn't the kind of quality that is good for us.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 5:46 AM
You can compost! My dad just has a hole in our backyard by our garden that he puts our unused food in. If something like rice goes bad, or you eat an avocado and have the skin and seed left, then we put it in a bin to go outside. Every weeks we go through many, many bins of peels and rinds, and have been able to put it back into the earth! Also, to make sure you are always recycling, even when you don't feel like it. If you are at school and want to throw away a plastic water bottle but they only have a trash can, put it into your backpack and recycle it later.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Abigail Hamilton 4/25/2018 5:40 AM
I can buy products from local organizations. I don't eat meat or dairy, which limits most of the options, but I could buy plants that they have bought.

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