Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge 2025

Shanti Cebrero

Asheville High School/SILSA

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
461 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

3.0

more servings

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

362

minutes

spent learning

Shanti's actions

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Cook With Seaweed

Seaweed Farming

I will use seaweed in a new recipe.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Plastics Audit

Reduced Plastics

I will complete a plastics audit to see where plastics show up in my life and determine how I can reduce the use of single-use plastics.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Smaller Portions

Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

More Fruits And Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 2 cups of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Learn More about Silvopasture

Silvopasture

I will spend at least 23 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Research Peatlands

Peatland Protection and Rewetting

I will spend 30 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics; Reduced Plastics

I will avoid buying and using 2 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Learn about Carbon Offsets

I will spend 30 minutes learning about carbon offsets, and why they are a necessary solution in combating a climate crisis.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 30 minutes learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

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
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

What recipe did you make and how did it turn out? Will you cook with seaweed again?
Shanti Cebrero 4/21/2025 4:47 PM
The "recipe" that I made was sprinkling some of this seaweed seasoning on top of a medjool date. It actually did not turn out that bad, I thought it would have been gross, but surprisingly it was not. I will definitely cook with seaweed again, as I love it and find it to be very delicious in many dishes.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What did you learn about the climate impact of refrigerants? How do supermarkets contribute to this impact?
Shanti Cebrero 4/10/2025 6:11 PM
What I learned about the impact of refrigerants is that they can be very negatively impactful to global warming, (even worse than Co2) and have caused a hole in the ozone layer to form. Although, world leaders have recognized this damage and have banned certain CFCs and replaced them with natural refrigerants which has therein caused the hole to start “closing” up again. Supermarkets contribute to this impact by selling products like canned whipped cream, hairspray, spray paint, etc., which all contain(ed) CFCs.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?
Shanti Cebrero 4/09/2025 12:06 PM
Some single-use items I pretty regularly use are plastic bags, produce bags, plastic bags (although we re-use these), straws (sometimes), food package containers, etc. Some substitutes for these things could be reusable plastic bags, reusable mesh produce bags, metal straws, recycled food package containers, etc.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What are some attributes of an offset that you should consider before purchasing them?
Shanti Cebrero 4/09/2025 9:30 AM
Some attributes you should consider before purchasing an offset(s) is what its purpose is and whether you could truly use it to its full potential. You should also consider the long term effects of whatever offset you indulge in, whether those come back to you or to the environment. For example, if you buy a one way flight ticket to another country to save less emissions from the flight as well as with any used up energy it takes for anything in between, but then only realize that you are unconditionally stranded there because you don’t have a way back home simply for trying to be a good human and help out the environment. Another attribute that should definitely be considered before the purchasing of a carbon offset is how much energy/emissions were used up to make the very tool you intend to use to reduce GHG emissions.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What did you learn about the need for family planning? How do the needs of different people in different places compare to each other?
Shanti Cebrero 4/08/2025 9:39 AM
I learned that the need for family planning is a critical factor for any girl/young woman in the world to have a safe and controlled pre/post-pregnancy. Family plans ensure that a woman is able to have access to the information and services needed to have a healthy and successful pregnancy, (or non-pregnancy, depending on what you want). As well as any support and supplements she may need provided. Family planning also decreases the affects of forced pregnancies, especially to young girls, and even sexual assault. The needs of different people in different places compare to each other in the basic universal need for support, knowledge, and services. No matter where a woman lives or what is available to her, each of them still have the basic need for everything a family plan provides (a family plan). All people need support from their partner/family/community, access to correct knowledge, and any services that they may need.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?
Shanti Cebrero 4/07/2025 9:50 AM
Some barriers that exist to women’s equal participation and/or representation in my community are unfair/unjust treatment, both virtually and financially. Women in my community may not be considered to be able to represent positions of power in my community, or may experience intense disrespect for it.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings

Cities and towns need to plan for climate change. How can your city or town make its climate action plans equitable and socially just?
Shanti Cebrero 4/04/2025 10:06 AM
My city can make climate action plans equitable and socially just by replacing places that are abandoned or generally unused with gardens and parks instead of people's homes. Or, instead of removing (kicking them out) people from their homes to replace them with "better" ones, to work with them and improve the neighborhoods that already exist there.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

Much of Indonesia's peatlands have been drained so they could be replaced with palm oil or pulp and paper plantations. How can you make choices that help to protect peatlands, even if you live far away from one?
Shanti Cebrero 4/03/2025 9:43 AM
Some choices/actions I can make to help protect peatlands that are being replaced with palm oil or pulp/paper plantations are to dry substituting any vegetable oils I may use with other less destructive ones (coconut oil). I can also try to be less wasteful with paper, and make sure to recycle as much as possible. Another thing I can do is to look at the ingredients/products I buy and see if they contain any palm oil, and if I can replace them with something else that doesn't contain (or at least has a smaller %) palm oil.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?
Shanti Cebrero 4/02/2025 9:58 AM
My diet is actually probably a lot healthier than your average, no-dietary restriction American’s, since I (along with my entire family) are complete vegetarians (vegans, GF) and do try to follow a more wholesome and plant-based diet. Although I do consume products such as tea, chocolate, oil, and use soaps, conditioners, shampoos, and other such toiletries. All of which does not benefit deforestation, and I could definitely help decrease my imprint by either cutting back or substituting some of these products with other more forest friendly ones.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

Had you heard of the term "silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?
Shanti Cebrero 4/01/2025 11:28 AM
No, I have never heard of the term "silvopasture" before now. Some of the biggest advantages of silvopasture are that the practice allows for 5-10 times more carbon to be saved than of a pasture the same size not using the system. It also allows more financial benefits for farmers, and generates an overall better health for the plants and animals. Silvopasture means that more trees are being planted (automatically helps with less carbon output), and allows animals to graze in grassy pastures/range-land rather than in conventional pastures.

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