Lauren Edwards

Bruins For the Future

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
91 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed

Lauren's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Food Waste

Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during Drawdown Ecochallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation, and commit to reducing my food waste throughout the challenge.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Eat Mindfully

Reduced Food Waste

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Support Nutrient Management

Nutrient Management

I will research and support local farmers who have made the decision to not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Share Your Story

Share Your Aha Moment

Fill out this form and share your Ecochallenge story with us!

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Express My Support For Walkable Cities

Walkable Cities

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact neighborhood walkability and express my support for better walking infrastructure.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Visit the Coast

Macroalgae Protection and Restoration

I will visit a coastal or ocean site to experience the ecosystem and look for the presence of macroalgae/seaweed.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meals each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

What coastal site did you visit and what did you learn while there?
Lauren Edwards 5/25/2025 10:14 AM
I visited the Marina del Rey harbor as my coastal site. Although it's not a coast in the traditional sense, there was still a lot of aquatic life to observe. Two things stuck out to me while out in the harbor on a kayak. The first was the number of sea lions that were swimming around in the water, and the second was how visibly polluted the water was. There was the occasional piece of trash floating by, as well as murky areas that appeared to be a product of the boats that were moving in and out of the harbor. Along the harbor's edge, my attention was immediately drawn to the amount of trash floating in one area: a plastic chip bag, a straw, a plastic bottle cap. Among the debris, algae, and muscles lined the rocks, and I could make out a small sting ray swimming among the trash. I was taken aback by the amount of unique and beautiful sea life that was just surrounded by trash. I hope there is a way to clean up our harbor systems of these pollutants.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

How does environmental quality influence your sense of community?
Lauren Edwards 5/05/2025 10:25 AM
I feel that environmental quality positively influences my sense of community because it makes me feel that my community is working to improve the climate and that a greater change can be achieved. Through researching farms and produce that is grown organically in my area I have found a network of support, education, and resources concerning regenerative agriculture. This is a system I didn’t know existed until I looked into it further and it’s inspiring to see how many areas it covers. It included resources for farmers and ranchers as well as urban farmers and consumers in Nebraska. Now with this knowledge I can make the choice to shop at local organic grocers and restaurants as well as share this resource with others in my community, such as my friends and family, and keep updated on regenerative farming in the political space and current news.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?
Lauren Edwards 5/05/2025 10:06 AM
I noticed that while I was eating mindfully I could be more conscious of the food I was consuming and how full I felt. Usually when I eat a meal by myself I will watch a show or scroll through social media while eating. While I assumed that using screens while eating was probably not good for my health, I didn’t realize it includes all types of distractions. Even when I’m not watching a show I will often read at meals, which still counts as distracted eating. No distractions during meals has improved my attention span and made me feel overall more satisfied with my meal. However, I did not notice a considerable difference in the amount of food waste I produced. There are times I still feel too full to finish the food I have picked up and due to eating at the dining halls/ living on the hill saving leftovers is not an options so that food goes to waste. It may take more time of me trying this method to determine if it can truly make a difference on my food waste.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
Lauren Edwards 4/19/2025 8:57 PM
What makes my walks more enjoyable are being off a busy road, and walking on a sidewalk that has plants and trees next to it. For me, the most enjoyable area to walk in are residential neighborhoods that have sidewalks.
Walking in areas that are just concrete are noticeable less enjoyable and seemed to be hotter when the sun is out. Another thing I find difficult are areas that the concrete is uneven and partially tore-up, creating an accessibility issue. I also noted that some residential areas nearby did not have sidewalks, posing a safety threat as cars speed along the road pedestrians are walking on.

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- JEREMY SCHWARTZ 6/04/2025 3:53 PM
  Hello Lauren! As someone from Los Angeles, there are so many narrow streets with no sidewalks scattered across various parts of the city, especially in hilly and high-density residential areas. There are a couple of streets in my neighborhood like this, which can be scary to navigate through as a non-driver when two cars are going in opposite directions near you. Furthermore, the uneven concrete is also present all over LA, with lots of potholes and storm drains that all on the road, including drivers, have to navigate around.
  
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- CHARLOTTE GAYNER 4/29/2025 10:38 PM
  Hi Lauren! I would recommend walking in the neighborhoods behind campus. They are beautiful, have more trees than other areas of our campus, and you can get a great workout in with the hills!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?
Lauren Edwards 4/19/2025 8:45 PM
I think that people in richer countries are eating more meat because it’s more expensive to produce meat products and therefore more expensive to buy as consumers. In countries that aren’t as rich meat is not a necessary part of their diet and proper nutrition can still be obtained through other, cheaper, sources. Eat meat can have a negative impact on our earth especially for cardiovascular health overtime. Producing meat also a negative impact on our plant due to emissions created by animals and production. For me, I found both the health benefits and ecological benefits are worth making a conscious effort to have a meatless or vegan meal at least once a day. I realized that replacing just one meal a day was very attainable, even at school and look to continue making an effort to consume less meat.

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- Aanchal Kasargod 4/23/2025 9:52 AM
  Hi Lauren,
  Thanks for sharing this post! I definitely agree that the cost of meat plays a large role in the places that consume it more, and that meat-eating may actually have numerous negative health and environmental consequences long-term. While I do eat meat occasionally, I really like your approach of replacing one meal a day with something vegetarian. I will try to implement that going forward, and seek out ways to lessen my meat consumption, even if it means doing so one meal at a time.
  
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Lauren Edwards 4/07/2025 9:41 AM
I am interested in helping stop climate change because I am concerned for the quality of life on Earth for myself, my family, and future generations worldwide. It worries me that the world is undergoing almost irreversible changes, primarily caused by human activity. The potential loss of the world we are familiar with and the ability to live healthy, fulfilling lives while fully experiencing nature are at risk due to the climate crisis. I am interested in learning about tangible steps I can take to help stop and potentially reverse the effects of the climate crisis on our planet and its ecosystems, making the world a more hospitable place. Also, I would like to look for actions that I can apply to my home in the Midwest.
Growing up in the Midwest, my connection to agriculture and farming has made me aware of climate change's impact on the land and the region. Due to the changing climate and weather patterns, the Great Plains region has experienced more intense weather. This has resulted in extreme heat during the summer and more violent storms, including more damaging tornadoes. The increased weather intensity has had a negative impact on the crops and land in the region. This is one of the many factors that led me to want to be more involved in finding solutions to the climate crisis.

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