"“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
— Jane Goodall"
POINTS TOTAL
0
TODAY
0
THIS WEEK
1,149
TOTAL
participant impact
UP TO
32
more servings
of fruits and vegetables
UP TO
561
minutes
spent exercising
UP TO
6.0
educational videos
watched
UP TO
120
minutes
spent outdoors
UP TO
191
minutes
spent learning
Kathleen's actions
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks
Cook With Seaweed
Seaweed Farming
I will use seaweed in a new recipe.
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 24
DAILY ACTIONS
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates
Reduced Food Waste
I will spend at least 5 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.
I will spend at least 10 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Health and Education
Watch Drawdown's Climate Solutions 101 Series
Family Planning and Education
I will watch Drawdown’s Climate Solutions 101 and share what I learned with others.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Industry
Learn about Carbon Offsets
I will spend 15 minutes learning about carbon offsets, and why they are a necessary solution in combating a climate crisis.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Transportation
Go for a Daily Walk
Walkable Cities
I will take a walk for 10 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.
COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS
Land Sinks
Explore My Area
Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 30 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Transportation
Explore Other Transportation Solutions
All Transportation Solutions
I will spend at least 15 minutes researching other Drawdown Transportation Solutions.
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?
I wanted to thank everyone for participating in this Drawdown Ecochallenge. You can still log accomplishments for February. Hopefully you learned some new things and gained some climate-friendly habits.
Given that the transportation sector produces 14% of GHG emissions worldwide, we need to work on decarbonizing transportation. Interestingly, our group has been discussing EVs. They are hands-down better than internal combustion engine cars. However, we need to remember that there are and should be a suite of other transportation options available to people that can reduce emissions, especially public transit, walking, and biking.
Food, Agriculture, and Land UseLearn More about Regenerative Agriculture
Clean air, clean water and healthy food are just three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. What are some other reasons? How could/does regenerative agriculture positively impact you and your community?
A side benefit from regenerative farming, other than it being a key way to return carbon to the soil, is that it increases biodiversity. Learning about regenerative agriculture led me to research whether it was happening in the Durham Region. I was pleased to read about Heartwood Farm and Cidery and the efforts they've made to work with nature rather than to control the land (as is done in industrial-type farming). I hope to check out their farm sometime this summer!
My biggest takeaway from Drawdown's Climate Solutions 101 videos is that solving climate change is one of the best ways to improve the world. Why wouldn't we want to be healthier & happier, and improve the lives of everyone around the world?!
I am currently working on my One-Time challenge of watching Drawdown’s Climate Solutions 101 series. It consists of six 15-minute videos explaining the basics of climate change, how we can stop it, how we can reduce the sources that are contributing to climate change, and so on. I would recommend watching them. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the direction our world is going (i.e., not acting on climate change), but as the videos point out: solutions are within our grasp and what we have right now is an opportunity to shape what kind of future that we (and future generations) will live in.
Reading about best-before dates helped validate what I understood. A LOT of people (and food banks) throw out or won't accept food that is past the "Best Before" date printed on the food item, even though that date is only a suggested date to consume by to ensure the peak freshness of the food. A "Best Before" date is not an expiry date. Some companies have stopped including Best Before dates to reduce food wastage. I think this should be widespread.
I made Miso Soup today, made with strips from Nori wraps. It was a really simple recipe that I'll definitely make again. It was cool to read about the health and climate benefits of kelp/seaweed. Healthwise, it was interesting to read that seaweed is a good source of vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fats, and research is indicating it may help balance sugar levels and lower blood pressure/improve heart health. Because it grows so quickly it is a sustainable source of food that also helps mitigate the impacts of climate change by storing carbon (kelp forests around the world can store between 60 and 270 megatons of carbon per year) and buffering shorelines from ocean erosion. This plant is a win for our health and our planet!
For today's walk, I walked to our local grocery store. I feel fortunate that much of what I need is withing walking distance. But the way our communities are built (housing separate from businesses) doesn't make it easy for people to get to things without driving. If we could plan our communities better, incorporating housing of all types with businesses, we could reduce our need to drive and reduce emissions.
so great to eat less meat. I've been trying to eliminate beef and pork, and feel better about eating chicken, fish and more veggies and beans. I'm constantly reminding myself to open a can of chickpeas, great in salads or stirred in with refried rice.
kaireen adamson 2/07/2024 2:12 PMso great to eat less meat. I've been trying to eliminate beef and pork, and feel better about eating chicken, fish and more veggies and beans. I'm constantly reminding myself to open a can of chickpeas, great in salads or stirred in with refried rice.