JULIAN FIORE

Bruins For the Future

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
211 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

14

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

2.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

180

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning

JULIAN's actions

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 120 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Contact your Elected Officials

Abandoned 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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics; Reduced Plastics

I will avoid buying and using 5 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Choose Better Wood Products

Forest Protection

I will only purchase wood and paper products from ecologically certified sources like Forest Stewardship Council.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture, Regenerative Annual Cropping

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

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?
JULIAN FIORE 6/04/2025 11:24 AM
I regularly use single-use grocery bags and water bottles, and this definitely has generated a lot of waste on my end. For this EcoChallenge, I focused on completely eliminating this waste, and I was largely successful. It was an easy fix - I now use a Trader Joes insulated bag (which keeps the groceries cooler for the walk back home) every time I go shopping, and I make sure I am actively bringing my actual water bottle with me to campus every day. Oftentimes I would forget to bring it, and this would lead to me having to either use plastic cups or to purchase water bottles from the vending machines around campus so that I could stay hydrated. However, just by making an active effort every morning to check that my water bottle is in my backpack, I have reduced my plastic waste significantly.

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- Joel Charles 6/12/2025 1:54 AM
  I often use plastic bags and coffee cups when I’m in a rush. I’m trying to switch to reusable shopping bags and a travel mug to cut down on waste—it’s a small change but it adds up gunspin!
  
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- Eunice Juarez 6/05/2025 12:11 AM
  That’s great that you have been reducing plastic waste. It is honestly a big issue and it can be really hard reducing something we use daily. I bring a reusable water bottle with me at all times. It’s big so it lasts me the whole day and helps me keep plastic waste out of the way.
  
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- Gianna Marko 6/04/2025 7:07 PM
  Great job! Every little improvement is worth the effort.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place -- your deep knowledge of and appreciation for your surroundings?
JULIAN FIORE 6/04/2025 8:58 AM
For this ecochallenge, I committed to walking to Holmby Park once a week with my friend. The walk was definitely a lot of uphill and downhill, and was not easy when it was midday and really hot out. However, it was refreshing to be outside, socializing with my friend. When we would get to the park, we would study at the park. I found myself way more productive than when I would just stay in my apartment or in an artificially lit library to study, and also just appreciated the outdoors a lot more. As part of this challenge, I also committed to utilizing the bikes around LA more. I biked to Santa Monica a few times, changing my routes each time. I stopped by small, local grocery stores to get some snacks like fresh fruits for beach picnics, and explored areas of LA I have never gotten to see before. As a student from out-of-state, this was really fun and I can't believe it took three years for me to utilize this crazily affordable public amenity. Exploring my area and being outdoors has definitely helped me this quarter with managing my own stress, mental and physical health, and also has reminded me of the importance of caring and respecting the outside world.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

Do you have any personal connections to a farm or farmland? If so, what are they? What feelings are evoked for you when thinking about declining farmland?
JULIAN FIORE 6/04/2025 8:54 AM
I emailed - and followed up with - two of my state representatives with this ecochallenge. One was the state senator, Chris Murphy, and the other was my district representative, Jim Himes. I included in my emails details about regenerative agriculture and its benefits, as well as a description of the deforestation project that had happened by the local state park that I always used to visit as a kid and still now that I am older. I highlighted how sudden and unprecedented this deforestation project was and how my entire hometown was horrified to see that happen right before bird mating season - just to expand upon a town facility and add more parking. A beautiful scenic forest was stripped down in a matter of days, without warning. I got no response from either, and when I followed up, I still did not receive a response, at least not yet. This was definitely upsetting and I can only hope that they or someone on their team did see my emails. However, I have learned from this that you can't give up when things don't work when you try - so I signed up to receive emails about when these politicians are in my area in case I am able to go to a town/state meeting in person to voice my own perspective.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

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?
JULIAN FIORE 4/28/2025 11:35 PM
Regenerative agriculture is more than just clean air, clean water, and healthy food. For this ecochallenge, I challenged myself by reading an article a day on silvopasture agroforestry and regenerative agriculture. I mostly adhered to this challenge. As someone who never heard about agroforestry before this exploration, I believe silvopasture/agroforestry techniques truly should be a common practice. Silvopasture ensures significantly more financial stability for its farmers due to the wide variety of farm income sources. This benefits local farms and the local businesses that depend on them. It also creates a safe ecosystem environment where biodiversity and carbon sequestration can thrive. Changing to silvopasture techniques is a positive step towards equity and against climate change. Researching this method has really shown me that solutions to climate change do not need to be treated as luxury vs survival. There are many pathways to solving this climate crisis that do not involve serious sacrifice, and although silvopasture definitely has its flaws, if successfully implemented, it has been shown to be a positive force on the farm and the surrounding community.

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JULIAN FIORE 4/07/2025 10:52 AM
I am here because the reality of climate change has been largely ignored and dismissed by those in my life, especially my family members, and yet its effects worry me greatly for the future. I want to be a part of a movement that spreads awareness in a way that can convince those that dismiss the significance of climate change that it is a very real and present problem, without under-representing or over-representing the situation. I also want to help create a safer world for my own future, the future of my family, and the future of the overall world. Back in 9th grade biology, I was tasked with reading the book "Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet." I had never really heard about climate change before, and when I had heard about it, it was my family members saying things like "Don't worry about it- people will always find a way when it is needed." It wasn't until I read this book and was taken through the catastrophic potential at each degree of warming that I realized that now is the time when "finding a way" is needed. Yet at the same time, it feels like we have not found and committed to a route to fight back against climate change. It's very disheartening to see the societies around me refuse to take real action, and at many times it feels like fighting back is pointless. I am here so I can feel like it is not hopeless, and to be part of and observe a group that takes action and makes a difference.
The photo attached shows me playing outside, happily, as a young child. I included this photo because I am here so that this generation's children and grandchildren can have children of their own without fearing nature and without climate change making their lives much more dangerous and potentially agonizing. I want them to experience the outdoors how I did, and how generations have experienced it in the past.

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