Mavica Mendez(902)

YCP Fall 2024

"My mission is to take the little steps forward to make our economy a better place each day. Only one person can do so much, but I hope that with everyone's help we can slowly make a change."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
748 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

sustainable seafood meal

consumed
UP TO

13

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

145

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

2.0

educational videos

watched
UP TO

32

conversations

with people
UP TO

2.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

18

stories

shared
UP TO

410

minutes

spent learning

Mavica's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn About Aquaculture

Improved Aquaculture

Each day, I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about sustainable aquaculture.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

Ocean Power

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

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

Share Your Story

Share Your Aha Moment

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Learn More about Biomass

Biomass Power

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Electricity

Spread the Word about Energy Alternatives

All Electricity Solutions

I will research and tell 2 people each day about the benefits of alternative energy sources like wind turbines, solar energy, geothermal energy, and methane digesters.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY 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 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Stay on the Ground

Telepresence, High-Speed Rail

Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Cook With Sustainable Seafood

Improved Fisheries

Using the Seafood Watch guide, I will feature a sustainable seafood ingredient in a new recipe.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Share to Social Media: Food, Agriculture, Land Use

Food, Agriculture, & Land Use

Through social media (LinkedIn or Instagram), I will share what I've learned about Food, Agriculture, & Land Use and tag Ecochallenge.org.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Talk With a Local Grocer

Improved Fisheries

I will ask my local seafood market or grocery store if their seafood is sustainable and share the Seafood Watch resources so they can stock sustainable options.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Advocate For Greener Vehicles

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars, Efficient Trucks

I will assess the vehicles used by my company or college and advocate for a purchasing policy focused on electric and fuel-efficient vehicles.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Zero-Waste Cooking

Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 1 meals with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

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
Share Your Story Share Your Aha Moment

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQKnH7V660-tDnXQQko2liN5VVgj45KQx-VxuDP5PVyKHG7w/viewform

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/27/2024 2:06 PM

I enjoyed participating in this challenge the last couple of weeks. I feel like I learned a lot about our economy and different methods to keep the economy better. I feel like I also did a lot of self-reflection and changed some things about my day-to-day that I don't think I ever would have before.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Stay on the Ground

What was your process like for restructuring your trip? How can you avoid more air travel in the future?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/27/2024 2:04 PM

During the last couple weeks, I did not do as much driving around as I usually do. I tried to limit myself to more walking, around campus, and only really drove when I had to. Air travel I do not do very often as is, so limiting that would just be staying more local and only saving air travel for special trips.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Advocate For Greener Vehicles

How does advocating for green vehicles in your community connect to your values? How might you be able to get others involved in advocating for the shift to fuel-efficient vehicles?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/27/2024 2:02 PM

I feel like advocating for this will help save a lot of people's lives and money. I found out that these vehicles can be safer and more cost efficient. I feel like I could get other people to advocate for this change by maybe putting them in a "green vehicle" to show them firsthand the benefits.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Reducing (or eliminating) exhaust emissions and improving public health are two benefits of green vehicles. What other motivators inspire you to consider switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/27/2024 1:59 PM

I learned that more fuel-efficient vehicles can not only be better for health benefits (for the environment) but also for the people themselves as it is as safe, if not safer. It also, in the long run, can be cheaper.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education Watch Drawdown's Climate Solutions 101 Series

What was an inspiring thing you learned in Drawdown's Climate Solutions 101 Series?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/27/2024 1:56 PM

I learned about different ways we can provide a solution, and some of them were self-explanatory, but I also learned a lot of other ways we can provide a solution that I did not know about or think of.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/27/2024 1:55 PM

Some things that I see most common are actually women representation in the sport industry. As a woman in sport, sometimes I feel like I get talked down to like I don't know what I am doing even though I excel at what I do. I feel like people see women as not as strong, capable, or reliable as men.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Cook With Sustainable Seafood

What did you cook and how did it turn out? Can you share a recipe on the feed for others to try?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/27/2024 1:52 PM

I made a seafood pasta. I used variety of different seafood such as shrimp, scallops, and clams. I did not share it with the feed (sorry guys) because I did not actually use a recipe since I cooked with my grandmother.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Talk With a Local Grocer

What did you learn from your local grocer and what did you share with them?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/22/2024 7:11 AM

I talked to two people, mainly because the first person did not know. When talking to them I learned that it is hard to get seafood in land as much as we are keeping it super fresh. They told me it was still fresh and clean, they kinda have to so I buy it, but they did say that sometimes you can tell which brand is fresher than others.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? How do they compare to other energy sources?

Mavica Mendez(902) 10/22/2024 7:09 AM

I learned that wave and tidal energy are more efficient and better for the economy. Before reading about it I heard the term, but I did not think much of it. I learned that wave energy is produced when the waves swell, and it causes a wind that blows over them. I also learned that the tides are related to the sun-earth-moon rotation which causes the tides to move and the waves to be created. Compared to other energy sources these are cleaner for the economy.

Read More
Mavica Mendez(902) 10/20/2024 1:50 PM

Through this challenge I have been keeping track of the food I have wasted, and/or, threw away. In this past week I have gathered enough information to see a decrease in the amount of food I waste. This week I have reduced my number by close to a half and will continue to reduce waste each week to see where I end up at the end of this challenge.

Read More