Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge 2025

Katherine Smith

Asheville High School/SILSA

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
556 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

36

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

36

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

23

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

2.0

more servings

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

60

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

270

minutes

spent learning

Katherine's actions

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Learn about Biochar

Biochar Production

I will spend 30 minutes learning about biochar and how it can help sequester carbon.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Try Carpooling

Carpooling

I will commute by carpool 12 miles per day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

More Fruits And Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 1 cups of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Learn More about Silvopasture

Silvopasture

I will spend at least 10 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 20 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 50 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 20 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 30 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

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 1
DAILY 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

Can biochar provide additional benefits besides sequestering carbon?
Katherine Smith 4/22/2025 9:55 AM
Yes, biochar is known for improving the soil and its health which can increase crop yields, resources, and reducing chemical fertilizers.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come from eating/serving smaller portions?
Katherine Smith 4/21/2025 8:37 AM
Other benefits that could come from eating/serving smaller portions could be that we are saving lots of extra food and wasting less resources. This could also help with our portion control and benefit people who want to eat less and not just eat everything because it's on their plate.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What did you learn about the climate impact of refrigerants? How do supermarkets contribute to this impact?
Katherine Smith 4/10/2025 8:07 AM
I learned that some types of refrigerant use CFCs which are human made chemicals that produce the cold air coming out. These CFC’s significantly contribute to ozone depletion and are a large global warming factor. Supermarkets contribute to this impact because they use lots of refrigerants which use lots of these harmful CFCs.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What are some attributes of an offset that you should consider before purchasing them?
Katherine Smith 4/09/2025 7:17 AM
One attribute of an offset that you should consider before purchasing are the impacts that it will have. You want to ensure that the project or action you choose reduces a good amount of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. You should also consider the additional environmental impacts it has or climate issues it contributes to. A lot of offsets are also methods to reduce climate change and global warming so you should think about how to support those as well.
Another attribute to an offset that you should consider is the permanence. This means how long the project will store carbon and its long term storage. The more permanence an offset has the better, and although they will all be different and have different time frames you should still consider this.

Read More
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?
Katherine Smith 4/08/2025 7:41 AM
I learned that most of the population is not using or thinking about family planning. This has become a global issue that we need to start implementing. By not family planning many women are creating an unsafe, uneducated future for themselves in turn leading to many problems to themselves, the community, and the earth.
The needs of different people in different places differ a lot. People in wealthier, richer countries don't need many resources because they already have easy access to lots of them. People in places of lower income and poorer places will need more resources due to the lack of them and the fact that they don't have as easy access as others do. Although there's a large gap the amount of resources actually used differs too. People in wealthier countries seem to use more resources and have more emissions than people who really need the resources do.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?
Katherine Smith 4/07/2025 7:12 AM
Some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and representation are biases towards men and unequal rights. Things like limited access to education, and less opportunities can be big barriers.

Read More
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?
Katherine Smith 4/04/2025 7:51 AM
My city can make its climate action plans equitable and socially just by prioritizing everyone in the community, especially those who are most vulnerable to city impacts. We can also offer lots of opportunities for people to participate and involve themselves in everything.

Read More
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?
Katherine Smith 4/03/2025 7:47 AM
You can make choices to protect peatlands by reducing the amount of products you use that contain palm oil and instead using alternatives or switching products.

Read More
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?
Katherine Smith 4/02/2025 7:48 AM
My diet is currently impacting deforestation because I eat a lot of foods that contain palm oil and I'm not realizing it. To decrease my negative impact and increase my positive impact I can switch to alternatives of palm oil and eat foods that don't contain it.

Read More
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?
Katherine Smith 4/01/2025 7:58 AM
I have not heard of the term. I think the biggest advantage is the improved productivity and health of livestock and farmers. This is the biggest because both resources mentioned it and it seems to be the most important and useful advantage.

Read More