Nala Son

Bruins For the Future

"I aim to learn modes of sustainability that are accessible, engaging, and fun!"

POINTS TOTAL

15 TODAY
15 THIS WEEK
636 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

29

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1,060

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

1,640

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

750

minutes

spent learning

Nala's actions

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 29
DAILY ACTIONS

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 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn About Aquaculture

Improved Aquaculture

Each day, I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about sustainable aquaculture.

COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 20 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 54
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 19
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
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

What was the most interesting thing to learn about sustainable aquaculture practices?
Nala Son 6/02/2025 12:30 AM
If I could eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be fish. It’s a staple in my culture: flavorful, comforting, and deeply tied to my identity. This personal connection made me curious about sustainable aquaculture, especially as I try to be more mindful of how my food choices impact the planet. I’ve long known how damaging red meat production is to the environment, but I hadn’t given much thought to seafood. I assumed it was automatically a more sustainable option.
Through the EcoChallenge Nexus platform, I began learning that sustainability in seafood is more complex than I thought. One of the first things that stood out to me was the role of seaweed in sustainable aquaculture. Often called a “miracle plant,” seaweed doesn’t require land, freshwater, or fertilizer to grow. It actually improves marine ecosystems by absorbing carbon dioxide and excess nutrients, helping reduce ocean acidification and dead zones. It’s fast-growing, highly nutritious, and can be used in a wide variety of ways. Learning about seaweed helped shift my understanding of sustainability, not just about what we consume, but how it’s grown and the surrounding environmental impact. Building on this, the most interesting thing I learned was about China’s integrated aquaculture and hydroponic farming systems. These systems recycle water from fish tanks into hydroponic beds, where crops are grown without soil. Beneficial bacteria help break down fish waste into nutrients that the plants can use. In turn, the plants filter and clean the water before it’s returned to the fish tanks. This creates a closed-loop cycle that reduces waste, conserves water, and allows for the production of both fish and vegetables in a much more environmentally friendly way.

This learning experience made me realize that aquaculture is not just about farming fish. It’s also about reimagining our food systems, making them more regenerative, and aligning them with both human and environmental health. I now understand that continuing to enjoy fish as part of my diet is possible, but it depends on choosing sources that prioritize sustainability, balance, and innovation.

Youtube: What China's Hydroponic Farming Boom Means for the Future of Food

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- CHARLOTTE GAYNER 6/02/2025 10:02 AM
  Hi Nala, this is amazing! I love the detail you described in this post. I have started cooking with seaweed because it is inexpensive, yummy, and helps me feel better about my food practices. A large part of my family's culture is also around food, but mostly red meat. For health purposes, we have reduced our red meat consumption, but I do not think my family will ever remove it from their diet.
  I have fond memories of having a hydroponic tank in my fourth grade classroom, where we grew herbs above our fish tank. At the end of the year, my teacher cooked the class a meal with those herbs! It was a great way to get exposure to the topic at a young age.
  
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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?
Nala Son 6/02/2025 12:03 AM
Before this challenge, meals were just another task to multitask. I’d eat while scrolling through my phone, watching a show, or catching up on work, checking out completely while my food got cold or my bites were spaced so far apart that I barely felt like I was eating. It didn’t feel nourishing. It felt like I was just going through the motions. Committing to eating one meal a day without any distractions was surprisingly awkward at first. Especially when eating alone in public, I didn’t know where to look or what to do with myself. I missed the comfort of my screen or earbuds, something to tune out the world. But as I stuck with it, I started to enjoy those quiet moments. I noticed the textures, flavors, and smells of my food, the people around me, the sounds of everyday life. I began feeling more present, not just in the act of eating but in the world around me. Over time, that mindfulness extended beyond just one meal a day. My screen time dropped significantly at the start of the challenge down to 3 hours a day at one point, which was a 24% decrease from the week before. Now, I average around 5 hours, which is still a major improvement from where I started. But more than the numbers, what’s changed is my relationship with eating and presence. Meals feel like small moments of peace in my day: breaks that ground me instead of rush me forward. When I’m with friends now, I don’t check my phone during meals at all unless it’s an emergency. That uninterrupted time feels like such a gift. I listen more deeply, laugh more genuinely, and feel more connected. Sharing food has always been communal, but now it feels intentional too. Mindful eating has helped me slow down, appreciate the nourishment I receive, and reconnect with my senses and my surroundings. It’s something I’ll carry with me long after this challenge ends.

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- Tianai Zhang 6/02/2025 8:22 AM
  Hi Nala, I feel very much the same way as you. Before practicing mindful eating, I tended to spend more time watching videos on my phone, texting, or scrolling on social media, which was not only bad for digestion but also extended my meal time that I could have spent on other things. Practicing mindful eating made me appreciate and enjoying more on the food in front of me, which sometimes gave me a better mood than a meal with phones that would've made my eyes sore.
  
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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?
Nala Son 6/01/2025 11:49 PM
I didn’t think much of plate size before this challenge, but intentionally using smaller dishes each day has helped me reset my relationship with food in subtle but meaningful ways. It’s made me more mindful of how much I’m putting on my plate; not just out of habit or emotion, but based on what I realistically feel like eating in that moment. Instead of overloading my plate and feeling pressured to finish it, I serve myself a modest portion, check in with how I feel, and add more if needed. More often than not, I’ve realized that I don’t need as much as I thought. This simple habit has helped me avoid both overeating and food waste. Beyond the environmental benefits like reducing food waste and the energy, water, and emissions tied to producing uneaten food, there are real personal and social gains too. Smaller portions support better digestion and reduce the discomfort of overeating. For someone on a limited food budget like me, it also means I stretch my groceries further, creating more balanced meals over the week. Eating more slowly and intentionally has even made meals more enjoyablel; I feel more satisfied and less rushed. According to the EcoChallenge and Drawdown research, food waste is one of the top contributors to global emissions. Much of that waste happens not in supply chains, but in our homes. Being more intentional with portions helps shift that. And perhaps even more importantly, it’s a daily act of gratitude and respect for the food, the labor behind it, and the resources it took to bring it to my plate.

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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?
Nala Son 6/01/2025 11:27 PM
As a college student who relies on EBT for groceries, meat often feels like a luxury. When I do buy it, I have to plan carefully: get everything in one trip, prep and cook the same day, and store it properly because time, money, and energy are all limited resources for me. These constraints naturally pushed me to explore more plant-based meals, and this challenge gave me the motivation to make it intentional. Eating at least one meatless or vegan meal a day has not only been doable, it’s actually been rewarding. Through this shift, I’ve discovered recipes that are cheaper, quicker, and easier on my body. I’ve experienced less bloating and more consistent energy, and I’ve been able to stretch my EBT benefits further with plant-based staples like beans, tofu, lentils, and vegetables. I didn’t expect this small change to make such a noticeable difference, but it has.
Globally, people in wealthier countries tend to eat more meat because of industrial-scale agriculture, higher income levels, and increased access to heavily marketed, cheap meat products. Meat consumption is often tied to affluence and convenience but this level of consumption comes with major consequences. The Drawdown EcoChallenge points out that large-scale meat production is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water use. It’s also incredibly resource-intensive compared to plant-based agriculture.

On a personal level, high meat consumption (especially red and processed meats) can increase risks of heart disease, cancer, and other health issues. On a global scale, it contributes to climate change and environmental degradation, which disproportionately affect people in lower-income and climate-vulnerable communities. Choosing to go meatless even once a day might feel small, but it’s a meaningful step toward a more sustainable and equitable world. This challenge has helped me see that sustainable eating doesn’t have to be expensive or inaccessible; it can actually be a way to reclaim autonomy over my health, my budget, and my impact on the planet. Here are some highlights from my meatless dishes!
Salad:

Potato + Carrot Curry:

Apple + Onion + Cheese Tart

Strawberry Oatmeal:

Plant-Based Swedish "Meatballs" from IKEA:

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- Tianai Zhang 6/02/2025 8:32 AM
  Hi Nala, I really enjoyed the photos of your vegan meals, they look delicious! I also highly empathize with your idea that affluence and convenience are highly tied to this meat culture. I also wrote about this in my RP1, where I mentioned how my parents, who are considered affluent middle class back home, have a tendency to waste food by throwing it out just because they don't taste as fresh; they also like to order a ton, which they apparently won't be able to finish on occassions like a communal meal with friends. I always hated the food waste, and that's why I sometimes refuse to go out and eat with them😂. I figured it must've also been related to the extremely convenient (probably the most convenient in the world) and low-cost take-out order system in China, where you get everything-- from groceries to daily necessities, from luxurious sushis to cheap hotpots, in a matter of minutes. This is definitely good for city residents who are busy all the time and who do not have time to cook, but it also increases the carbon emissions from the delivery vehicles and the food people waste from easy over-ordering.
  
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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?
Nala Son 6/01/2025 10:56 PM
Over the course of this challenge, I’ve committed to taking a daily walk of at least 20 minutes and, surprisingly, it’s become something I genuinely look forward to. I’ve started to notice how much my environment shapes how enjoyable (or stressful) a walk can be. For example, walking from my apartment in Westwood to class is often a frustrating experience. The cracked, jagged sidewalks, constant construction, steep hills, and narrow streets crowded with cars, scooters, and cranes make me feel like I have to be on constant alert just to get to campus safely. It’s not a walk; it’s a full-body obstacle course.
But once I make it out of the residential zone and into UCLA’s campus or the Westwood Village area, everything shifts. The sidewalks are more spacious, the traffic less overwhelming, and the greenery thoughtfully incorporated into the landscape helps me breathe a little easier. I especially appreciate the multi-directional crosswalks and the newly installed Broxton Plaza, where a once-busy street has been transformed into a pedestrian-friendly courtyard. It’s now a hub for community, with tables, games, and even events like the farmer’s market; it feels like an invitation to slow down and connect.

From this, I’ve realized that truly walkable cities require intentional investment in accessible infrastructure: sidewalks that are wide, smooth, and safe; streets that prioritize people over vehicles; and designs that embrace natural elements rather than push them out. My favorite places to walk, which has so far been the UCLA Botanical and Sculpture Gardens and Broxton Plaza, remind me how peaceful and grounding a walk can be when it’s supported by thoughtful urban design. Walking shouldn’t feel like a battle, it should feel like an opportunity to connect with our surroundings and ourselves.

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Nala Son 4/07/2025 12:32 AM
What do we think could be the solution to L.A.'s unbelievable traffic, cramped parking lots, and unsteady streets? Should we create more space for vehicles on roads and in parking lots? Or would it require a complete revamp of our city's infrastructure?
While studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, I was amazed to learn that the Danish Parliament's solution to their history of traffic congestion was to implement more sidewalks and bike lanes, and to reduce vehicle accessibility in one of their busiest cities. Over time, this transformed both their culture and transportation, establishing bikes and public transit as the main modes of transport today. I had never seen more bikes than vehicles on the road before. Not only did it make the city feel breathable to stroll through, but the locals also seemed to carry themselves with a much more relaxed and content demeanor as they went about their days.

In addition to biking, there were also trampolines built into sidewalks, free access to gardens and museums, daily fresh produce stands, public markets, and so much more. Throughout all these sustainability projects, I felt a resonating message that reminded people to slow down and take time out of their days to enjoy themselves along their journeys. I really admired how fun and engaging these projects were, and how well they encouraged people to spend time outdoors.

The project that encompasses this mission most is CopenHill, a clean energy power plant that transforms waste into electricity and heat. While our initial reaction may be to turn our noses away from the smell of incinerated trash, CopenHill actually invites community engagement. From offering a rock climbing wall up the power plant to skiing down its slope, CopenHill effectively encourages people to learn more about and enjoy sustainability.

While these projects are successful in Denmark, I realized that their solutions could not easily be copied and pasted into America. To me, the efficacy of Denmark's sustainability efforts is cultivated through culture and community. Therefore, sustainability needs to resonate with and encourage communities to implement alternatives that still bring joy and satisfaction while being eco-friendly. By joining this EcoChallenge project, I hope to learn how sustainability resonates with and interacts within our communities, and to propose fun, eco-friendly approaches that inspire long-lasting initiatives.

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- Sydney Johnson 5/02/2025 9:53 PM
  Hi Nala, I really enjoyed reading your story of how Denmark has transformed their infrastructure and their culture as a result! I’ve never been to Denmark but it's definitely moving up in the list after hearing all of these wonderful stories of walkability, bikeability, and overall accessibility. I’m sure the reduction in vehicle accessibility might have been frustrating at first, but I think people are much quicker to adapt than we may predict. I know if it became increasingly difficult to own a car in a busy, bustling city, I would feel more inclined to find another mode of transportation such as biking, trains, or walking. I really liked what you mentioned about remembering to slow down and enjoy the journey of wherever you’re headed. I feel like we generally hear about “enjoying the journey” in the long term sense with regards to education or career goals, but I’d definitely like to extend that to my walks and rides to the grocery store, the gym, to class, or work.
  
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