Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge 2025

Adelaide Ward

Asheville High School/SILSA

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
416 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

serving

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

3.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

3.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

372

minutes

spent learning

Adelaide's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Composting

Composting, Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost or worm bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Advocate for Forest Protection

Forest Protection

I will contact 3 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws, as well as the rights of local people to protect and restore the land in their communities.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Power

I will spend at least 25 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Learn More about Biomass

Biomass Power

I will spend at least 12 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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 1
DAILY 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 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 1
DAILY ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn About Aquaculture

Improved Aquaculture

Each day, I will spend at least 45 minutes learning about sustainable aquaculture.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity

Learn More about Micro Wind

Micro Wind Turbines

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 45 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 5 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn About Cattle Farming

Improved Cattle Feed; Improved Manure Management

I will spend 35 minutes researching cattle feed and manure management, or visiting a dairy farm to learn about their farming practices.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 45 minutes learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 45 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 20 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

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?

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?
Adelaide Ward 4/30/2025 1:26 PM
Family planning seems to be the most effective way of preventing all problems relating to overpopulation. The less children that are produced, the less people, the more resources we will have. Different places have different amounts of resources. People in poorer countries usually need more because they do not have all the necessities, causing them to have more children because they do not have accessible birth control.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? How do they compare to other energy sources?
Adelaide Ward 4/30/2025 10:52 AM
I learned that wave energy is non pollutant. It is super cool how it is a never ending source of energy. We need to put more time into developing tidal technology because it is an amazing and impressive way of generating energy.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Micro turbines can be placed on large structures to take advantage of stronger, steadier breezes. The Eiffel Tower now sports vertical axis turbines that produce electricity for use on site. Where could micro turbines potentially be installed in your city?
Adelaide Ward 4/29/2025 11:19 AM
Wind is created by the unequal heating of the Earth's surface by the sun. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical power that runs a generator to produce electricity. Reducing your energy consumption by making your home or business more energy efficient. In our city these could be placed on top of a lot of the hotels and apartments downtown.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

What was the most interesting thing to learn about sustainable aquaculture practices?
Adelaide Ward 4/29/2025 10:51 AM
It was strange how the fish can make us immune to probiotics because of the ones that are in them. They are in close proximity which causes them to get more diseases.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

How does eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat positively affect yourself, other people, and our planet?
Adelaide Ward 4/28/2025 1:44 PM
For my daily fruit intake, for a snack this evening I made a parfait with unsweetened Greek yogurt, honey, berries, mango, granola, and a tad bit of chocolate chips. Eating more fruits and veggies causes less methane emissions which is the number 1 greenhouse gas.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

What recipe did you make and how did it turn out? Will you cook with seaweed again?
Adelaide Ward 4/28/2025 10:56 AM
Today I just ate a seaweed pack which is a common snack I eat. A lot of the times though, my dad will cook a miso soup and add seaweed in with it which gives it a nice flavor.

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?
Adelaide Ward 4/28/2025 10:52 AM
This morning for breakfast I ate a small granola bar. Usually I have a big bowl of cereal but decided to eat more mindfully. Eating smaller portions help with the environment, but also is better for your health as humans.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?
Adelaide Ward 4/28/2025 10:44 AM
For this challenge I simply did not get too much food and ate all of it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Had you ever heard of biomass technology before you took this challenge? What did you learn that surprised you? Share your new knowledge with your friends!
Adelaide Ward 4/23/2025 11:09 AM
I have never heard of the term biomass even though I see biomass technology everywhere. I was surprised at how ecofriendly the whole thing was even though a lot of people dis it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Geothermal energy is reliable, abundant, and efficient. Project Drawdown states that public investment will play a crucial role in its expansion. In what ways (i.e. with money, time, advocacy) can you invest in geothermal energy?
Adelaide Ward 4/23/2025 10:41 AM
We can help invest in geothermal energy. This energy source is very sustainable and should be invested in by the government.

Read More