Ecochallenge.org

The People's Ecochallenge 2022

October 5 - October 26, 2022

Caroline Sandbo

Seattle Children's - Green Team

"To safeguard the health of people and the planet, for everyone."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,130 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

14

hours

volunteered
UP TO

55

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

300

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1,520

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

770

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

40

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

1.0

pound

waste avoided
UP TO

1.0

water footprint

calculated

Caroline's actions

Regenerating Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 15 minute(s) per day typically spent inside and often with electronics with quality time outside walking, exercising, enjoying the sunrise/sunset, gardening, journaling, observing nature, or practicing gratitude for nature.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Nourishing Food

Eat Plant-Based Meals

I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 1 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Regenerating Nature

Explore My Area

Each day, I will spend 15 minutes exploring a new area around my neighborhood, which might include a park, water body, trail, etc.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Regenerating Nature

Calculate My Water Footprint

I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Regenerating Nature

Volunteer in My Community

I will volunteer 12 hour(s) for a nature-based event or another opportunity to support my community.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

Know My Waste & Recycling Services

I will spend 30 minutes finding out how to recycle in my region, where landfills and/or waste sites are situated in my region, and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

What is Sustainable Fashion?

I will spend 60 minutes learning about sustainable fashion and adopt at least one sustainable fashion practice.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

Research Impact Investing

I will spend 40 minutes learning about impact investing and/or my current investment portfolio to determine if they align with my values.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

Repair a Broken Item

I will repair at least one item that is broken, but is repairable. This might be items like garden tools, sewing machine, small appliances, electronics, clothing, and more.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

Calculate My Carbon Footprint

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cultivating Communities

Donate Blood

I will donate blood in my community to make sure there are adequate supplies for routine medical services and emergencies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cultivating Communities

Join A Neighborhood Group

I will join my neighborhood association or another local group of decision makers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cultivating Communities

Collect Litter on a Plog / Plalk

Each day, I will go on a plog or plalk for minute(s) and collect items of litter.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Cultivating Communities

Practice a Sharing Economy

Each day, I will engage in a sharing economy among my family, friends, and neighbors.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Enacting Equity

Learn About Accessible & Equitable Voter Registration

I will spend 30 minutes learning about voter access and equity. And if applicable, I will register to vote, ask someone I trust to help me register, or help others register.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Research Indigenous & First Nations Communities

I will spend 30 learning about the past and present indigenous or first nation communities in my regions impacted by colonization, and what I can do to be supportive.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Learn About Trans, Femme, and Nonbinary Experiences

I will spend 30 minutes learning about the experiences of trans, femme, and/or nonbinary people.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Watch a Documentary about Racial Injustice

I will watch 1 documentaries about racism and racial injustice.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Shop at BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, & Women-Led Businesses!

I will shop at a small business owned or staffed by underrepresented members of my community.

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?

Caroline Sandbo 10/26/2022 9:04 PM

I'm so glad I participated in the ecochallenge this year! I will absolutely do it again. I appreciate the resources that the ecochallenge team has available in the action tabs; I feel like I learned the most when I used those. Here's to carrying these habits with me through the year!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Regenerating Nature Volunteer in My Community

What event did you volunteer for and what was the experience like for you?

Caroline Sandbo 10/26/2022 9:01 PM

I volunteer weekly at a young adult shelter. Often the tasks that I do for the shelter can feel mundane, but they fit into the larger picture of creating a more equitable environment for the unhoused people in my community. We work to meet basic needs like food and a safe place to sleep so that our guests can have capacity to advocate for themselves.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption What is Sustainable Fashion?

How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?

Caroline Sandbo 10/26/2022 5:49 PM

I think I do a good job already of expressing myself with clothes that I thrift, trade, and repair to keep in good condition. I put effort into cycling my clothes in and out of the secondhand market. I also like to make sure that I can use clothes for a long time. To look for more inspiration to disengage further from fast fashion, I read the 2022 Fashion Transparency Index, which I highly recommend! I decided to take the principles used to create the index and apply them to my thrifting habits, so I researched the business practices of the thrift stores I like to see how they are following through on their commitments to sustainability and community investment.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Enacting Equity Watch a Documentary about Racial Injustice

What did you learn about racial injustice in the documentary(ies) you watched? How does what you learned connect to your understanding of sustainability?

Caroline Sandbo 10/25/2022 7:01 PM

I learned about the history of racially-driven violence in the war on drugs. I thought this would be a valuable topic for me to learn about because I have been hearing more lately about structural racism and police violence when it comes to enforcing substance laws, and I wanted to know more about the precedence for that kind of violence. This connects to sustainability because substance laws and environmental laws are both often designed in a way that shifts the burden of consequences from people with power and privilege to marginalized people. For example, people of color are more likely to be jailed for drug possession and communities of color are less likely to be protected by regulations that reduce pollution.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption Research Impact Investing

After learning more about investing, how can you increase positive impacts and decrease negative impacts?

Caroline Sandbo 10/24/2022 4:58 PM

I invest through an app which offers a portfolio for people interested in impact investing, so I decided to switch to that after researching the merits and motivations behind impact investing. I think I can create even more positive impact by making time to research specific companies that I want to invest in so that I have even more control over the standards that my investing is held to.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption Repair a Broken Item

What did you fix and how did it go? Share a few pics if you can!

Caroline Sandbo 10/17/2022 4:11 PM

Earlier this month I made time to repair my bag of clothing that has small flaws and rips. It went well! It was a fun activity and I found it gratifying to be able to add those clothes back to my wardrobe once they were repaired.
It went better than the batch of clothes last month that I tried to dye dark blue to cover up stains. The dye did not distribute evenly, so many pieces ended up splotchy. It was a good experiment and now I will have to find some new way to upcycle them.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Regenerating Nature Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place? Was there a new place in your region that was exciting to learn about and visit?

Caroline Sandbo 10/14/2022 11:16 AM

Spending more time outdoors can get you more connected with your neighbors and the daily routines in your neighborhood! Walking/rolling/moving around can also help you think more spatially about your neighborhood and fill details into your mental map. The more you explore, the more connection you will feel.
Yesterday I visited a new neighborhood in my district. I spent a while walking around and then visited the library. The library was an especially exciting destination because it had lots of community posters. It's nice to be reminded that people in my neighborhood are connecting outside of work and school.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Regenerating Nature Calculate My Water Footprint

What is one way you will reduce your water use? What is a practice you already have that helps you reduce your water use?

Caroline Sandbo 10/14/2022 11:12 AM

I think my next step to reduce water use is to eat meat few times per week! Right now my average is in the range of 4-5 times per week, but knowing that each serving produces so much water means I can cut down further. A practice that I already have is thrifting most of my clothes. I know this helps reduce water waste, especially for items like denim that are made from cotton.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Cultivating Communities Donate Blood

Why do you donate blood?

Caroline Sandbo 10/14/2022 11:09 AM

I chose to donate blood as part of the challenge because I see ads pleading for donors often and I know my area is low on blood supply. This was my first time donating, and it was easier than I thought!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Cultivating Communities Join A Neighborhood Group

How can your community support inclusive decision making?

Caroline Sandbo 10/06/2022 2:05 PM

Our communities can support inclusivity and compassion in decision-making by voting and advocacy within our neighborhoods more accessible and appealing. Decision-making efforts should be free, public, well-advertised, welcoming, come in many formats, and happen over long enough periods of time that people who are busy or face many barriers can become invovled.

Read More