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October 5 - October 26, 2022
Elizabeth Keller's avatar

Elizabeth Keller

NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region

"To engage with the environment and community and better establish balance."

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,256 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    212
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    205
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    590
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    900
    minutes
    not spent in front of a screen
  • UP TO
    4.2
    pounds
    food waste prevented
  • UP TO
    3.0
    pounds
    waste avoided
  • UP TO
    8.9
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    1.0
    water footprint
    calculated

Elizabeth's actions

Balancing Consumption

What is Sustainable Fashion?

I will spend 15 minutes learning about sustainable fashion and adopt at least one sustainable fashion practice.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nourishing Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 5 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 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Enacting Equity

Research Indigenous & First Nations Communities

I will spend 15 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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

Develop a Work-Life Balance

During the work day, I will schedule time for breaks to practice work-life balance.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Balancing Consumption

Less Screen Time

I will replace 15 minute(s) of screen time each day with other activities.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Balancing Consumption

Know My Waste & Recycling Services

I will spend 10 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

Track My Purchases

I will maintain a record of all my purchases and identify my spending habits.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Nourishing Food

Forest-Friendly Foods

I will spend 15 minutes learning about palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and other products known to contribute to deforestation, and replace or remove them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nourishing Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste, excess carbon and save money by planning my daily and weekly menus so that I only purchase the ingredients needed.

COMPLETED 12
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
    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?

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/26/2022 12:18 PM
    We have a lot of good habits for water conservation, but there is definitely room for improvement. One area that shot up our water footprint was eating meat very regularly. I will try to eat less meat, including meatless meals and incorporating more vegetables and smaller portions of meat each meal.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nourishing Food Forest-Friendly Foods
    How did you figure out ways to remove foods that are not forest-friendly?

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/26/2022 12:09 PM
    I was surprised to learn the sheer number of products that contain palm oil (one article said it’s in 50% of consumer products!) beyond just foods. Reading ingredient labels will definitely be a first step in awareness of which products may have palm oil. Nutella is one product I know definitely does contain palm oil, which I have seen alternatives that do not contain palm oil. I researched and found that the palm oil in Nutella is "100% RSPO certified sustainable palm oil and committed to no deforestation." Other larger steps for environmental impact overall are trying to eat less meat and consume more locally-sourced products.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Balancing Consumption Repair a Broken Item
    What did you fix and how did it go? Share a few pics if you can!

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/25/2022 9:54 AM
    This challenge prompted me to repair several pieces of clothing that have been sitting in a pile for months (years?) because I knew if I got to it, I could fix them! It feels good to repair things and expand our wardrobes, while simultaneously reducing clutter! I was also able to use fabric saved (rather than thrown out) from worn clothes to repair these ones; I'm always glad when my packrat tendencies and refusal to throw things out proved useful!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Balancing Consumption Less Screen Time
    What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time inside and on screens?

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/14/2022 10:28 AM
    Being constantly on screens can diminish our connection to the physical world and mindful interaction with it. I've also ben working to find activities other than screens due to the impacts on health (eyes, brain, etc.). This task has been helping me get back to reading for fun!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Balancing Consumption Develop a Work-Life Balance
    How does practicing a work-life balance create a more sustainable life for you? How might it contribute to sustainability more broadly?

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/12/2022 12:36 PM
    Having balance and taking breaks is a good reminder through the day and week that there's more to life than work. Some days are busy and non-stop, which can be overwhelming. Taking regular breaks, especially coordinating those with breaks from screen time and/or time outside can be refreshing and restorative.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nourishing Food Weekly Meal Planning
    An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four in the US spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money?

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/11/2022 11:48 AM
    This level of food waste doesn't surprise me since I've seen statistics like this reported before. Accumulated over a year, it is a meaningful amount of money that could go a long way in other areas. This could be part of a small vacation, buying some special foods (rather than including mostly only the cheapest foods in the budget), or buying a gift for myself as a reward for good food planning and management!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nourishing Food Weekly Meal Planning
    An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four in the US spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money?

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/11/2022 11:48 AM
    This level of food waste doesn't surprise me since I've seen statistics like this reported before. Accumulated over a year, it is a meaningful amount of money that could go a long way in other areas. This could be part of a small vacation, buying some special foods (rather than including mostly only the cheapest foods in the budget), or buying a gift for myself as a reward for good food planning and management!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Regenerating Nature Spend Time Outside
    What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time inside and on screens?

    Elizabeth Keller's avatar
    Elizabeth Keller 10/06/2022 1:02 PM
    When we spend most of our time inside and on screens, it can be very isolating--from others, but particularly from the environment. It also becomes easier to see ourselves as disconnected and not a part of the environment and natural world. In contrast, spending more time outside as part of this challenge feels great.