Key things I have picked up on this research:

I can hang my hat on my SF apartment wall on that!

The more people, particularly younger generations, spend on screens instead of outside, then the less value they hold for nature and the importance of protecting it. If only every social media post from a state/national park meant a donation to it's preservation, but instead it means more ignorant tourism and travel clout.

I recently finished up a documentary on Netflix called, "Kiss the ground".  It took two sittings to get through the whole thing, but it was actually pretty good. I learned the importance of soils and drawing attention to the health of the soil in agriculture, both in small farms and large scale farming.  The documentary shed light on the negatives of pesticides, how farming has been done wrong over the years, and showcased people educating farmers on the correlation between large scale tilling and climate change. At the end of the documentary, I learned soil health can store more carbon, keep the land cooler, and produce more/better food.

Before the documentary, I believed saving the rainforest saves the planet. I still agree to that, but after this documentary I am now aware of how US agriculture and carbon sequestration should start from "the ground up" hah. I recall debates of deforestation and cattle grazing. However, techniques of rotational grazing and utilizing cattle to create regenerative farming is a great compromise. Or at least makes a lot of sense.

As an added reason to share, I'd recommend this documentary for educational purposes, and because of whos in it. Woody Harrison narrates the documentary, Tom Brady and Giselle make appearances, and apparently Jason Mraz is a farmer.  Some of his songs are apart of the soundtrack as well. 

The main thing I donate is clothing and I think for the first time ever, I don't have any clothing items on my wish list for Christmas (my family is celebrating early). Which I think is a step in the right direction regarding living with a more efficient and less wasteful closet.

Someone in my building let this pretty thing go. I walked by it a few days before I heard from the property manager that they'll just throw it away.  So finally after a few days, I decided to finally grab it and put it in my apartment.  The roots were kind of overgrown and a mess. The water was dirty. I had to clean everything out and put in fresh water. The pump just needed a little screw at the pump manifold to control the flow between two hoses. And boom, my first aquaponic plant set up. I also got it on a smart plug to schedule the pump on/off time. I'm wondering if I can put a little fish in it. 

Before (top), After (bottom).  

I've been listening to BBC's Earth Podcast which highlights about three different stories per episode. The biggest thing I've learned is that there is a lot of value in what humans can learn from nature, whether it's something they can apply to their life/attitude or just understanding that they're a small part of a grand and complex system worth discovering.

Oaklandish is a nice brand to share; for their history, what they represent, for the culture, for B corporations.

Just read their about us page.
https://www.oaklandish.com/pages/about-us

I found them through a Bay Area B corp website.
https://www.blocalbayarea.com/bay-area-b-corps
(and yes that's PAE SF listed on the website, submitted in by me lol)

3rd time joining the Ecochallenge since I started PAE. I've been enjoying the small steps and small progress not just in what I do but in the little things I find in groceries stores more and more. The first pic are the more recent replacements in my fridge. Big food corporation brands offering vegan options warms my heart in the fight. I don't buy into full vegan but I do buy into the OMD, one meal a day campaign.  

I keep my freezer stocked with beyond beef (who does that?). I think I found my sweet spot in making a personal vegan spinach and mushroom burger or basic cheeseburger.  I do cheat sometimes by marinating it in worchestershire sauce (to which after just admitting it googled vegan worchestershire recipes).. and really sometimes..I add a slice of bacon.. ha.