EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Chad Pilieri

Sustainable Warwick

"To start a local food movement in Greenwood Lake"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
692 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

126

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

105

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted

Chad's actions

Food

Contact your Elected Officials

#23 Farmland Restoration

I will contact 1 elected officials to voice my opinion on the importance of restoring farmland in my region, including both public and private land.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Recycle Everything I Can

#55 Household Recycling

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

#30 Methane Digesters (large), #64 Methane Digesters (small)

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Express My Support

#54 Walkable Cities

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact neighborhood walkability and express my support for better walking infrastructure.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 40 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Fix Leaky Faucets

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water per faucet every day.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Keep Track of Wasted Food

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Support Nutrient Management

#65 Nutrient Management

I will research and support local farmers who have made the decision to not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 60 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
Materials Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

Chad Pilieri 4/23/2019 7:12 PM

I live in Greenwood Lake and our lake is a big part of our village. We have been having problems with overgrowth of water weeds and algae that have been treated with poisonous herbicides. I believe this is caused by chemical fertilizers, runoff of untreated septic, rock salts, and pollution all man made.

I think it would be much smarter and more effective to eliminate these toxins and to restore natural buffers.

Read More
- Wendy V 4/24/2019 5:52 AM
  
  Apparently, using divers to pull up and remove the weeds is the most effective and eco-friendly solution. I heard about this system a long time ago. Not sure where. Untreated, or any septic, running into the lake is a huge problem for many reasons and should be totally eliminated. Man is great at polluting! Not so great at clean up...
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Social Justice Express My Support

How could better walking infrastructure make your city both more enjoyable and more equitable?

Chad Pilieri 4/21/2019 7:26 PM

Greenwood Lake is a small village that could be easily walkable. We recently fixed some sidewalks but could do a better job at encouraging walking and biking. That would be a great way to get to know your neighbors and also help limit driving so much. It's a small step(get it) with a large impact.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Fix Leaky Faucets

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?

Chad Pilieri 4/10/2019 3:15 PM

Don't always flush for number 1.
Catch rain water from the roof and use that to water your garden
Gray water systems are not that hard to set up and really utilize water
Take quick showers
Do large laundry loads, once a week

Read More
- Michael Helme 4/16/2019 5:09 PM
  
  Put a bucket in the shower and catch all the cold water that runs through the pipes before it gets hot enough to start showering. This water can be used for a toilet flush later or for watering plants or so many other things.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Research Heat Pumps

Why is taking action on climate change important to you? Why do you care?

Chad Pilieri 4/07/2019 3:54 AM

Not only is taking action to bring the world back into balance so vitally urgent and important it will also improve our lives in every way. Reconnecting to the earth and others is a gift.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Keep Track of Wasted Food

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?

Chad Pilieri 4/03/2019 2:33 PM

I would say those numbers are low. Restaurants waste tons a year plus all the food that lost shipping long distances, this is a huge problem.

I would rather use this money(which again is low) to put it towards growing and preserving food and towards community centered solutions.

Read More
- Kelly Collins 4/06/2019 5:42 AM
  
  And your totally making that happen Chad! I’m so excited to meet up with your group and get into creating more edible spaces with you GWL folks!
  
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Chad Pilieri 4/03/2019 2:30 PM

Today, I wasted zero food. I compost my fruit and veggie scraps

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn More about Silvopasture

Had you heard of the term "silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?

Chad Pilieri 4/02/2019 7:46 PM

I had heard the term signature before. I have mixed feelings in the subject. I find it much better for the earth and the animals to practice this method. No comparison to industrialized CAFO's. However, I don't think that eating the animals should be part of the system. How about leaving animals to graze on their own? Animals can be integrated into any growing system and are a huge part of it but I don't think we can go on eating meat at the levels we do. Just because a practice is better doesn't mean it is fully correct.

Read More
- Chad Pilieri 4/06/2019 6:37 AM
  
  Great points Kelly, supporting and understanding the farmers situation is key
  
  Read More
- Chad Pilieri 4/06/2019 6:37 AM
  
  Great points Kelly, supporting and understanding the farmers situation is key
  
  Read More
- Chad Pilieri 4/06/2019 6:37 AM
  
  Great points Kelly, supporting and understanding the farmers situation is key
  
  Read More
- Kelly Collins 4/06/2019 5:49 AM
  
  Silvopasture is an amazing way to build soil, sequester carbon, grow healthy plants and animals have a place to eat with managed grazing. I highly recommend Steve Gabriels book!
  
  We have to figure out a way that we show our value for farmers to switch to these practices. The cost of what a farmer can earn for his meat also speaks to where we put our values.
  
  We need to support the livelihoods of people who are doing silvopasture and treating the farm as it’s own microorganism. How can we help farmers afford the financial portion of doing this work that is healing to our planet?
  
  Read More
- Lois Karlin 4/03/2019 9:30 AM
  
  I read two articles on silvopasture and plan to discuss it with two families I know who have small farms with grass-fed cattle they raise for beef. I agree with Chad that it would be better to stop eating beef, and neither I nor my family does eat it, but I don't see people buying into this change quickly. I hope I'm wrong, but people do seem to feel strongly about it.
  
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