EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Reilly Corkran

Georgia Southern University

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,586 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

6.0

donations

made
UP TO

44

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

70

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

4.0

people

helped
UP TO

51

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Reilly's actions

Land Use

Choose Better Wood Products

#38 Forest Protection

I will only purchase wood and paper products from ecologically certified sources like Forest Stewardship Council.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Support Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will donate to The Nature Conservancy, which works with Indigenous Peoples to secure land tenure and resource rights, support improved governance and local institutions, assist in natural resource mapping, planning and management; and strengthen livelihoods and sustainable economic development.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 25 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Explore Other Transport Solutions

All Transport Solutions

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching other Drawdown Transport Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 15 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Choose Recycled Paper

#70 Recycled Paper

I will plan ahead to only use paper products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Stay on the Ground

#43 Airplanes, #63 Telepresence

Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Go Paperless

#70 Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 41lbs (18.6kg) a year by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Make School More Affordable

#6 Educating Girls

I will raise funds to help make school affordable for girls around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Social Justice

Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

#6 Educating Girls

I will donate 4 Femme Kit(s) to help girls overcome health and sanitation barriers to being able to attend school.

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?

Reilly Corkran 4/24/2019 8:15 AM

kinda sad but kinda relieved that this is the last time I have to check in today.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Learn about Temperate Forests

As you learn more about the scope and seriousness of the environmental challenges we face, what impact does that have on your thinking and actions? What are the parts that feel overwhelming? What parts help you feel hopeful?

Reilly Corkran 4/23/2019 8:52 AM

I find myself joining more conversations about our environmental challenges. I also have found myself sharing these conversations with my roommates who are also interested in this topic but do not know what to do or where to start in terms of helping our environment. I find that we have so many problems that are not being fully addressed by the higher up people in our nation and that is very concerning. It seems as if they turn a blind eye to all of these disasters that we are the cause of. I do feel hopeful knowing that there are so many people that I know who want to help and make a difference. They did not help before but because of this project and since I talk about it more often we find ourselves planning to volunteer or become part of an organization to help the environment.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Choose Better Wood Products

Beyond carbon sequestration, what other benefits do forests offer you personally?

Reilly Corkran 4/23/2019 8:47 AM

Personally they provide a biodiverse area that I enjoy. I have always been more of a forest girl and enjoy spending time hiking in forests. My mother was a biology major specifically with flora and fauna so we would spend a lot of time looking at plants together and understanding why they were so important to us.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. What are some other reasons?

Reilly Corkran 4/23/2019 8:43 AM

The soil we plant our food in is very important to the food itself and also to us. Soil is a lot more important to us than we think, so can determine what nutrition the food that grows there may have. If the soil is not treated properly then it can lose nutrition and that can be damaging to ourselves. If we don't get enough nutrition then our bodies will not be at our best and worst case scenario our bodies can deteriorate.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Reilly Corkran 4/23/2019 8:38 AM

It will help me be smarter about what I buy and when I buy it. I know now that the dates do not correlate with food safety. It mostly correlates with the freshness or peak time to eat the food. I will now be more conscious about looking at the freshness of the food and not just the date.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Social Justice Support Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?

Reilly Corkran 4/22/2019 7:22 AM

If you lose the balance that you originally intended then everything after it can fall out of order. Balance is a very delicate process especially for our environment, if one little factor is thrown out of the balance then there will be consequences for it.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Explore Other Transport Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Reilly Corkran 4/22/2019 7:19 AM

I looked into this as I was researching more ways to travel especially in Europe. The one transportation option that interested me the most was train travel. It is much cheaper than buying a plane ticket and even though it takes more time to get to your destination it is cost efficient and better for the environment. By taking a train you can lower your carbon emission which would be more if you drove or took a flight.

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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?

Reilly Corkran 4/22/2019 7:15 AM

I have heard of the term silvopasture before, I volunteered on a farm in the town I live in. The farmer was in the process of trying to create a silvopasture on his farm so it was interesting to see that first hand. I believe the biggest advantage of this is that it creates a more diverse system in the area that it is implemented. so instead of having just foliage, you can also have more animals and more fauna around which is great for the environment.

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Reilly Corkran 4/21/2019 10:07 AM

I focused on learning about transportation and silvopasture today. I’ll post more about what I learned later tonight!

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Reilly Corkran 4/20/2019 10:52 AM

Ive been doing really well this week with the no meat challenge. It is honestly getting easier day by day.

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