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April 3 - April 24, 2019
Gina Houchin's avatar

Gina Houchin

WSP USA

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 371 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    2.0
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    20
    minutes
    spent learning

Gina's actions

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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
    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?

    Gina Houchin's avatar
    Gina Houchin 4/12/2019 11:52 AM
    I won't be so quick to throw food out on their sell by or best by dates.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Reduce Animal Products
    In your opinion, what contributes to people in North America eating more meat than any other countries? What does this say about North American values and ways of living?

    Gina Houchin's avatar
    Gina Houchin 4/11/2019 8:35 AM
    I eat many meatless meals a week.  I now understand how it's impacting our environment.  I will turn my eating habits upside down and have only one meat meal a week. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Smaller Portions
    Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of eating smaller portions?

    Gina Houchin's avatar
    Gina Houchin 4/10/2019 1:30 PM

    Smaller portions helps to keep the size of ones waistline in check.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Recycle Everything I Can
    How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?

    Gina Houchin's avatar
    Gina Houchin 4/05/2019 12:45 PM

    Reusing a water bottle and coffee cups will help my footprint.  I will also be careful of packaging when out shopping.  Of course, I will bring my own reusable bags.

    I was unaware I was contributing considerably to the destruction of my environment.  I feel better that I have a plan of action.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Research Cement Alternatives
    Concrete is a good example of a material that most of us encounter every day, but may its carbon footprint is not obvious. What other everyday materials might have a large carbon footprint? How can you find out more?

    Gina Houchin's avatar
    Gina Houchin 4/05/2019 12:29 PM
    Plastic comes to mind since most all the plastic that have ever been created is still around.  According to the .carbonfootprint.com website, "13 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year means that there will be more plastic than fish by 2050.  I will refuse all plastic straws in the future.