April 3 - April 24, 2019

Evelyn (lyn) Swett

"My goal is to use my photography to celebrate the convergence of creativity and climate action and in the process, inspire joy and new ways of being. During this challenge, I hope to focus my images on the challenges I have chosen - - mainly around food. More importantly, though, I hope to use my work to inspire others in my region to share in this adventure as we strive to create a more sustainable future."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,092 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

7.0

donations

made
UP TO

30

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

5.0

people

helped

Evelyn (lyn)'s actions

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

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 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Donate

#21 Clean Cookstoves

I will donate to nonprofits that install clean cookstoves in low-income countries.

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 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

#6 Educating Girls

I will donate 5 Femme Kit(s) to help girls overcome health and sanitation barriers to being able to attend school.

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

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

Fund Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will donate to supply a community with reproductive health supplies.

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?

Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/23/2019 1:27 PM

Hello Team! My son is home for just a few days between Gap Year adventures so much of my attention has been on him and my mother-in-law who is here for an extended Easter visit. I have a long list of 'to-dos' and have been frustrated that I have been getting to them. And then I remember that sometimes just showing up and being there with family is what keeps us all going and together. When I went out to begin emptying one of our compost bins that has been simmering all winter, I got tired after just one wheelbarrow load to the 'back forty' where I'm building a new bed out of twigs and garden scraps. But when I came back, there was my mother-in-law, wanting to see what I was up to. So I hot her a small wheelbarrow so she could have something to hold onto, and she watched me pick worms out of the black gold and throw them into the active compost pile - - she kept saying "Lyn, there's one.... there's another one." And then we walked out to the back of the yard together and she and I reveled in the Bloodroot that were blooming beneath the hydrangea and lilac shrubs. Bliss. We walked slowly back together and called it a day. Sometimes it's the little things. I'm glad to be doing this challenge, even if only a few of us are reading each other's posts. Yay us.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Go Paperless

What do you want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in your own life?

Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/23/2019 1:16 PM

This is a great question! Wow. Right to the heart of what matters most. I am sitting here with my mother-in-law and enjoying one of the first warm and sunny days of the spring. She loves the sun and at 87 is still happiest baking in its rays. I struggle to be compassionate with my elders, knowing so much of their lifestyles created the standards by which we live and the excessive impacts we are now having on the planet. I hope that as the days get warmer, so too can my heart and that I can shift from being angry to being forgiving. Even when I garden, I can be competitive, wanting a new bed or a new special plant. I think, this year, I am going to focus on what already exists - - the people and places I know and love - - and give my love to them all.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

In what other ways could you help girls overcome health barriers to being able to attend school?

Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/23/2019 1:12 PM

I was impressed, in a sad way, by the small percentage of total philanthropic dollars that go to women, girls and the environment - - .2%. I will review our family's climate donations and see how we might be able to support such programs on a more regular basis. I also appreciate how the story of girls and school illustrates the complex interactions between social justice, economic justice and climate justice. We truly are all part of one ecosystem.

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Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/22/2019 6:52 PM

Happy Earth Day! Eggs for breakfast; Salad for lunch; Chicken on my 'Buddha Bowl' when we went out for dinner. Not bad. The sun was warm and I sat outside with my mother-in-law on the terrace. She's 87, has dementia, and loves the sun. She was happy. I sat beside her while she read a vintage 1963 Life magazine and I embroidered a tree on an old towel. It was a lovely moment on a beautiful day. It's raining now. I feel blessed to live in a place where things grow well and there is rain.

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Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/22/2019 10:43 AM

It's Easter! We had salami with our cheese and crackers. I know. High on dairy. It's hard for us to ween ourselves, especially for a holiday. We ate pork, though, instead of lamb. It was delicious.

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Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/22/2019 10:41 AM

On the road picking up my mother-in-law and daughter - - we ate BLT's and then had a chicken tettrazini for dinner that I had made months ago and thawed for an easy dinner when we got home. No food waste, though. My mother-in-law and I shared a BLT so we had the just right amount!

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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?

Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/18/2019 6:59 PM

This is such a great question. Last year the idea that I lived in a watershed was first introduced. When I walk my dog, I see the stream flowing through an enormous culvert on our road and consider its destination - The CT River. I wonder what plastic it might be taking with it...The micro-plastics that are polluting our water and now, I hear, our air, are frightening. As we confront increasing water shortages due to drought and unpredictable weather patterns, I worry that we now face water polluted by us - - not chemical companies dumping poisons directly into waterways, but us, using those chemicals in our plastic products and then, because they never biodegrade, and break into small pieces, they get into our food supply.

At the moment, I am working hard to reduce our family's single use plastics; We are also working in our yard to make sure that we only use organic treatments for our trees, shrubs and lawn - - it's some kind of "compost tea." We have also planted barrier gardens to help absorb water running off the road. We are also going to plant more trees this summer at the end of our yard, to help absorb more water and keep it from flowing too fast into our neighbors yards and then on into the river below.

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Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/18/2019 6:53 PM

I hope I get to the tree mulching project. I've been spending the last few days, when it's not pouring rain or freezing cold, pruning shrubs and clearing branches from the lawn and gardens that feel during the winter. I'm thinking about the trees, waiting patiently, or maybe not so patiently, for them to leaf out...I always forget that we have to wait till May here in NH.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Fund Family Planning

When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting the expressed needs of women, it results in empowerment, equality, and well-being, and the benefits to the planet are side effects. Why is family planning an important civil rights consideration?

Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/18/2019 6:51 PM

It's really hard to comprehend the billions of people on our planet.
Living in 'suburban' New Hampshire does not provide much experience
with overcrowding. I do know, though, how demanding it is to have children -
how exhausting it is to meet their needs - - or not. I had a choice, though.
My husband and I both had options and we could talk about it.

For many women, that kind of choice is not an option. It seems criminal
to deny a woman her right to control her body - - because it's not just her
body we're talking about - it's her life. I am less concerned about over-population
than I am with making sure that each woman has the tools she needs to
thrive. Family planning is just the start, but it seems an essential right as far
as I am concerned. It felt good to help others get access to this particular tool I take
for granted.

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Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/17/2019 5:15 PM

I definitely find that I am a bit distracted now that the weather is getting better. Today I spent a lot of time outside clearing my asparagus plants and raspberries...I never got to them last fall. Anyway, with it getting dark later, I'm only now making dinner - - chard, spinach and feta cheese in a brown rice 'quiche' - - It's completely made up. I hope it's good. Cheers to all! Lyn

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