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April 3 - April 24, 2019

UVDrawdown Feed

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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?


  • Brion McMullan's avatar
    Brion McMullan 4/24/2019 7:10 AM
    Challenge has been helpful in organizing my thoughts on these issues and recognizing my desire to actively participate in the effort to moderating the hardships climate change presents -severe storms, food sources for us, other animals and plants, new pests and diseases to our forest  etc...

  • David Lemal's avatar
    David Lemal 4/23/2019 2:59 PM
    This has been a worthwhile enterprise!  Yay!

  • Evelyn (lyn) Swett's avatar
    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.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Go Paperless
    What do you want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in your own life?

    Evelyn (lyn) Swett's avatar
    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.
  • 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's avatar
    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.

  • Evelyn (lyn) Swett's avatar
    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. 

  • Evelyn (lyn) Swett's avatar
    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. 

  • Evelyn (lyn) Swett's avatar
    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!

  • Brion McMullan's avatar
    Brion McMullan 4/22/2019 10:16 AM
    attended talk held on climate change and how to stimulate progress towards addressing as a community. Recently built cold frame and we planted lettuce , pruned our fruit trees and dosed using natural compost tea to help tree battle stress as they draw on their stored nutrients at the beginning of another suiting cycle.

    • Evelyn (lyn) Swett's avatar
      Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/23/2019 1:17 PM
      Brion - I have always wanted to build a cold frame. I think this might be the year, since my goal is to use what I have to make the land we care for as productive and healthy as it can be. Thank you for the inspiration.

  • David Lemal's avatar
    David Lemal 4/22/2019 10:15 AM
    It has taken many hours, but I have read Drawdown carefully in its entirety.  Shouldn't that challenge be worth something?

    • Evelyn (lyn) Swett's avatar
      Evelyn (lyn) Swett 4/23/2019 1:19 PM
      David - - Yes!! Congratulations. Thank you. I have read it in a highly random kind of way. I'm really impressed. I'm also sad that that isn't a challenge the gives points. Oh well. I love that you did that during this time.