Samantha Funk

Heartland Community College EASC 111 Spring 2024

"New habits and awareness to promote eco conscious lifestyle"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
167 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

3.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

100

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

3.0

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

0.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

105

minutes

spent learning

Samantha's actions

Biodiversity + Wildlife

Reduce Animal Products

One kilogram of beef and cheese emits 71kg and 24kg of greenhouse gasses, while 1kg of rice, grains, and legumes emits between 2-4kg. Fruits, vegetables, and nuts emit less than 1kg per 1kg. I will reduce my climate impact by enjoying 2 meatless meals and/or 2 vegan meals each day this week.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Biodiversity + Wildlife

Beauty and Personal Products

Beauty and personal products can create a lot of waste. I will spend 30 minutes learning about the beauty and body products I use to see if they are refillable or recyclable. If not, I will reach out to the manufacturer to advocate for those options.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Freshwater + Oceans

Say No to Plastic Straws

An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. When marine wildlife ingest plastic, they have a 50% mortality rate. By asking for no straw when placing a drink order, I will keep 2 plastic straw(s) of out of the ocean each day.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Freshwater + Oceans

Cooking Oil Disposal

Pouring cooking oil down the drain can cause damage to waterways and ecosystems. I will learn how to properly dispose of cooking oil to help support healthy ecosystems.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Community

Raise Awareness for the Conservation of Freshwater and Oceans

I will spend 60 minutes learning more about the importance of freshwater + ocean conservation, and how I can reduce my water use. I will share what I learn with people in person, on social media, and on the feed.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Community

Keep My Community Clean

At times it may not feel like it's up to us to keep our community clean and healthy, but we all have a role to play. Each day I am outside, I will pick up any litter I see.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY 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
Action Track: Community Raise Awareness for the Conservation of Freshwater and Oceans

What did you learn about freshwater and oceans you did not already know? In sharing this information with people in your life, which conversation was impactful to you?

Samantha Funk 4/30/2024 3:52 PM

Sharing information with my teen son about how his life could be impacted by the water crisis, especially after I’m gone carried a serious tone but was necessary. Making him aware and teaching him how to conserve is very important. Ex.: in partnership with National Geographic Colorado college shares methods of water conservation. Reusing water from your shower in your toilet, avoiding rinsing dishes before placing them in the dishwasher and more, are all helpful way to be “water wise”. Something new I learned is the numerous invasive species impact in freshwater systems, algae and rising temperatures being huge issues. Shorelines, people building on them and moving in, are a major factor in the health of freshwater and a large contributor to the increased invasive species. All the major factors of influences and severely interconnected per Peter Sorensen with TEDTALK on YouTube.

Read More
Samantha Funk 4/30/2024 3:25 PM

Although I haven’t been recording daily, choosing to go meatless was for most meals + only consuming meat what I know it came from a local ethic source was more difficult that I imagined it would be. Thankfully the latter goal influenced the former and I am back to eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains etc.

Read More
Samantha Funk 4/30/2024 3:20 PM

I was thankful to find out that most of my personal product brands use recyclable packaging. Make up forever uses high quality (like glass and metal) and refillable options for their products. Even a step further JVN hair are is an eco conscious brand focused on infinite recycling and ethical sourcing of ingredients.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Freshwater + Oceans Cooking Oil Disposal

Did anything about this action surprise you? Do you use more or less oil than you thought?

Samantha Funk 4/30/2024 3:10 PM

I use little oil at home and try to avoid frying food items mostly for nutritions sake. When researching I found it surprising how many ways you can recycle and reuse (+ store) fats and oils. To dispose of cooking oil, you can reach out to a local recycle facilities or use any container you would otherwise not be able to recycle anyway to throw it away in the trash. This is something’s I think parents and guardians should teach children since I was not aware and a young adult.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Freshwater + Oceans Say No to Plastic Straws

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Samantha Funk 4/30/2024 3:04 PM

On the go I sometimes use the straws given me, when in reality I could opt for a reuseable straw or simply remove the lid that requires the straw. I have mostly done away with plastic grocery bags and opt to shop in person with reuseable bags as well. For “throw away” bags I opt for brown paper.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Biodiversity + Wildlife Reduce Animal Products

How does eating more meat affect our planet and other people?

Samantha Funk 4/30/2024 3:02 PM

The more meat consumed, the more energy and resources are used up. Eating meat feeds the systems that mistreats thousands of animals. Avoiding meat reduces the demand and hardship on the planet and other communities

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Community Keep My Community Clean

How does the act of picking up litter connect you more to your community?

Samantha Funk 4/30/2024 3:00 PM

As a community we all share the same public areas. Day to day it is always upsetting to see unnecessarily litter (some even blows in my yard from my neighbors), but it is even more upsetting when it is in a public shared space like a park. Picking up the trash makes me feel better knowing the land is being respected and that people, children, and animals are safer.

Read More