Alison Mortensen-Hayes
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 1,023 TOTAL
participant impact
-
UP TO1.0Carbon FootprintCalculated
-
UP TO1.0energy auditconducted
-
UP TO132pieces of litterpicked up
-
UP TO1.0water footprintcalculated
-
UP TO4.0hoursvolunteered
-
UP TO1.0community eventhosted or attended
-
UP TO14advocacy actionscompleted
-
UP TO120minutesspent outdoors
-
UP TO189minutesspent learning
Alison's actions
Land + Forests
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.
Freshwater + Oceans
Go Plastic-Free
Millions of tons of plastic is produced each year worldwide. Each day, I will conduct a plastics audit of what I buy and use throughout the challenge (kitchen, bathroom, personal care products, etc.), to see how single-use plastic shows up in my life. I will find plastic-free alternatives to these products and advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, product manufacturers, at work, or on campus.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Save the Bees
Bees are vital to ecosystems. To help save the bees, I will learn which local flowers provide nectar and plant them in my backyard or in a pot on my balcony.
Climate + Air
Online Energy Audit
Energy use and waste is often invisible. I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.
Climate + Air
Calculate My Carbon Impact
Carbon emissions can show up in many surprising ways in our life. I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how lifestyle changes could reduce the carbon footprint and impacts on the environment.
Land + Forests
Explore My Area
When we explore natural spaces around us, our connections with them change. I will spend 120 minutes exploring a new area around my neighborhood, office, or campus (e.g., park, water body, nearby trail, community garden, green space, etc.).
Land + Forests
Forest-Friendly Foods
I will look for sustainable palm oil products with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSP) label. I will replace or remove the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation and opt for ones that help sustain healthy communities and forests.
Freshwater + Oceans
Understand My Water Footprint
Each of us has a water footprint, directly linked to our daily activities as well as the water required in the production of things we use each day. Understanding our water use is important for a healthy planet. I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste, then share what I learned on the feed.
Freshwater + Oceans
Dishwasher Efficiency
Hand washing dishes can use more energy and hot water than a dishwasher. To save water, I will use a dishwasher and scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading them into the dishwasher.
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.
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.
Action Track: Community
Borrow Before I Buy
Why buy something I will only use once or a few times if someone nearby has it for me to borrow, and why not share something I have that someone may only need a few times a year? To reduce my consumption and waste, I will create or support the sharing economy with friends, family, colleagues or neighbors.
Action Track: Community
Join a Cleanup Effort
I will organize or participate in a trash pickup at a local river, beach, or natural body of water.
Action Track: Community
Volunteer in my Community
I will volunteer 4 hours in my community.
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 QUESTIONLand + Forests Explore My AreaWhere did you go for your walk or hike in nature? What were the benefits of doing so?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/30/2024 7:02 PMI found a nearby park that I didn't know existed while walking around my neighborhood picking up litter! Later in the month, I took my partner to the Portland Japanese Gardens, and just today Mt. Tabor Park. The benefits included being away from screens, seeing birds and squirrels and dogs and many plants, smelling the air away from cars, having a chance for deeper conversation, feeling apart of the world and my local community, and remembering why we should care for the planet!-
Jeanne Poirier 4/30/2024 8:04 PMPortland is amazingly beautiful with blooms right now - was great to visit last week my old stomping grounds, including Mt. Tabor where my mom grew up. She'd have been 100 this year :)
-
-
REFLECTION QUESTIONAction Track: Community Borrow Before I BuyHow did you participate in the sharing economy? (Consider posting a photo!) What are the benefits of a sharing economy? How could a sharing economy change the dynamics you have with friends, family and/or neighbors?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/30/2024 6:56 PMMy sibling let me borrow their garden hoe/rake, which reminded me I don't need to run and grab my own. I like that my town has several tool libraries as well! The benefits to something like that mean we cut severely down on waste, and get to work together as a community -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFreshwater + Oceans Go Plastic-FreeWhere did plastic show up on your life that surprised you the most? What plastic alternative products did you discover you may switch to?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/30/2024 6:53 PMThe most surprising item was floss! The kind I get doesn't have a hard plastic shell, but I didn't consider that the floss itself could be made from that. I've since found a replacement that's made from corn PLA. I wrote down a ton of what I noticed during my audit, and I'm feeling inspired to find replacements for as many things as possible! Toothpaste and face wash not in plastic tubes seem like the lowest hanging fruit for now. For what I can't replace (like our cats' food bags), I plan to reach out to those companies to encourage them considering alternatives. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONLand + Forests Forest-Friendly FoodsWhat did you learn about forest-friendly foods? How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/30/2024 3:57 PMI try my best to eat ethically in a variety of ways (100% plant based, organic, from a co-op, low waste, etc.), but I've learned that I can always do more and keep actively assessing the way we do things. I'm going to suggest that our co-op making filtering the web inventory to only local items, so that this kind of work is easier. And I will continue my research beyond the EcoChallenge, to try and make more positive choices (like eating local foods, looking for forest friendly certification, asking companies to move away from palm oil, and more). -
REFLECTION QUESTIONLand + Forests Keep My Community CleanHow does the act of picking up litter connect you more to your community?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/30/2024 3:25 PMI ended up picking up litter on at least 3 occasions during my walks, and logged the pieces as I went along. It's not the most positive perspective to have, but picking up litter is bittersweet. Sweet because it feels good to give back to others, clean up our shared spaces, and keep trash away from water sources and animals. Bitter because it can be disheartening when others don't seem to care and our society is pretty firmly entrenched in disposable products. I think that going forward, I will try to replicate this challenge for 1 month a year -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFreshwater + Oceans Dishwasher EfficiencyHow can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/29/2024 10:45 AMWe’ll pay attention to drought announcements, and when things get tough, reduce our water usage (such as with showering - get wet, stop water to soap up, rinse off quickly). We’ll look into a rain barrel or grey water system to water our plants in the summer when the rain decreases. We’ll continue with the practice of using a basin to wash fruits/veggies and for any handwashing of dishes (inevitable for more delicate items). We’ll keep up the good habits we have and incrementally build on those the more we learn. I think we could also spend some time researching things pertinent to our local area vs. in general, and could continue volunteering periodically to help clean up waterways. -
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/27/2024 12:14 PMFound out a local business allows bulk pickup of tortillas, so cut out that source of habitual single use plastic!-
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/27/2024 1:36 PMThank you, Laura! I'm so excited because I also found out you can freeze them. So we just have to visit every once an a while and save the commute! -
Laura Duterte 4/27/2024 1:27 PMthat's awesome!
-
-
REFLECTION QUESTIONFreshwater + Oceans Understand My Water FootprintWhat did you learn about your water footprint and what are you going to do to reduce and be aware of the water you use?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/26/2024 2:02 PMWe have some things to do to improve in my household. This is all a bit disheartening with how fast and how much water goes. The linked Mental Floss article = :O. I don't know if that helps spur people into action as much as add to despair..In any case, things we could do at my house:- Time our showers and see if there's room for improvement there
- Use a basin for washing fruits/veggies vs. running the tap, and same with hand-washed dishes
- Look into a grey-water system or a rain barrel. Another idea was putting a bucket in the shower to put toward watering the plants
- Put our vegetable steamer on top of rice, potatoes or pasta boiling to steam the veggies
We had a toilet leak recently fixed, so I'm curious to see what our actual water usage will look like with that issue addressed.
I learned that less than 1% of water on earth is drinkable freshwater. This makes water very precious. We cannot afford to overuse or deteriorate the water we do have. I hope researchers are looking at safe desalination and that we're all (as planet mates) doing our best to cut down water usage where we can -
REFLECTION QUESTIONAction Track: Community Raise Awareness for the Conservation of Freshwater and OceansWhat 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?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/25/2024 3:51 PMThere was so much that I didn't know that I'd probably run out of characters typing it all out! What's apparent is how connected everything on earth is. One fact I saw is that every second breath we take is provided by the ocean, since it produces 1/2 the oxygen on earth. We must respect the natural world around us and do what we can to protect the environment! -
REFLECTION QUESTIONClimate + Air Online Energy AuditWhere did you do an energy audit (work, home, school, other) and what did you learn?
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/25/2024 3:08 PMI'm home a ton because I work remotely, so I conducted the energy audit here. I made a list of things we consistently keep plugged in (e.g. stove, microwave, water heater, etc.) as well as a list of appliances we regularly and seasonally use. I learned that a ton of electricity stands to "phantom waste" even when off, so I will unplug things fully more regularly. I also learned that stopping the air flow between windows and doors can help tremendously-
Lisa Dowland 4/25/2024 4:23 PMI learned about phantom waste in last year's challenge - unplugging appliances is also a good way to reduce the risk of an electrical fire. -
Alison Mortensen-Hayes 4/25/2024 3:15 PMGreat point, Mary! -
Mary Hanks 4/25/2024 3:13 PMA few Ecochallenges ago I realized how silly it was for me to keep the coffeemaker plugged in 24/7 when I only needed it for a few minutes e times a week.
-