Jing Xie

Learning in a social setting can inspire connection and change. I will work with a friend or colleague to plan and host a lunch and learn at work, school, in my neighborhood or other location to learn more about an environmental topic important to me. After the lunch and learn, I will share more about it on the feed.

I will volunteer 1 hours in my community.

I will spend 10 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.

Wildlife and biodiversity play an important role on our planet and are being threatened each year. I will spend 10 minutes each day learning about the current status of local or global wildlife and how I can align my actions to support their livelihood.

When we explore natural spaces around us, our connections with them change. I will spend 30 minutes exploring a new area around my neighborhood, office, or campus (e.g., park, water body, nearby trail, community garden, green space, etc.).

Regenerative agriculture focuses on farming and ranching in a way that supports life and restores the soil. I will spend 10 minutes learning about regenerative agriculture and find out if any nearby farms practice regenerative agriculture.

The impacts of our waste are far reaching. I will create zero waste for an entire day and share my reflections and learnings on the feed.

Grass lawns are water-intensive and on average require about 30 percent of a household’s water consumption. Native plants are water-efficient and help maintain the balance and diversity of local ecosystems. I will plant native species with water-efficient plants to conserve water and improve the habitat, then post a photo on the feed to share.

We need to support healthy seafood populations. I will spend 15 minutes learning about sustainable seafood choices, commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean, and share what I learned on the feed.

The waste we create daily can go unnoticed. I will track the waste I create in a day and post a photo log on the feed to see how much I create and where I can make different choices to reduce my waste going forward.

Beauty and personal products can create a lot of waste. I will spend 10 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.

Synthetic clothing can contain plastic and shed harmful microplastics into our water. I will use a microplastics catcher in my laundry, or install a microplastics filter for my washing machine.

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.

Understanding cleaning product ingredients and their effect on water and biodiversity is helpful to our consumer choices. I will spend 10 minutes learning about how cleaning products affect our water and try making my own cleaning products to reduce pollutants.

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.

I will organize or participate in a trash pickup at a local river, beach, or natural body of water.

Food in the landfill is one of the main sources of greenhouse gasses. I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill per day by composting my food.

Trees capture carbon and produce oxygen that is essential to life on earth. I will support this important piece of nature by organizing or joining a community group to plant 1 native trees in my community, public parks, office location, campus or backyard.

The more stuff we consume, the more greenhouse gasses we put into the atmosphere. I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach this month and only buy things I need.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I will take at least one photograph that is connected with this year's theme of Nature Conservation & Biodiversity (for example an urban park, bee hives, birds and other animals...) and I will post it on LinkedIn with the hashtags #EarthMonthEcochallenge #EarthMonthAtEmerson.

On Wed 24th April, I will attend the Earth Month Ecochallenge Webinar on Conservation to learn about what individuals, companies and other organizations can do to promote biodiversity and nature protection.