Kate Blood
"To instill the next set of changes I make thanks to this eco-challenge into my every day practice such that they are built into my daily life practice. "
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 95 THIS WEEK
- 554 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO24milestraveled by foot
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UP TO24milesnot traveled by car
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UP TO1.0energy auditconducted
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UP TO21pounds of CO2have been saved
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UP TO1.0Carbon FootprintCalculated
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UP TO116pieces of litterpicked up
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UP TO2.0hoursvolunteered
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UP TO3.0advocacy actionscompleted
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UP TO20minutesspent outdoors
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UP TO80minutesspent learning
Kate's actions
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.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Endangered Species
Wildlife and biodiversity play an important role on our planet and are being threatened each year. I will spend 60 minutes each day learning about the current status of local or global wildlife and how I can align my actions to support their livelihood.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Grow Local
I will research and plant a garden filled with native fruits, vegetables, and flowers to nurture local wildlife and ecosystems. I will find nearby nurseries that offer plants native to my area.
Land + Forests
Zero Waste Day
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.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Invest in Nature
A healthy world needs both our daily actions and support from larger systems. I will spend 60 minutes learning about how I can use my investments and savings to advance environmental sustainability.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Beauty and Personal Products
Beauty and personal products can create a lot of waste. I will spend 60 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.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Plastic in Clothing and Water
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.
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
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.
Climate + Air
Use Muscle Power
I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.
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
Low Carbon Diet
Carbon is emitted into the atmosphere in a variety of ways, including through the foods we eat and food we waste. I will learn about low carbon foods and replace higher carbon foods with them in my diet.
Land + Forests
Regenerative Agriculture and Me
Regenerative agriculture focuses on farming and ranching in a way that supports life and restores the soil. I will spend 60 minutes learning about regenerative agriculture and find out if any nearby farms practice regenerative agriculture.
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
Choose Eco-Friendly Wood and Paper
Trees provide food and habitat for local wildlife species, shade our streets and homes, and help keep our air and water clean by capturing pollutants. Buying products that help protect forests makes a difference. I will only purchase wood, furniture, and paper products from ecologically certified sources such as Forest Stewardship Council.
Freshwater + Oceans
Smart Seafood Choices
We need to support healthy seafood populations. I will spend 60 minutes learning about sustainable seafood choices, commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean, and share what I learned on the feed.
Freshwater + Oceans
Reduce Pollutants in Cleaning
Understanding cleaning product ingredients and their effect on water and biodiversity is helpful to our consumer choices. I will spend 60 minutes learning about how cleaning products affect our water and try making my own cleaning products to reduce pollutants.
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.
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.
Action Track: Community
Raise Awareness for the Conservation of Freshwater and Oceans
I will spend 120 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
Share My "Why"
I will record a video to share why I am taking action this Earth Month, a sustainable swap I've made, and/or a local conservation effort in my area.
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
Plant Trees
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 4 native trees in my community, public parks, office location, campus or backyard.
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 5 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?
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REFLECTION QUESTIONBiodiversity + Wildlife Plastic in Clothing and WaterHow did you try to catch the release of microplastics in your laundry? What did you learn in the process?
Kate Blood 4/02/2024 2:22 PMI have purchased a cora ball for starters. And I am already a huge fan consignment and second-hand stores. After learning more about sustainable and eco friendlier textiles, I will do my best to be a mindful consumer on the occassions that I consider buying something new. I also want to support companies that have strong social and ecological commitments. I LOVE our textile recycling in town and I make sure that I get every scrap of textile in there that I can! -
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?
Kate Blood 4/01/2024 9:34 AMI've switched over to Dropps household products and Who Gives a Crap bamboo toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels. Also took advantage of their subscription services. -
Kate Blood 4/01/2024 7:14 AMJust blasted all my Medfield contacts - hoping to get more people to join our team! Come on Medfield - join the fun! -
Kate Blood 3/14/2024 8:56 AMWhile many of these concepts are encouraged and proposed to be done 100%, a complete shift in daily life practice, I have come to appreciate that for me personally, the pressure and guilt I feel associated with "failing" to change my behaviors entirely has historically paralyzed me in life. Knowing my learning style, and my harsh inner critic's voice, plus my scattered attention, my intention this April is to try as many of these challenges as I can while accepting I will forget and I will slip and many goals I will not successfully complete or integrate into my life at this moment in time.
So here is a simple example of my journey with straws in recent years which I consider a net victory: I have invested in reusable straws which I now always use at home but usually forget to bring out with me in my bag. I don't take plastic straws when they are offered to me in food establishments, but my kids often do. And I always forget to say to servers "no straw please" - I can take more initiative there moving forward. We also try to bring drinks/waterbottles with us as often as possible in reusable containers to limit waste. I would say my household has decreased our plastic straw consumption by 80%. I see this as a net positive where my intentions are all in, all good, my practice, mostly good - certainly much improved from where it was 2 years ago.