Earth Month Ecochallenge 2026

Ecochallenge.org

April 1 - April 30, 2026

Gage's points

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
267 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

10

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

3.0

local or diverse businesses

supported
UP TO

2.0

community events

hosted or attended
UP TO

1.0

idea or resource

shared
UP TO

75

minutes

spent learning

Gage's actions

Personal

Explore Resources for Managing Anxiety

Anxiety can be overwhelming, but resources and strategies can help. I will spend 10 minutes exploring resources that help manage anxiety and stress to support my mental and psychological well being.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

What is resilience?

Learn About Ecological Resilience

Resilience is part of how nature works. I will spend 15 minutes learning about ecological resilience—how ecosystems adapt to disturbances and renew themselves through cycles of growth and renewal.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Personal

Go Get a Check Up

Regular health check-ups help prevent problems before they start. I will schedule or attend a medical, dental, or mental health check-up to take care of my well-being.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Mulching helps soil hold water and reduces runoff. I will mulch the base of trees or other plants at home, school, or in my community to improve water retention and soil health.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Soil and Food

Learn How to Save Pollinators

Bees and other pollinators are vital to ecosystems and agriculture. I will spend 30 minutes learning how to support local pollinators and take at least one action—such as planting native flowers or avoiding pesticides—to help sustain resilient ecosystems and harvests.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal

Write in a Resilience Journal

Reflection helps us adapt and grow. I will spend 10 minutes writing in a journal about challenges I face, the strengths I use, and what helps me thrive.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Community

Attend a Local Event

Local events such as farmers' markets, festivals, or community meetings like town halls are great ways to feel part of a community. I will attend 3 community events to connect with others and learn more about my area.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Support Local Businesses

Supporting local businesses helps keep communities vibrant and resilient. I will choose to shop at 5 local businesses or restaurants, with a focus on businesses owned by people of color, local farmers, or community members.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

What is resilience?

Share a Definition of Resilience

Sharing builds common understanding. I will share 3 definitions of resilience that resonate with me—through conversations, social media, or the event feed—to help others explore what resilience means.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Share My Why

Take the Earth Month Ecochallenge Feedback Survey

I will take a short survey about my experience to help the Ecochallenge team improve future events, earn a chance to win a prize, and earn 15 points!

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Personal

How did reflecting on your experiences, strengths, or challenges shape the way you think about your ability to adapt and grow?
Gage Edvalson 4/17/2026 3:27 PM

I journal, but not usually about this topic. Reflection helps to slow down and clearly work through mental processes.

In the end, forcing my mind to reach a signal in the noise is what will make me more resilient. I remind myself that not everything demands an immediate response. To adapt, I breathe and make a plan for the what-ifs. To grow, the reflection process helps to identify what is not helpful. Hanging onto those things hinders my ability to do much of anything.

There's a mantra I like in times of stress: Let go, or be dragged.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Personal

What resource or strategy stood out to you the most, and how could it help you strengthen your resilience when you face stress or uncertainty?
Gage Edvalson 4/15/2026 5:29 PM

I attended The Mindful High Performer with Chelsea Pottenger | Tech Edition presentation today and learned a couple of new tools that I hadn't heard of before:

6 Week Sprint
This leverages anticipatory joy essentially by giving yourself (and your family) a break to look toward. My spouse often tells me they need "something to look forward to" in order to feel less stressed as the weeks pass. This is the perfect strategy we can both benefit from.

Non Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)
I shouldn't say I have never heard about this, since I have used forms of it, like Headspace. However, knowing the name revealed variation in methods (hopefully the link helps).

The tool I think most would find useful to help break negative thought patterns is asking yourself if what you're thinking about is harmful for you or helpful for you. Usually, this is in the context of world events or news that we hear, things outside our locus of control, but things we still tend to worry about. Once you can itemize what is actually in your control, you can react (or not) accordingly. It cuts a lot of uncertainty away, at least it did for me.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

What did you enjoy or learn from attending a local event in your community? How do local traditions and gatherings build resilience and strengthen your community’s identity?
Gage Edvalson 4/13/2026 2:21 PM

I took PTO last Friday with my spouse so we could travel to Port Townsend, WA for an author event with Terry Tempest Williams. The event was arranged by a local bookstore, and sold out quickly.

A local Unitarian Universalist congregation allowed the use of their space to bring together easily over 100 members of the community. The space outside was well-curated with plants and landscaping--cozy enough that at few deer moved in and grazed on some leaves, not a care in the world that humans were so close to them. Inside was a very tall vaulted ceiling, with a large circle window up high that let a lot of evening light in to bounce off the natural wood of the floor and the walls.

Terry Tempest Williams spoke about her new book The Glorians, and her painful experience of being let go from her teaching position at the University of Utah. Essentially, she had participated in a disruption of an auction of public land for oil and gas leases by bidding on those leases--the goal being to keep those pieces of land away from oil and gas production. After she did this, the University let her go. She talked about how much this allowed her to re-evaluate and adapt.

Her approach to resilience is more psychological. If I had to summarize: Being resilient to this degree means we have to love and care for ourselves, our community, and our surroundings enough to seek the out the changes we want to make to reach a resiliency that will help us meet future challenges as a community.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

What did you learn about the businesses or owners you supported? How does shopping locally contribute to a more vibrant and resilient community?
Gage Edvalson 4/13/2026 1:49 PM

There's a shop in Port Townsend, WA called Imprint Bookshop. They hosted a community event for Terry Tempest Williams, where she talked about her new book The Glorians. One of the bookshop owners introduced the guests, and we learned about their store in the process.

We stopped by the shop and found most of the books on display were actually catered to ecological resilience and our place within it. Sure, maybe we spent "too much", but it we came out of the shop wanting to go back for more and do what we can to keep local stores like it stay alive.

They also had many free resources on how members of the community can keep each other safe in times of crisis, with an emphasis on everyone being welcome in their store.

Port Townsend is not a large place, and even with visiting only a couple of days, we could tell they are well ingrained into their community.

Read More
- Meghan DeNovo 4/13/2026 2:20 PM
  
  Book Lover 📚
  Port Townsend is a location I visited frequently about a decade ago and it holds true that the culture was and is very creative and inclusive - wonderful story of your experience there - thank you!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
What is resilience?

What definition of resilience did you choose to share, and why? How did others respond to it, and did it spark any new insights for you?
Gage Edvalson 4/09/2026 6:34 PM

From APA.org, resilience is:

The process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands. A number of factors contribute to how well people adapt to adversities, predominant among them (a) the ways in which individuals view and engage with the world, (b) the availability and quality of social resources, and (c) specific coping strategies.
Psychological research demonstrates that the resources and skills associated with more positive adaptation (i.e., greater resilience) can be cultivated and practiced. Also called psychological resilience.

I chose this psychological relation to resilience because I believe this is where overall resilience begins in terms of our relationship to the environment. If none of us are psychologically resilient in some way, it is not likely a greater resilience can follow.

Read More
Gage Edvalson 4/08/2026 4:36 PM

I just joined this challenge and I am looking forward to exploring resilience more in my personal life and what it means for me and my community.

I created my goals today and I am excited to contribute!

Read More