Andrea Foster

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.

A healthy world needs both our daily actions and support from larger systems. I will spend 15 minutes learning about how I can use my investments and savings to advance environmental sustainability.

I will spend 30 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.

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.

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 gather a group of friends, family, neighbors or colleagues to make 3 phone calls to public officials or companies to advocate for planet-friendly policies.

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.

Plastic bags can be mistaken for food by many wild animals and can end up in habitats that harm wildlife. I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

It's estimated over a billion water bottles are thrown away each year. Even if they were recycled, that still uses energy and resources from the earth. I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 3 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

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.

I will volunteer 10 hours in my community.

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.

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.

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.

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.