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SA Golden's avatar

SA Golden

NCMNS-Green Team

"To encourage inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability."

SA's points

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 837 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    piece of litter
    picked up
  • UP TO
    0.8
    pounds
    waste composted
  • UP TO
    1.0
    water footprint
    calculated
  • UP TO
    90
    expressions of gratitude
    shared
  • UP TO
    90
    random acts of kindness
    completed
  • UP TO
    2.0
    community events
    hosted or attended
  • UP TO
    2.0
    hours
    volunteered
  • UP TO
    12
    species
    logged for community science
  • UP TO
    10
    minutes
    spent learning

SA's actions

Water

Save Water When Washing Dishes

Dishwashers can save water — if used wisely. I will only run the dishwasher when it’s full and skip the pre-rinse to reduce water and energy use. If I don't have a dishwasher, I will turn off the tap as often as possible while washing dishes.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Create My Own Water Action

Everyone’s water needs and use are different. I will create an action that works for my life and supports water resilience—and make my commitment public by sharing it in the feed to inspire others.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Express Gratitude and Random Acts of Kindness

Small acts of kindness and gratitude can brighten someone's day and create a positive ripple effect. I will express gratitude to 3 people or perform 3 random acts of kindness to spread joy and connection.

COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Host a Gathering

Bringing people together helps strengthen bonds. I will organize and host a gathering, such as a potluck, coffee meet up, or shared meal, for friends, family, colleagues, or neighbors to foster connection and community spirit.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Offer a Skill or Service

Sharing our talents can benefit those around us. I will offer my skills or services that contribute to local self-sufficiency, such as teaching a repair skill or helping with a neighbor's garden.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Soil and Food

Learn How to Save Pollinators

Bees and other pollinators are vital to ecosystems and agriculture. I will spend 15 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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Soil and Food

Preserve or Store Food

Preserving food through freezing, drying, or fermenting helps food last longer, reduces waste, and ensures supplies during difficult times. I will preserve or store food during the challenge to strengthen household and community resilience.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Soil and Food

Compost My Food Waste

Composting turns waste into a resource, building soil health and cutting methane emissions from landfills. I will compost food scraps at home, school, or in my community, which avoids sending up to 0.42 lbs (0.19 kg) of food waste to the landfill per day.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track

Host a Cleanup Event with Colleagues

Shared projects at work strengthen teams and build organizational resilience. I will host or join 1 cleanup events with colleagues, classmates, or group members to improve our environment and strengthen collaboration.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Biodiversity and Wildlife

Contribute to Community Science

Wildlife observations can help researchers and communities understand and protect biodiversity. I will download a wildlife monitoring app and log 1 animal or plant species I discover.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed


  • SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/30/2026 8:41 PM
    • Artist 🎨
    This Earth Month was definitely my most productive/active/self aware one compared to previous years thanks to the eco-challenge! I hope we get to do this again next year and continue to share our sustainable strides with one another! It is especially nice to be a part of a team and see everyone make progress through the month.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community
    What skill or service did you offer, and how did it impact someone in your community? How did sharing your expertise or time help you feel more connected to others?

    SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/29/2026 9:33 AM
    • Artist 🎨
    A friend of mine used to work at the career center on my university's campus. She would help me tailor my resume and give me advice on job hunting. I have since taken the advice and guidance she gave me to help my teenage brother in making a resume and applying to find his first job. It kind of feels like those moments in movies when "the trainee becomes the trainer" or "the pupil becomes the master" because I was able to learn and pass on knowledge from someone to help someone else.

    • Anika Rajesh's avatar
      Anika Rajesh 4/29/2026 6:19 PM
      That's so sweet! That kind of support is so helpful when people are going through internship and job applications.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Soil and Food
    What did you notice about how much of your food waste could be composted? How does composting change the way you see “waste”?

    SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/29/2026 8:54 AM
    • Artist 🎨
    It honestly took me a while to learn what composting actually entails. I knew what it was of course, but I didn't really understand how it was that much different from the landfill. Since food waste is typically biodegradeable, I used to assume that it was the same difference—that composting was just more specific than the landfill and could be used for gardening. Over the years as I have learned more about sustainability and as the places around me have been including more enviornmentally-friendly practices, I learned that composting is so much more than just a specialized landfill.

    It just goes to show how important it is to practice what you preach about, because a lot of people don't truly get it until they see for themselves (which also applies to so many more things other than composting, but is especially applicable.)

  • SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/29/2026 8:41 AM
    • Artist 🎨
    While I don't particularly enjoy being out in the rain, I can certainly understand and appreciate other people's love for it. I bet the plants have been enjoying soaking it all up and I've been loving the cooler weather over the last couple of days, so I count this as a win for sure :)

  • SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/28/2026 9:21 AM
    • Artist 🎨
    Not necessarily Earth Month related, but I highly recommend the self-care app called Finch! I have been using it for over a year now and it is adorable and has a lot of really good tools for self-care and goal tracking. I have also used Habitica in the past, which is similar and I would also recommend. Take care, everyone <3

    • Anika Rajesh's avatar
      Anika Rajesh 4/28/2026 1:54 PM
      Thanks for sharing! I feel like we can definitely think of self-care as part of Earth Month, since we, too, are a part of the ecosystem. It's important to make sure that we're treating ourselves with the same kindness, compassion, and respect that we're treating the environment with this month and months after!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Water
    How did changing your dishwashing habits make you more mindful of water use? What other small changes can you make to conserve water in your household?

    SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/28/2026 8:52 AM
    • Artist 🎨
    Dishwashers and laundry machines can oftentimes have either eco settings and/or the ability to alter the cycle settings on them to reduce the amount of water and energy used while they run, which is one of the really great things about how modern technology and innovation has progressed! I love seeing modern appliances that have the enviornment in mind.

  • SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/21/2026 11:27 AM
    • Artist 🎨
    A friend of mine had to give a TedTalk presentation for a class and called me to help them rehearse before presenting to their class. It was about the relationship between Americans and their food and offered great ways to start small and lead a more sustainable life. A couple of things I learned from them:

    1. Going to your local farmer's market to support local businesses and farms drastically decreases the carbon footprint of your food.
    2. Community gardens are closer than you think. Look yours up and you might be surprised how close it is without you ever having realized it was there.
    3. There are tons of sites and services such as Misfit Market that aims to reduce food waste while also providing affordable healthy food products to everyone. They reduce food waste by selling the foods that are perfectly fine to eat, but don't meet the aesthetic standards of your average grocery store, which allows them to discount the products and make them cheaper and more affordable to people. Think salmon trimmings, misshapen fruits and veggies, or even something that was just improperly packaged.

    There are so many tiny ways to practice sustainability more that don't require a grand effort, and once you integrate something into your routine, it becomes second nature. A lot of sustainable practices are the little things that do make a difference, and oftentimes the more sustainable option helps you save money too.

    • Anika Rajesh's avatar
      Anika Rajesh 4/21/2026 6:09 PM
      Thank you for sharing these tips! I looked it up, and there is, in fact, a community garden just 10 minutes away from where I live!

    • ALOK BAIS's avatar
      ALOK BAIS 4/21/2026 11:42 AM
      • Tree Lover 🌲
      This is great

  • SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/20/2026 2:21 PM
    • Artist 🎨
    Happy Earth Day!

    A couple of days ago, I finished crocheting a small basket made completely from yarn scraps. These pieces were too small to do much of anything else with, so I put them together and made something cool and useful with them! This is a much smaller version of a scrap basket I made about a year and a half ago, which I use to hold extra blankets. Currently, the new one is holding pieces I need to "frog" (undo) so I can reuse the yarn for other projects. The original used any and every scrap I could find, but this one I limited primarily to the color blue (and supporting colors like green, purple, black, and white.)

    I get most of my scraps through finishing my own projects, but my college fiber arts club members also used to donate their scraps to me (this only stopped when I moved back home.) Scrap projects are extremely unique, fun, and they keep yarn waste out of the garbage. I make a variety of little projects using the longer scraps and I use the smallest scraps to stuff plushies! I could go on and on about how great scrap projects are, but I will spare everyone the lecture, haha.

    Some people may call this hoarding, but I call it eco-friendly crafting :)

    • Ashish Goyal's avatar
      Ashish Goyal 4/20/2026 4:55 PM
      • Plant Parent 🪴
      Happy Earth Day!
      By the way, it is tomorrow, April 22nd.

    • Therese Herzog's avatar
      Therese Herzog 4/20/2026 3:11 PM
      • Pet Parent 🐾
      I was so busy, I forgot it was Earth Day!! Happy Earth Day!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track
    How did working together on an environmental project strengthen relationships in your group? What does this teach you about resilience in organizations?

    SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/20/2026 2:02 PM
    • Artist 🎨
    Although it wasn't a formal clean up event, my neighborhood hosted a community garage sale that I participated in. By gathering all of the things we don't need or want anymore and offering them to neighbors, we reduce the amount of items that get thrown aimlessly in the landfill. This also allows people to be able to afford decent quality items for less than the typical price—which is often very expensive and unrealistic. These kinds of events teach about resilience in organizations by strengthening the community, opening doors for interaction and kindness, and helping your neighbors.

    • Anika Rajesh's avatar
      Anika Rajesh 4/20/2026 6:15 PM
      What a lovely way to work with the community and reduce waste as a neighborhood!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Biodiversity and Wildlife
    What species did you discover and log? Why do you think that logging species can help protect them?

    SA Golden's avatar
    SA Golden 4/13/2026 10:43 AM
    • Artist 🎨
    On Friday, April 10th, 2026, I recorded part of what seemed to me to be an active conversation between 4 different species of birds! I used the Merlin app to record and discover the sounds I was hearing. The app was really intuitive and interesting to use. The birds it gave me were the Eastern Townhee, the Chipping Sparrow, American Robin, and the Northern Cardinal. I only wish I was able to see them too, but they were all in the trees across the road.