Locke O'Dea

I will spend 15 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.

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.

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.

I will volunteer 4 hours in my community.

The world is full of unique species. I will spend 5 minutes each day learning what the native plants and wildlife are in my region.

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.

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.

Understanding cleaning product ingredients and their effect on water and biodiversity is helpful to our consumer choices. I will spend 30 minutes learning about how cleaning products affect our water and try making my own cleaning products to reduce pollutants.

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

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 4 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

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.

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.

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.