Tiffany Rodriguez
"Joining this eco challenge, I'm on a mission to shape a healthier, greener earth, inspired by my daughter Penelope's future. Each eco-friendly choice I make is a step towards a cleaner world where she can explore and grow. Let's make sustainability fun and real for the next generation!"
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 522 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO36meatless or vegan mealsconsumed
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UP TO1.0Carbon FootprintCalculated
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UP TO64pounds of CO2have been saved
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UP TO1.0energy auditconducted
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UP TO1.0water footprintcalculated
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UP TO4.0hoursvolunteered
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UP TO1.0community eventhosted or attended
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UP TO1.0advocacy actioncompleted
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UP TO20minutesspent outdoors
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UP TO2.0treesplanted
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UP TO370minutesspent learning
Tiffany's actions
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Beauty and Personal Products
Beauty and personal products can create a lot of waste. I will spend 20 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.
Land + Forests
Advocate for Forest Protection
Using my voice can help create a more sustainable and just world. I will contact 1 local, regional, or national decision makers to advocate for public policy that protects forests and improves their ability to sequester carbon and nourish biodiversity.
Climate + Air
Consume only Needs vs Wants
The more stuff we consume, the more greenhouse gasses we put into the atmosphere. I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach this month and only buy things I need.
Climate + Air
Choose Renewable Energy
Renewable energy options are becoming more widespread and accessible. Not only are they good for the planet, they can help save money as well. I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option. If my utility does not offer one, I will contact them to advocate for this option in the future.
Climate + Air
Stay on the Ground
Carbon emissions from air travel is harmful to planetary and human health. Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).
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.
Freshwater + Oceans
Smart Seafood Choices
We need to support healthy seafood populations. I will spend 20 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
Low Water Gardening
Grass lawns are water-intensive and on average require about 30 percent of a household’s water consumption. Native plants are water-efficient and help maintain the balance and diversity of local ecosystems. I will plant native species with water-efficient plants to conserve water and improve the habitat, then post a photo on the feed to share.
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.
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.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Reduce Animal Products
One kilogram of beef and cheese emits 71kg and 24kg of greenhouse gasses, while 1kg of rice, grains, and legumes emits between 2-4kg. Fruits, vegetables, and nuts emit less than 1kg per 1kg. I will reduce my climate impact by enjoying 1 meatless meals and/or 1 vegan meals each day this week.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Endangered Species
Wildlife and biodiversity play an important role on our planet and are being threatened each year. I will spend 20 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
Learn about Native Species
The world is full of unique species. I will spend 20 minutes each day learning what the native plants and wildlife are in my region.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Leave No Trace
I will respect and protect biotic communities by practicing the seven principles of Leave No Trace whenever I am outside.
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.
Biodiversity + Wildlife
Invest in Nature
A healthy world needs both our daily actions and support from larger systems. I will spend 20 minutes learning about how I can use my investments and savings to advance environmental sustainability.
Action Track: Community
Volunteer in my Community
I will volunteer 8 hours in my community.
Action Track: Community
Sustainability Lunch and Learn
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.
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.
Land + Forests
Explore My Area
When we explore natural spaces around us, our connections with them change. I will spend 45 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
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 2 native trees in my community, public parks, office location, campus or backyard.
Freshwater + Oceans
Use organic, package-free laundry detergent sheets
I utilize this to ensure cleaner waters and reduce waste.
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 20 minutes learning about how cleaning products affect our water and try making my own cleaning products to reduce pollutants.
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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Tiffany Rodriguez 4/26/2024 3:03 PMI meant to share this earlier with those who are local to PDX.
As part of our research, we stumbled upon this site that is super helpful for locals on how to use less plastic.
https://consciousbychloe.com/zero-waste-pdx/
We plan to check out one shop mentioned in this piece called "Replenish Refill Shop", a zero-waste refill shop. -
Tiffany Rodriguez 4/26/2024 2:56 PMKeeping the spirit of Earth Month up, we headed to our local nursery and picked out a new tree to plant in our front yard. Here's a our new Japanese Maple tree. We plan to plant it this weekend!
I will share pictures once it's planted in its new home!
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Jacqui McGrath 4/30/2024 8:32 AMbeautiful! -
Xiaobo Qian 4/26/2024 6:06 PMGreat ! -
Alberto De Angelis 4/26/2024 2:59 PM
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Tiffany Rodriguez 4/23/2024 9:07 AMI'm co-leading an "Eco-club" at my neighborhood community house. Last night, the kids (5 years - 8 years) came together to celebrate Earth Day. Here's a picture of some of the ideas from the next generation!-
Michele Wittig 4/23/2024 1:27 PMI love this, Tiffany! Great ideas they offered up. Having an enlightened and inspired generation to follow us is huge!!!
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Tiffany Rodriguez 4/10/2024 1:34 PMIt's going great! It's been helpful to keep the environment at the center of all I do. For example, this week my family has two birthdays that I'll be celebrating and I found reusuable eco-friendly wrapping paper and compostable bows.
Yesterday on my day off, I spent the day at a wellness retreat and taking in nature all day.-
Jacqui McGrath 4/15/2024 10:02 AMAhhh, that looks like such a peaceful spot!
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REFLECTION QUESTIONClimate + Air Stay on the GroundWhat was your process like for restructuring your trip? How can you avoid more air travel in the future?
Tiffany Rodriguez 4/10/2024 8:47 AMThis week we trying our best to "stay on the ground". We're doing as many errands this week on foot (e.g. grocery shopping, post office). And we will be taking a 4.5 hour drive from Fort Worth, TX to San Antonio, TX instead of flying. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFreshwater + Oceans Understand My Water FootprintWhat did you learn about your water footprint and what are you going to do to reduce and be aware of the water you use?
Tiffany Rodriguez 4/04/2024 10:49 AMLast night our family completed our water footprint calculation. We learned a ton!
It was interesting to see how the average household water consumption varied by state. We were shocked to learn that TX actually uses less water (on average) than OR. We figured that with everyone watering their lawns in the hot TX summer, it would be higher. We decided tonight we will research to learn more as to why the data show OR having higher water consumption, and maybe what role the rain plays.
If you're interested in calculating your water footprint you can do so here: https://www.watercalculator.org/
Similar to our carbon footprint calculation, our family has some areas we can improve on, specifically "virtual water intake", which is a category we learned about thanks to this tool. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONBiodiversity + Wildlife Grow LocalHow did it feel to plant something native in your area to support local wildlife and biodiversity? What did you plant? Please consider adding a photo.
Tiffany Rodriguez 4/03/2024 12:28 PMThis week, my family and I took a trip to Portland Nursery as we gear up to start our garden.
One of the areas of our gardens will be a shade-loving area filled with a ton of ferns, so we learned all about ferns native to Portland. Here's some pictures of the ferns we picked out. We also grabbed an elder flower and rosemary bush.
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Tiffany Rodriguez 4/03/2024 9:29 AMHi Everyone! I'm excited to be a part of the ecochallenge team. My daughter and I are doing this together. Last night we completed our carbon footprint assessment. We learned a TON in the process. If you're interested in completing your footprint calculation, you can do so here:
https://carbon-calculator.climatehero.org/