Susan Spangler

The impacts of our waste are far reaching. I will create zero waste for an entire day and share my reflections and learnings on the feed.

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 1 native trees in my community, public parks, office location, campus or backyard.

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.

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.

Wildlife and biodiversity play an important role on our planet and are being threatened each year. I will spend 120 minutes each day learning about the current status of local or global wildlife and how I can align my actions to support their livelihood.

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.

Synthetic clothing can contain plastic and shed harmful microplastics into our water. I will use a microplastics catcher in my laundry, or install a microplastics filter for my washing machine.

A healthy world needs both our daily actions and support from larger systems. I will spend 50 minutes learning about how I can use my investments and savings to advance environmental sustainability.

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.

The world is full of unique species. I will spend 30 minutes each day learning what the native plants and wildlife are in my region.

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.

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.

Studies have shown that when we spend consistent time in nature, our health improves, our creativity increases, and our connection to the planet gets stronger. Each day of the Ecochallenge, I will spend 30 minutes outside (in a large or small patch of nature), then share my observations, reflections, and learnings on the feed.