Ecochallenge.org

Campus Ecochallenge

Viktoria Sugars

Sustainable Sunrisers

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
691 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

documentaries

watched
UP TO

30

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

106

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

205

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

308

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

20

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

16

people

helped
UP TO

41

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

131

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

9.3

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

40

more servings

of fruits and vegetables

Viktoria's actions

Community

Engage In Active Listening

I will practice actively listening to a friend, family member, co-worker, acquaintance, or someone who I may disagree with in at least 2 conversations.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Volunteer in my Community

I will volunteer 3 hour(s) in my community during the challenge.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

LEARN ABOUT TRANS, FEMME, AND NONBINARY EXPERIENCES

I will spend 20 minutes learning about the experiences of trans, femme, and/or nonbinary people.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

More Fruits and Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 3 cup(s) of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 4 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 2 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Core Values

We may find more meaning and joy in life when our actions are aligned with our personal values. I will determine what my top 3-5 core values are so that I can better align my actions with them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Go for a Daily Walk

I will take a 30-minute walk outside each day.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Practice Gratitude for Earth

I will spend 20 minute(s) per day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and my natural surroundings.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 133 lbs of CO2 a month and 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Choose Two-Sided Printing

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper per day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided when I have to print documents.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Go Paperless

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Help Others

I will offer to help 3 person(s) who are in need each day.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 3 meatless meal(s) and/or 2 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 60 minute(s) each day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Spend Time Outside

Rachel Carson said that we need the beauty and mysteries of the natural world for our spiritual and emotional development. Does that ring true for you? What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time indoors?

Viktoria Sugars 4/19/2022 5:18 PM

Being in a culture that spends most of its time indoors, means it's easier for them to ignore the negative impacts on the outdoors. They are inside so much that they have yet to see the damage of the land and sea that they have caused.

Read More
Viktoria Sugars 4/19/2022 4:12 PM

I think my eco challenge is going well. I am practicing many of the actions, however it can be difficult to remember to check in and get the points. These actions are giving me a new perspective of my negative impacts and how I can turn those into positives.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Volunteer in my Community

What is one thing you can do to help your community become more sustainable?

Viktoria Sugars 4/19/2022 4:00 PM

One thing I do is be aware of the amount of plastic I use and discard. I try to stay away from plastic bottles and I use glass tupperware instead of plastic. I also use reusable bags now when I shop for groceries, but before I would repurpose the plastic bags.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Use a Reusable Water Bottle

While water bottles are needed for health and safety in certain places, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. What are the barriers to you using reusable bottles and tap water instead of bottled water? How could you make this a permanent habit?

Viktoria Sugars 3/31/2022 9:14 PM

For many the cleanliness of tap water is a big factor with why they don't use it. Flint Michigan is a prime example of tap water that became dangerous. Also many people don't like to hold water bottles around and buying bottled water is easier. So the issue of using reusable bottles vs bottled water is a matter of laziness. Personally, I bring a large enough bag or purse with me when I go somewhere so I can put my water bottle in it. Also I have a filter for my tap water so I can drink it. Creating a habit is all about consistency, so putting that water bottle in your bag everyday is very important, maybe even preparing it the night before so you can grab it and go in the morning.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Choose Two-Sided Printing

Choosing two-sided printing can be an easy adjustment on your computer settings. How can you help others make this same switch? Can it be encouraged company wide?

Viktoria Sugars 3/31/2022 9:06 PM

A starting sentence that could quickly make someone switch is, Two-sided printing is cheaper. People love to save money and so do companies. Informing someone how much they can save by two-sided printing can persuade them more to switch but so can telling them the negative impacts printing too many pieces of paper can do and how wasteful it is. But reward and profit are more convincing to people.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health More Fruits and Veggies

How does eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat positively affect yourself, other people, and our planet?

Viktoria Sugars 3/31/2022 8:59 PM

Eating more fruits and veggies for me gives me more energy. Eating them wakes me up or makes me feel fresh, this I believe is because of them being cold and not as heavy as meat. Also eating fruits and veggies helps my skin and over all health. I have a few friends that are vegetarians so for them eating veggies and fruits are a way of life for them. Eating meat makes them sick or they are against animal cruelty on farms and this is their way of doing their part. For our planet eating less meat will meat less animals dying unnaturally, and all the co2 used to process, package and send these meats places will decrease.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Happiness

How does/can practicing gratitude keep you centered and motivated to work for a better world?

Viktoria Sugars 3/30/2022 11:23 AM

It can be very easy to only see the bad things happening in the world and give up. Giving gratitude makes you acknowledge the good parts, it doesn’t let you dwell on the bad things for too long and helps you not feel helpless. That helps push you to a better world, it gives you hope.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Go Paperless

Reducing your paper mail can reduce mental clutter as well as physical waste -- by reducing what is coming in, you can reduce what is going into the recycling bin too. How does it make you feel? What is the next step you will take to reduce your waste?

Viktoria Sugars 3/30/2022 11:20 AM

I personally don’t like a messy e-mail box and switching to paperless makes it harder to keep up with, but I know going paperless is better for the environment so I don’t mind as much. There is more reward in going paperless and it makes me feel like I’m doing something to help, even if it’s small. My next step is to covert to taking notes on my IPad instead of paper. The only issue is one of my professors only lets you take paper notes for your test.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Core Values

What are your top 3-5 core values? How did you narrow it down to those as being your core values?

Viktoria Sugars 3/24/2022 5:20 PM

My three core values are to treat others the way you expect to be treated or the way you want someone you care about to be treated. Be open-minded, so being open to trying new things, ideas or listening to others that may have different views as you. Three is to trust your gut or the vibe you get from people or situations. With that last one, make sure to protect your vibe or mental health. That means if you meet someone that gives you bad vibes stay away from them to protect yourself, unless the vibe they give you chances. I've always had these values but I never put them down on paper as values. Most of them I learned with time, but the first one I was taught in elementary school.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Go for a Daily Walk

How do you experience your neighborhood or city differently when walking instead of driving?

Viktoria Sugars 3/24/2022 5:03 PM

When you walk instead of driving it allows your senses to soak up your surroundings. When you walk you can smell all different scents, good or bad. You have to capability to touch things around you, to hear different sounds and possibly a conversation or different a language. Most of all you can see so many things. In a car you can look for about 10 seconds before you've already moved past the object but when you walk you can truly look at every little detail and find things you never saw before.

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