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Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar

Gabrielle Alvarado

St. Kate's

"SCU OAKS"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 882 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    3.3
    pounds of paper
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    120
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    2.0
    documentaries
    watched
  • UP TO
    2.0
    water collection systems
    installed
  • UP TO
    635
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    13
    pounds
    waste composted
  • UP TO
    146
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    535
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    5.0
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed

Gabrielle's 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

Food

Reduce Animal Products

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

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Compost Food Waste

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 13
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

Energy

Turn it off

I will keep lights, electronics, and appliances turned off when not using them.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smart Seafood Choices

I will visit seafoodwatch.org or download the app and commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Take Control

Both systemic and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Tend a Garden

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Practice Gratitude for Earth

I will spend 15 minute(s) per day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and my natural surroundings.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Eliminate Toxic Plastics

I will avoid buying toxic plastics - including polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyvinyl - and instead replace them with durable non-plastic options.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Collect Rain Water

I will create a rain garden or bioswale or use rain barrels to collect water for outdoor watering needs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Eco-friendly Gardening

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

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

Action Track: Building Resilience

Support Businesses Owned by People of Color

Racial inequity is both a sustainability and justice problem. I will support businesses owned by people of color in my community whenever I shop.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Go for a Daily Walk

I will take a 15-minute walk outside each day.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Power Down the Computer

I will power down my computer and monitor when not using it for more than 2 hours, saving up to (1.1) lbs of CO2 each day that I do this.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Upgrade My Windows

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Support Local Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 30 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard or local community garden.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Support Native Communities

I will use the resource links provided below and spend 60 minutes learning about the native populations that lived in my area prior to colonization, and what I can do to support those that still exist.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

RESEARCH LOCAL WASTE SITES

I will spend 30 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Learn More about Food Apartheid

What can lack of access to nutritious food affect a community? How can having access to nutritious food help a community become more resilient?

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Try a New Way to Prep

I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Audit Toxic Cleaning Products

I will spend 30 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home or dorm room.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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
    Action Track: Building Resilience Learn More about Food Apartheid
    What can lack of access to nutritious food affect a community? How can having access to nutritious food help a community become more resilient?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 6:09 PM
    Lack of access to nutritious food negatively impacts the health of individuals in the community--negatively impacting community health. Having access to nutritious foods increases the health of community members and because better health is associated with higher socioeconomic status, will likely increase the socioeconomic status of the community as well. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community Support Native Communities
    Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 6:04 PM
    Balance is important to sustainability because it allows humans and the environment to co-exist without either causing excessive damage to the other that cannot be repaired. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Practice Gratitude for Earth
    Kathleen Dean Moore says that a sense of gratitude leads to a sense of moral obligation. Do you agree? How can we cultivate a sense of gratitude as individuals, and as a society?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 6:02 PM
    I do think gratitude leads to a sense of moral obligation because you are taking time to appreciate things; when you appreciate things, you tend to want to protect them and feel an obligation toward them. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Smart Seafood Choices
    Many states and countries have advisories on eating fish. Find out what is advised for your region. Do you think your diet choices fall within these guidelines? What steps do you need to take to make sure that they do?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 6:01 PM
    My diet does fall within Minnesota state fish guidelines/advisories. When I do consume fish, I can try and choose local fish caught using sustainable practices.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Building Resilience Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty
    How does food sovereignty address the complex transition from localized food systems to modern global food systems?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 9:07 AM
    Food sovereignty shifts food consumption from global sources to local sources. This also helps to increase/maintain the environmental and physical health of communities by providing sustainably produced , culturally appropriate food instead of mass-produced and hyper-processed foods from halfway across the world. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Building Resilience Support Businesses Owned by People of Color
    A recent Keen Independent Research Foundation study found that Minority Businesses Enterprises (MBEs) are more likely to have difficulties in receiving loans or city contracts. In what ways can you work to address systemic racism like that demonstrated in this study?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 9:04 AM
    I can support MBEs by buying from their businesses directly instead of through a third party carrier like Amazon, as well as investing in their business. I can also support MBEs by attending their events, recommending their business to family and friends, and showing up for support at city council meetings. 
  • 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?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 9:02 AM
    Reducing waste always feels so amazing, like a physical weight has been lifted! My next step to reduce waste is to unsubscribe from unwanted emails to help lower my carbon footprint. Unsubscribing from emails is also going to prevent me from overconsuming on items I don't need, such as clothes.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature Support Local Pollinators
    Why is it important to take care of pollinators?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 9:00 AM
    Pollinators are vital to environmental health because they keep plants healthy, which keeps animals (us) healthy!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Take Control
    How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 8:59 AM
    A community is only as healthy as the environment its located in! If the environment isn't healthy, the individuals within the community are not as healthy as they could be.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health Audit Toxic Cleaning Products
    To what extent do environmental factors contribute to your own health or issues with health?

    Gabrielle Alvarado's avatar
    Gabrielle Alvarado 4/25/2021 8:57 AM
    Environmental factors have a huge impact on health! Air quality, water pollution, levels of sunlight, soil quality, and lots of other factors contribute to individual health.