Simone Birriel

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

I will offer to help 1 person(s) who are in need each day.

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

I will spend 15 minutes doing an activity where I'm both moving my body and enjoying myself.

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.

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

I will make sure I’m registered to vote. While I’m at it, I’ll sign up to help others register too!

I will spend 60 minutes learning about the experiences of trans, femme, and/or nonbinary people.

I will host a watch party to screen a documentary about an issue that matters to me.

I will volunteer 1 hour(s) in my community during the challenge.

I will spend 15 minutes learning more about renewable energy alternatives (i.e. solar, wind, biomass) in my region.

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.

I will spend at least 15 minutes assessing the vehicles used by my company or college and advocate for a purchasing policy focused on fuel-efficient vehicles.

I will spend 15 minutes practicing Loving-Kindness Meditation to nurture love and compassion for myself and others.

Effectively working for sustainability requires self care! I will commit to getting 30 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

I will spend 15 minutes researching environmental justice and environmental racism concerns in my region, who is affected by them, and local initiatives to address these concerns.

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 15 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard or local community garden.

I will watch 1 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.

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

I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 15 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

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.

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

I will keep 3 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.