Ecochallenge.org

Campus Ecochallenge

Ellie Romfoe

Community Team

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
812 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

140

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

1,980

minutes

of additional sleep
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

14

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

10

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

420

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

1,230

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

240

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

33

meatless or vegan meals

consumed

Ellie's actions

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 2 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Learn About Renewable Energy

I will spend 90 minutes learning more about renewable energy alternatives (i.e. solar, wind, biomass) in my region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Adjust the Thermostat

I will adjust my thermostat down 2 degrees from usual when I use the heat, and up 2 degrees when I use air conditioning.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Meditate

I will meditate or create a moment of silence for 10 minute(s) each day to reflect on things important to me.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

De-Clutter My Home or Dorm Room

I will de-clutter, clean, and donate or recycle unneeded items in my home or dorm room.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Enjoy the Sunrise/Sunset

I will enjoy the sunrise and/or sunset each day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Practice Gratitude for Earth

I will spend 60 minute(s) per day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and my natural surroundings.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Go For A Daily Walk Outside

I will take a walk outside for 30 minutes each day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Learn About Local Environmental Justice Concerns

I will spend 45 minutes researching environmental justice and environmental racism concerns in my region, who is affected by them, and local initiatives to address these concerns.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-Waste Cooking

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Healthy Sleep

Effectively working for sustainability requires self care! I will commit to getting 180 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Express My Support

I will find out who in my state makes decisions that impact the environment and express my support for more environmental actions.

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

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

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

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

Food

Meet My Local Farmers

I will visit my nearest farm to find out who produces my food, and will learn about the quality of life of those around the world who produce my food in order to make better choices when I shop.

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

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
Food Meet My Local Farmers

When you know who produces your food, you are connecting personally to your complex regional food system. What are the advantages of knowing who produces your food and where it comes from? How can knowing their food producers enable someone to advocate for a better quality of life for those who produce their food, both near and far?

Ellie Romfoe 5/02/2020 11:09 AM

I detest how sterile food systems are in terms of the disconnect between producers and consumers. So visiting and getting some produce from an urban farm super close to my house was really cool! Getting to know folks in your community is rad as heck, and especially in these times, creating/maintaining community connections is super important. (Also I found out the guy who runs it has two kids that went/go to st thomas!! small world!!!!)

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Try a New Way to Prep

Canning and pickling food is a great way to have delicious summer fruits and vegetables all year round. Just make sure to follow the canning and pickling guidelines from the USDA or another trusted source. What are some foods that you would like to preserve and enjoy later in the year?

Ellie Romfoe 5/02/2020 10:53 AM

Well today I tried (emphasis on tried) to make homemade kimchi which is like preserves/fermented cabbage and carrots and stuff. I hope it all works out and doesn't explode so I can try it when it's done doin its thang.

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- Katie McGinnis 5/02/2020 7:05 PM
  
  Wow! Sounds like fun.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Personal Waste Audit

Why is it so difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places? How might your experience with this challenge impact your future consumption and choices?

Ellie Romfoe 4/28/2020 9:21 PM

It's so easy to live in an individualistic way, and American society, specifically, praises that. Until you're exposed to where your rubbish ends up and how the recycling industry really works, it's hard to feel your impact. I will definitely take even more steps to reduce my consumption of plastic goods, and other products that create unnecessary waste.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?

Ellie Romfoe 4/28/2020 4:50 PM

Fast fashion is so unethical for a lot of reasons. And so many people buy from those stores that it is hard to find pieces with character to them. That's why if you do need some more clothing items, or if you like to use clothes to have a creative outlet, a good option is at second hand stores. It's a lot cheaper, the clothes are usually older which means a lot of the time there is less synthetic material used (less micro-plastics), and you can find a lot cooler stuff in my opinion. In addition, clothes that you no longer wear still contain perfectly good fabric, and if you're savvy enough, you can make new stuff out of old. I used to give old fabric to my friend shea and she'd turn them into scrunchies... super duper fun!!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Explore My Area

How might spending more time outdoors enhance your brainpower?

Ellie Romfoe 4/28/2020 2:46 PM

I know people may have different reactions to different things. But personally, spending time outdoors relieves a lot of stress I have, it puts me in a great mood, and (especially when the sun is out) gives me energy. When you are more relaxed and in a peaceful state of mind, I think you can be a lot more productive and enjoy whatever you are doing more.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Express My Support

What sustainability issues are most pressing or prominent on your campus? In your hometown? Where you live currently?

Ellie Romfoe 4/26/2020 4:06 PM

I was made aware of the level of food waste that we have at st thomas by our wonderful team captain, Ariana. In addition to food waste, the amount of single use plastic is troubling. Those are both pretty visible issues, but I think the biggest one at st thomas is the fact that the university invests, heavily, in fossil fuels. In my hometown, we're pretty close to lake michigan, so all of the plastics being dumped into the lake that get broken down end up in our drinking water, food, air, etc. Micro-plastics in general freak me out. 🥴

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Zero-Waste Cooking

In North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for using every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable (including the skins, tops, stalks, etc.) during your next meal prep?

Ellie Romfoe 4/24/2020 10:03 AM

A way to cook with no food waste is by chopping your veggies really small so you cant even tell what part of it you'd normally consider "scraps." Also making soup is a super simple way to cook down the vegetables if you are more picky. Also side note, please for the love of all that is good in this world, do not peel carrots! You can just wash them, peeling is such a waste of produce and your precious time 😭🥕

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Learn About Renewable Energy

What inspires you to act on sustainable energy and other energy issues?

Ellie Romfoe 4/23/2020 9:18 PM

Fossil fuels are finite and when they're burned it raises levels of atmospheric CO2, which as we all know has negative environmental impacts. As the population continues to rise, energy demands will also continue to rise. Those should be met with readily available sources of energy: wind, solar heat, solar electricity, hydropower, geothermal, etc. And the fact that fossil fuel executives profit off of actions that are literally going to lead us towards the 6th mass extinction is truly vile. Anyways, eat the rich. 🐊

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Adjust the Thermostat

Your utility company is able to tell you your average energy usage. Ask them how your energy usage compares to others in your ZIP code, region, and/or state. What other steps can you take each day to reduce your electricity usage?

Ellie Romfoe 4/23/2020 8:58 PM

Some steps I have taken is unplugging EVERYTHING when I'm not using it. That means chargers, lamps, everything!! I can also make sure that I'm being mindful of the temperature settings in my house and make sure I'm not excessively heating or cooling the space.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Healthy Sleep

Consider how many hours of sleep you get now. How would you like to shift your sleep patterns? What are you finding works for you to be successful in this action?

Ellie Romfoe 4/22/2020 9:39 PM

I really detest sleeping. I think about it and just consider it a huge waste of time. I usually get about 3-4 hours a night, you know, get those REMs and get out quick as possible. But I think I would benefit from at least trying to get some more. It's just hard because I really like being up at like 3 am, it is so peaceful and a little spooky which makes for interesting walks. And then I'm also such a sunrise person, I like to watch the light hit objects differently as the morning progresses. I think I'll have to give one of those up :( So far nothing is successful because I think I might be immune to the melatonin pills I got. This post is a bit erratic (and not the geological kind of glacial erratic! hehe rock jokes) Anyways, that picture is a tree.

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