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Kaylee Fujita's avatar

Kaylee Fujita

Community Team

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 316 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    7.0
    locally sourced meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    21
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    2.0
    documentaries
    watched
  • UP TO
    1.0
    petition
    signed

Kaylee's actions

Visions of Sustainability

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

Consumption and Economy

Buy Only What I Need

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Locally-Sourced Meals

I will source 1 meal(s) from local producers each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Sign a Petition

I will sign a petition in support of an environmental or social initiative in my state.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Watch The Story of Bottled Water

I will watch The Story of Bottled Water to learn more about bottled water's impacts on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Ecological Principles

Reduce My Footprint

I will calculate my ecological footprint and talk with my family or roommates about way we can reduce our negative enviromental impact.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a movie about a sustainability issue I would like to know more about.

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?


  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 3/02/2022 6:52 PM
    This week I chose to collect rainwater which I did not actually do since I have no use for rainwater here but I started looking at options for back home where we have gardens and whatnot. I found this upcycled food-safe rain barrel on Amazon (oops) from a homesteader I follow on Instagram but of course, they don't ship to Hawaii. I've since found other options and am looking to get a small one to collect water for our chickens. We have barrels that collect water from our house's roof and gutters and use that to water plants, but I want something a little less far-traveled for the birds to drink. I'm not too worried about mildew or anything growing since they drink so much water, I'm sure it'll go down quickly. But we'll figure that out when we get there. 
    I talked to my parents and we decided to add another rain barrel to the chicken coop since that roof also collects quite a bit of water. It rains a ton where I'm from so it's nice to use some of that water where we can. 

    • Ethan Shubert's avatar
      Ethan Shubert 3/02/2022 7:58 PM
      Kaylee, I notice that my chickens drink a ton of water too! More than my goats, by far. And chickens are not picky, they will drink muddy water that even Bear Grylls wouldn't. I like the idea of collecting rainwater for chicken use, and if you have a small stock tank out for them to drink out of already, during rainy season you won't have to fill it very often.

    • Kendyl Huston's avatar
      Kendyl Huston 3/02/2022 7:29 PM
      Hi Kaylee! I've purchased things off of Amazon too for this class, it's difficult to not since they have such fast shipping. One step at a time! That's unfortunate they don't ship to Hawaii, does this happen to you often? I think it's awesome that you were able to talk to your parents and hopefully make a difference for your chickens! Thanks for sharing!

  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 2/23/2022 8:38 PM
    This week I chose to not buy anything that wasn't a necessity. I don't normally do tons of shopping anyway, but it did make me really think about what I did buy. I had a long weekend stressing over an exam and wanted to treat myself to some Starbucks, but after giving it a bit of thought (and it being freezing cold outside) I decided I could make my own coffee, saving me time, money, and a disposable cup and lid too! Clothing-wise, it's nice to use what I have and not be so frivolous with my money. I'm so sentimental that I have a hard time getting rid of clothes so my closet really doesn't have space for more anyway. I can feel a shopping spree urge that's likely to come over spring break, so I'll have to try my best to maintain this practice through it. 

    • Daniel Tapia Silva's avatar
      Daniel Tapia Silva 2/23/2022 10:36 PM
      I initially started doing this to save money but came to realize that it was also benefitting the environment even in a small way. I think it's okay for us to treat ourselves now and then. It is a good idea though to figure out ways to treat ourselves that also benefit us and our planet in some way. I totally understand the shopping urges, I have to stop myself from buying every cool jersey working at a soccer store. 

    • Reganne Harding's avatar
      Reganne Harding 2/23/2022 8:57 PM
      Good job resisting Starbucks, I always get that urge to treat myself as well, but if I have coffee at home I'm better at telling myself no. Maybe over the break you could shop at a thrift store or do a clothes swap to satisfy your shopping spree urge. I struggle with that kind of thing too, but I've found really cool stuff through second hand sources!

  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 2/16/2022 8:37 PM
    This week I tried sourcing at least 1 meal locally per day. It was hard but honestly since there was no way to un-select the action and pick a new one I had to keep trying. I wasn't too successful and probably would have been more successful if I went to a Whole Foods or something instead of Safeway. But, I did go to the farmer's market and had a little fun realizing that it was indeed possible, it just takes some effort. I made granola with almonds and pumpkin seeds from Safeway that were packaged in Salem... not grown but does Oregon even grow almonds? I think most almonds are grown in California so I'm going to say that's close enough. I used local Oregon honey that I had from the farmer's market and Bob's Red Mill rolled oats. This week I snacked on the granola as well as yummy fuji apples I picked up from the farmer's market. 
    As far as real meals go, I used local veggies in my meals but didn't really do anything 100%. I ended up using leeks, potatoes, broccoli, onions, swiss chard, sunflower sprouts, brussel sprouts, carrots, and baby bok choy from the farmer's market.
    Even though it wasn't a super success, it was still fun to realize all I could get locally. If I had the time, it would have been nice to get and cook some dried beans since I include those in my diet quite a bit. If I had prepared more I definitely think I could have done a better job. I'll continue to incorporate buying veggies from the market. They last longer and it's always nice to buy things from real people who are thankful for your patronage, especially since I normally just do self-checkout at stores.

    • Erin Stagner's avatar
      Erin Stagner 2/17/2022 6:14 PM
      Hi Kaylee! Great job persisting on your challenge, it sounds like you really found some great resources for shopping local for meals. Local vegetables are really the best, especially from the farmers market, it's so easy to want to just grab everything you see, and it's great that you get to support local business owners and farmers. Have you considered trying to pickle or preserve any of the vegetables you got? I bet that would be a fun challenge!

    • Laura Maple's avatar
      Laura Maple 2/16/2022 9:46 PM
      (there actually is a way to unselect the action; I think you have to "edit actions" and then hit delete.... :P) BUT I'm super proud of you for sticking it out! I think doing things 100% is really difficult, if not impossible, so you shouldn't let that discourage you at all. Bob's Red Mill is a great idea for locally sourced stuff like oats and I know you can buy a wider range of products at their store in Milwaukie. Getting local stuff this time of year is probably more challenging than other times of the year, so it's awesome you did this.

    • Sam Galvan's avatar
      Sam Galvan 2/16/2022 9:07 PM
      Sourcing meals 100% locally is tough so way to go taking this on! Even if you can't get the whole meal locally sourced doing as much as possible is still great. I don't know much about Oregon's almond industry but I know we grow a ton of hazelnuts so maybe almonds would grow well here too? You might have more luck finding local foods at a local food co-op. Even if their food isn't super local they could probably tell you quite a bit about where it's from. I don't know Portland's co-op scene too well but I know there's one in inner Southeast a few blocks off 12th and Division, might be worth checking out!

  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 2/09/2022 8:15 PM
    I've been sort of keeping up with the fuel tank leakage on Oahu that happened this past November/December, so I thought this was a good opportunity to look into the situation a little more. I found a petition to shut down Red Hill, the Navy facility whose fuel tanks leaked into the water supply and caused illness in over 5000 residents. The Navy initially denied reports of the leak, saying the water was safe to drink. They were wrong. Levels were over 350 times greater than the safe drinking level (which also makes me wonder what kind of water has any fuel at all in it and is still safe to drink?). I thought I read that the Navy finally did agree to de-fuel the tanks, but it's since come out that the military is appealing the order to drain the tanks and is taking it to court. It's just upsetting that they insist on keeping so much fuel in these almost 80-year-old tanks. What's the purpose? People in Hawaii are pretty upset with the Navy, and it doesn't seem like there's a set plan in the works to solve this problem. Whatever the solution is, I doubt it's one that residents will be satisfied with. Some families are still living in hotels in Waikiki, with one woman reporting that her bill has now exceeded $7,000. I'm sure she's not actually paying it, but still I just can't imagine spending over 2 months in a hotel away from my home while the cause of the problem is refusing to do anything about the huge problems they have caused.

    • Naomi Bojorquez's avatar
      Naomi Bojorquez 2/09/2022 10:55 PM
      It is horrible when people cause environmental devastation without considering its impact. Many view the environment as a commodity they are willing to sacrifice but do not consider the people in the environment. I feel that there is no excuse for this blatant immorality. There is no way people experiencing this traumatic event can ever be reasonably compensated for their water and land contamination and all the work it will take to "fix" this issue. It shows that environmental issues are also inherently social ones. Thank you for bringing light to this injustice. 

  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 2/02/2022 1:50 PM
    This week I watched The Story of Bottled Water. I had heard of bottled water not actually being as filtered or pristine as the companies make it seem, and I know that I personally don’t like the taste of some companies, so it was interesting to learn about how bottled water even became a thing. It’s so crazy to me that we really are just constantly trying to make things just for the sake of it. I like the saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and I feel like here we are constantly trying to “fix” problems that don’t exist just to sell products and make money. I thought it was crazy to hear that the number of plastic bottles used could wrap around Earth 5 times. I wonder if that's changed since the video was made? Also, I use a Brita filter in my home, so now I’m curious to see how effective it really is or if I’m just buying and replacing filters for nothing.

    • Kendyl Huston's avatar
      Kendyl Huston 2/02/2022 9:42 PM
      Hi Kaylee! The documentary is very surprising and shocking. I mean the fact that the plastic water bottles can put toxins in the water that isn't good for us is crazy! I know someone who likes the taste of water from the water bottles and has reused them a few times. I wonder if the toxins has negatively affected their body. Also on the topic of the Brita filter, I also wonder what it does for the environment. I have a filter that connects straight to the faucet, and I have kept the filters because there is no instructions on how to get rid of it and I didn't want to just throw it away. There's definitely a lot to think about. Thanks for sharing!

    • Reganne Harding's avatar
      Reganne Harding 2/02/2022 7:12 PM
      Hi Kaylee, I agree that most bottled water has a weird taste and it's ridiculous that a lot of the bottles can't even be recycled. I also use a Brita filter, I tried to look up their effectiveness and it seems like they are at least filtering some stuff!

  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 1/26/2022 2:22 PM
    This past week I’ve eaten meatless meals every day and found it to be much easier than I was expecting. My groceries were also a bit cheaper than they normally are, which was very nice. So far I’ve been eating normal meals that I'm used to eating, but just replacing the meat with tofu or just omitting it completely, which has made cooking even easier and faster than it used to be. This coming week I’m going to try new recipes and cooking techniques because I imagine I’m going to get tired of tofu at some point or another. I hadn't noticed that tofu containers add up so quickly -- I have quite a few stacked up that I'm not sure what to do with. I've been trying to get my fresh greens from the farmer's market. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to use my reusable produce bags yet with COVID and all, but at least I can save the plastic produce bags for use later. I’ve cooked a big batch of black beans I got from the farmer’s market in my Instant Pot and froze them in 2-cup portions to use for my future meals. It was pretty quick, so I hope to get more beans to do the same with.

    • Laura Maple's avatar
      Laura Maple 1/26/2022 9:01 PM
      Cooking meatless can definitely be less of a hassle since you don't have to worry about cooking things to the right temp or cross-contamination. I didn't realize you could freeze beans! That's such a good idea.

    • Jessie Quandt's avatar
      Jessie Quandt 1/26/2022 4:23 PM
      This is a super inspiring post! I have a lot of food aversion so changing my meals is pretty scary to me but your post makes me think that I could do it! I like your idea about eating the same foods just without the meat, changing it yet keeping it the same. Thanks for your post!
      -Jessie :)

    • Jessie Quandt's avatar
      Jessie Quandt 1/26/2022 4:22 PM
      This is a super inspiring post! I have a lot of food aversion so changing my meals is pretty scary to me but your post makes me think that I could do it! I like your idea about eating the same foods just without the meat, changing it yet keeping it the same. Thanks for your post!
      -Jessie :)

    • Jessie Quandt's avatar
      Jessie Quandt 1/26/2022 4:22 PM
      This is a super inspiring post! I have a lot of food aversion so changing my meals is pretty scary to me but your post makes me think that I could do it! I like your idea about eating the same foods just without the meat, changing it yet keeping it the same. Thanks for your post!
      -Jessie :)

  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 1/19/2022 8:26 AM
    This week I decided to calculate my ecological footprint and find ways to reduce it. My overshoot day was calculated to be June 6, which was pretty sad considering that’s not even halfway through the year. I retook the quiz with the new habits I'm hoping to adopt through my EcoChange project of eating plant-based, reducing my food waste, and eating more local, and my new overshoot day was July 5. So, sticking to the habits I hope to create through my project will help to reduce my negative environmental impact.
    I noticed I only throw the big boxes I get from online orders down the recycling chute. I didn't grow up with this sort of recycling, so I had no idea that other things could be recycled there too. I'm slowly diverting more of my boxes and waste into the recycling instead of the trash bin. It's not a perfect solution, but I think it's better than throwing everything in the trash. 
    I took a look at my electricity account and found a breakdown of my home’s energy use. The largest category was water heating, which was significantly higher in Nov-Dec than Sep-Oct, so another change I’ll be trying to adopt is reducing my shower time. This will be hard since hot showers are my favorite during the cold winter months, but I’ll have to at least try. 

    • Kendyl Huston's avatar
      Kendyl Huston 1/19/2022 12:29 PM
      Hi Kaylee! I think it's sad that people around you or even your school didn't teach you about proper recycling. I think schools should take that on and tell people how to properly recycle because it is important for the environment, and is definitely not your fault that you didn't know! I also like that you looked at your electricity bill to see what you used the most, I feel like that's important to notice so you can reduce your usage of hot water. Thanks for sharing!

    • Ethan Shubert's avatar
      Ethan Shubert 1/19/2022 10:47 AM
      Hi Kaylee! I too have had to rethink how and what I recycle (and what I buy in terms of whether or not it is recyclable). It is definitely better than throwing everything in the trash! And I wonder what my biggest energy use is, I haven't looked at the power bill lately! I like how your eco-change is multifaceted, all around the subject of sustainable eating.

  • Kaylee Fujita's avatar
    Kaylee Fujita 1/12/2022 7:40 AM
    I watched 'No Impact Man' which followed a man, Colin Beavan, and his wife and toddler on their year-long journey to be totally impact-free on our Earth. They followed many rules such as creating no waste and emitting no pollutants. They didn't eat any transported or processed food, shopped primarily (if not only) at the local farmers market, walked up the nine flights of stairs to their NY apartment, made their own hygiene and laundry products, and even went a time without electricity. The film followed them from beginning to end, including the obstacles they faced through the project and between each other. It was very extreme, but still interesting to see what little changes I could implement in my own life to reduce my personal impact. 

    • Ethan Shubert's avatar
      Ethan Shubert 1/12/2022 11:34 AM
      Hi Kaylee, I wonder if the Beavans' experience was anything like the experience of the speaker in the Ted Talk we watched yesterday. It brings to mind the added challenges of trying to be impact-free as a family, as opposed to a single person. I would bet the toddler in the Beavan family would grow up with good values that the average person in today's economy might not have or express.