Rachel Billington
"Passionate about health and sustainability! Trying to share knowledge and gain knowledge. "
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 386 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO7.0locally sourced mealsconsumed
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UP TO21meatless or vegan mealsconsumed
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UP TO14whole food mealsconsumed
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UP TO14plastic bottlesnot sent to the landfill
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UP TO210minutesspent outdoors
Rachel's actions
Visions of Sustainability
Support a Sharing Economy
I will create or support a sharing economy with family, friends, and neighbors.
Consumption and Economy
Buy Only What I Need
I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.
Consumption and Economy
Support Local Businesses
I will buy from local businesses instead of shopping online.
Transportation
Locally-Sourced Meals
I will source 1 meal(s) from local producers each day this week.
Transportation
Car Share
I will sign up for a car-sharing service, or organize car sharing with my neighbors, to cut down on the number of vehicles on the road.
Community
Pick Up Litter
I will pick up litter on my street and ask others to join me in taking care of our neighborhood.
Water
Say No to Plastic
Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. This week, I'll say "no" to plastic bags at the store and plastic straws in all of my drinks.
Water
Use Reusable Bottles
I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) each day this week.
Food
Whole Foods Diet
I will enjoy 2 meal(s) free of processed foods each day this week.
Ecological Principles
Practice Gratitude for Earth
This week, I will spend 30 minute(s) each day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and the nature surrounding me.
Food
Reduce Animal Products
I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 1 vegan meal(s) each day this week.
Food
Watch a Documentary
I will watch a documentary film about food with family and friends and talk about what we learned.
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?
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Rachel Billington 5/26/2020 1:09 PMThis week for my challenge, I will be supporting a sharing economy! To successfully do this, I plan to share my car with my boyfriend when I am not using it. Another action I plan to take is to do my laundry with my boyfriend so that we use less water; I'm not sure if this exactly counts as a sharing economy but I thought it would be a good idea! -
Rachel Billington 5/21/2020 11:00 PMHi guys! So I went to Cycle Dog yesterday and ended up buying my dog two new toys, I've attached pictures below. Both of these toys are made with recycled material; they are filled with shredded water bottles!! I also ended up purchasing new doggy bags. The doggy bags that Cycle Dog carries are actually made from a corn based material so they are 100% biodegradable within 180 days! I really recommend that anyone who has a dog, goes and checks out their products. They are sustainably made and they are a local business. Hope everyone is having a great week!
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Rachel Billington 5/18/2020 12:39 PMThis week I am challenging myself to only buy items that I need and will absolutely use, as well as buying from local businesses. To succeed at this challenge, I am going to make sure I only buy food that is for a specific recipe in order to make sure none of it goes to waste. One of local businesses that I will be making sure to support is a small Portland business called Cycle Dog. They are a business that makes sustainably sourced products for dogs! Almost all of their products are made here in Portland and are made from recycled materials such as bike inner tubes and shredded water bottles! I know that I need to get some doggy bags for my dog so I plan on stopping by to pick some up, and maybe a new toy for her as well! I will post again later this week with photos of the products I buy from this awesome local business. -
Rachel Billington 4/29/2020 2:22 PMThis week I challenged myself to using reusable bottles/containers, and saying no to plastic. I almost always use reusable bottles so this wasn't too much of a challenge, I took it one step further by making sure the people closest to me also used reusable bottles. Additionally, something I found out that has to do with saying no to plastic is that when ordering on Amazon, you can request that your order is fulfilled with no plastic! All you have to do is message customer support and tell them you don't want any plastic in your orders and they will instead use packaging paper rather than plastic bubble wrap. This is something that is super easy to do, and if enough people do this it could really make a difference!
I also recently started saving all glass jars/containers and have been reusing them for other things. For example, I save jars that had sauce in them and I now store nuts in them! I also use old jars to store the chia pudding that I make. -
Rachel Billington 4/28/2020 8:33 AMOn Saturday this past weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to drive up to Salem and go to the farmers market. There weren't as many vendors as usual, but that was expected. We ended up getting kale, bok choy, almond butter and a few plants for my house! -
Rachel Billington 4/20/2020 10:37 AMMy ecochallenge for this week is to eat at least 2 meals each day that have nothing processed. So far I have been able to do this each day pretty easily; this morning I made a smoothie with strawberries, banana, blueberries, chia seeds and homemade almond milk. I have a bit of experience with eating whole foods from when I did Whole30 which is a "diet" in which you eat only whole foods for 30 days. It's kind of amazing how much better you feel after eating foods that have not been processed. Additionally, it is beneficial for the environment when we eat foods that are not processed! -
Rachel Billington 4/16/2020 3:49 PMI got pretty lucky this week with such good weather! I was able to spend at least 30 minutes outside each day this week, practicing gratitude and journaling. In addition to meditating and journaling outdoors, I also spent quite a bit of time on walks and runs with my dog which was really nice. Only downside is that my allergies are seriously killing me! I guess that's just the price to pay for having beautiful weather. The only photos I remembered to take were of my dog after a nice walk outside, so I will attach those below.
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Rachel Billington 4/12/2020 9:25 AMFor my ecochallenge this week, I have decided to spend at least 30 minutes outside each day (assuming the weather permits). While outside I will be doing either meditation, journaling or thinking about why I am grateful for nature. Will check back in later in the week with some notes and pictures! -
Rachel Billington 4/08/2020 11:51 AMLast night for dinner, my family and I prepared a meal that was free of any animal products! We made chickpea pasta with a (made from scratch) roma tomato sauce with onions and mushrooms. We also prepared a salad that had arugula, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, pepitas and was topped with an olive oil based dressing!
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Rachel Billington 4/06/2020 1:46 PMGrowing up I did not know much about sustainability or how to minimize my carbon footprint. It wasn't until I took a nutrition class my freshman year when I decided to go vegan and be more aware of where I source my food from that I learned the impact of food choices on the environment. I was vegan for 2 years, and then I was vegetarian for another year and a half or so. As of now, I do occasionally eat meat or animal products but I always make sure they are as ethically sourced as possible. I aim to only eat meat 2-3 times a week and even fewer times for dairy or other animal products. I hope to transition back to veganism within the next few months!
