Austin Sumpter
"For my first ecochallenge, I will be starting a sustainability journal. As the project describes, I will be listing some of my concerns about issues at home and abroad and my learnings for more sustainable means to resolve said concerns. Likewise, I aim to go further about this and also track down my means for sustainability as I go along in this course. Peoples' actions can affect wildlife around the world day-in and day-out; making steady changes to improve sustainability, even if they seem small, can make positive contributions for imperiled species. I plan to make use of this journal fully for the aforesaid purposes. "
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 321 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO35locally sourced mealsconsumed
Austin's actions
Visions of Sustainability
Eco-friendly Gardening
I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.
Consumption and Economy
Buy Only What I Need
I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.
Transportation
Research Better Transportation
I will research one of the solutions presented in this week's session on Transportation and see if there are any groups in my community already doing this work.
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.
Food
Support Local Food Systems
I will source 5 meal(s) from local producers each day this week. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.
A Call to Sustainability
Start a Sustainability Journal
I will start a sustainability journal, capturing my thoughts, concerns and learning about sustainability issues.
Ecological Principles
Research Renewable Energy Options
I will find out if my local utilities offer an option for supporting renewable energy investment.
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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Austin Sumpter 5/27/2020 8:57 PMBecause I've already started a garden with wildlife-friendliness in mind (at least from my part), I suppose I can say I've achieved this. I'm also beginning to feel cautiously hopeful as I've managed to get a working means of efficient irrigation started for it. -
Austin Sumpter 5/26/2020 9:01 AMThis week I chose the goal closest to my EcoChange -- maintaining a wildlife-friendly garden. I already got a garden started and I plan to make it open for beneficial wildlife. I'll just have to keep up my plans for it -- even if they get grueling to deal with. -
Austin Sumpter 5/23/2020 2:22 PMThis week, I managed to uphold my ecochallenge of only buying necessities over this week. -
Austin Sumpter 5/19/2020 9:11 AMSorry I hadn't posted anything yet, but for this week I plan to only make purchases of absolute necessities in order to save my money and not overconsume products. -
Austin Sumpter 5/16/2020 8:02 PMEarlier this week, I fufilled my challenge to research pulbic transportation for which which kind has the lowest impact. Based on some of the sources I looked into, it's been determined that simple walking is the most sustainable form of transportation with biking close behind -- reasonable given there are no greenhouse gas emissions from them. As for more motor vehicular forms of it, buses and motorbikes came up being less impactful than railways, followed by private cars (hybrid, diesel and electric being more sustainable than conventional cars) and planes were very fuel-intensive compared to other options. So, yeah, I won't be going on planes anytime soon. -
Austin Sumpter 5/11/2020 8:16 PMThis week, I plan on researching different means of transportation for people and look for which ones provide greater environmental impacts over others. -
Austin Sumpter 5/09/2020 8:06 PMAs I stated, I've managed to get some litter clean-up done this week. I've picked up objects including some old food wrappers and a small piece of discarded rope along my driveway and on my property and properly disposed of them. Given my rural location, this was more for the local wildlife than community; cleaning up litter reduces the amount of roadkill-induced fatalities and harmful substances getting ingested. -
Austin Sumpter 5/04/2020 8:20 AMThis week I plan to pick litter around my property and possibly surrounding areas. This will reduce the amount of trash left on paths and other areas to impact wildlife. -
Austin Sumpter 5/02/2020 8:49 PMEarlier this week, I was able to get myself and my relatives to go without plastic for its duration. -
Austin Sumpter 4/29/2020 8:12 PMI'm sorry for a late post; I had a lot of stressful things on my mind lately. Anyway, for my challeng ethis week, I'd like to get myself and my immediate relatives to go a few days or so without using any disposable plastics. This may sound unusual as I already use a hydro flask instead of water bottles, but given how a lot of the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel a lot of people are beginning to slip on sustainability commitments, including shopping with plastic bags being temporarily brought back (and my relatives habitually going for some disposable plastics in the past). I feel it's good to remind ourselves to reduce plastic consumption and look for more sustainable alternatives when shopping or for household use.