Ecochallenge.org

2020 People's Ecochallenge

October 7 - October 28, 2020

Erika Ortiz

The Star Room Rocks

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
650 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

2.0

hours

volunteered
UP TO

360

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

25

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1,525

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

4.0

pounds

waste composted
UP TO

88

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

tree

planted

Erika's actions

Nature

Join An Outdoor Project

I will join an outdoor restoration project in my community while observing best practices in my region for not spreading COVID-19.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Plant Trees

Do at Home

I will plant 1 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Research Voter Suppression

Do at Home

I will spend at least 30 minutes finding out what local laws, policies, and practices keep people from voting in my community.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Sign Up to Vote

Do at Home

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

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

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Forgiveness

Do at Home

I will begin, or continue, on the journey of forgiving myself and/or other(s). I may do this through journaling, meditation, prayer, and/or talking with a licensed healthcare professional.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Core Values

Do at Home

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Family Game Hour

Do at Home

I will spend quality time with family and friends by playing low-tech game(s) and/or through the spirit of imagination.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Compost Food Waste

Do at Home

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Insulate Water Pipes and Water Heater

Do at Home

I will avoid wasting water while waiting for the shower or sink to heat up.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

Do at Home

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Do Nature Activities

Do at Home

I will engage in nature-based activities alone, or with my friends or family, for 60 minute(s) each day. (This can be anything from going on a walk or hike, to noticing the leaves changing color, to reading a book with nature themes.)

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Tend a Garden

Do at Home

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Practice Gratitude for Earth

Do at Home

I will spend 15 minute(s) per day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and my natural surroundings.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Joyful Movement

Do at Home

I will spend 30 minutes doing an activity where I'm both moving my body and enjoying myself.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

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
Action Track: Healing and Renewal Forgiveness

How has the process of forgiving, or contemplating forgiveness, benefited you?

Erika Ortiz 10/28/2020 12:29 PM

Forgiveness in our family often means starting over and getting back to the relationships with each other that we depend on for emotional happiness and which we cherish. When we get angry with each other, we stay made, and often see that anger reflected in how we treat each other until we reach the point of apologizing and then forgiving.

What we've realized though is that it's easier to forgive when you know it affects your day in and day out relationship. So in our household, we're really working to also forgive those who we don't interact with everyday. Although we don't see them regularly and don't always realize we're still angry or affected by a particular event, we can still be affected by those feelings which may unwittingly affect us negatively. So it's important to let those things with strangers or acquaintances go quickly. It's not always forgiveness exactly, but maybe just letting go or giving grace to others.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Sign Up to Vote

Why is voting important to creating a just, sustainable, and thriving world? In what other ways can you actively participate in important decision-making?

Erika Ortiz 10/28/2020 12:20 PM

Voting is important as it's the only way to make strides to put the people in place that reflect your values and priorities. It's hard sometimes to see how it can work when you look at your vote as only one. However, when you start to connect to the greater community and realize there are many people out there that share your same values/priorities then you start to see how collectively all your voices/votes come together to drive change when you need to see it most.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Do Nature Activities

What did you observe while spending time outside -- through sight, sound, smell and/or touch?

Erika Ortiz 10/28/2020 12:17 PM

Last night we spent our outdoor time carving pumpkins. It shorter than it might have otherwise been because it was cold! However, we noted the extra special smell in the air that comes with cool weather/winter time. We smelled people burning wood, likely from making little outside fires to stay warm. Tonight we may try to make our own fire.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Join An Outdoor Project

How well do you know the area you live in? In what ways is a deep knowledge of your surroundings -- known as a 'sense of place' -- important to you?

Erika Ortiz 10/28/2020 12:14 PM

We have a community garden in our neighborhood that we recently reached out to help manage. We are hopeful that soon our family will get a planter box to manage.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Research Voter Suppression

What are the ways in which voters are prohibited from or discouraged from voting in your region and/or state? What could be done to get rid of these barriers?

Erika Ortiz 10/28/2020 12:11 PM

We've been tracking the move from multiple ballot drop off boxes per county to one, even in those largest counties that have 1M plus people. Generally it also seems that with Texas restrictions on absentee voting to a very explicit and short set of requirements means that less people have access to absentee voting/mail-in voting.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Family Game Hour

How does being playful with others enrich your life?

Erika Ortiz 10/20/2020 11:09 AM

Laughing at our house creates deeper relationships. Often laughter heals hurt feelings after an argument (when preceded by an apology) and typically proceeds hugs.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Healing and Renewal Joyful Movement

What's your favorite activity(ies) in which you experience joy while being active and moving?

Erika Ortiz 10/14/2020 8:02 PM

Running through bubbles with the girls. We love using them in the backyard running through them, catching them and talking about where the bubbles that make it over the fence go before they pop.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Healing and Renewal Practice Gratitude for Earth

Kathleen Dean Moore says that a sense of gratitude leads to a sense of moral obligation. Do you agree? How can we cultivate a sense of gratitude as individuals, and as a society?

Erika Ortiz 10/09/2020 4:08 PM

Yes, and at times gratitude sometimes begins with a complaint or issue, which turns to gratitude and then a sense of obligation to help others reach that same gratitude. In our family as we're working through a complaint or issue, we very often arrive at how truly fortunate we are based on the problem we are having. And then from there we discuss those not as fortunate to have such a problem and wonder how we can help others to have this same problem rather than another which is often more pressing or difficult.

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Erika Ortiz 10/09/2020 4:03 PM

Today's nature challenge was getting inspired by the outdoors while painting Calaveras.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Healing and Renewal Tend a Garden

Have you ever had a significant experience in nature that altered your perspective or focus? If so, please describe it.

Erika Ortiz 10/08/2020 8:14 PM

Horsebacking riding in New Mexico in the Fall among aspen trees when I was a young girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old. I remember watching the aspen leaves fall all around me feeling like they were falling just for me. Aspen leaves flutter in the wind and fall like no other leaf. I feel like it was in that moment that I decided Fall was my favorite time of year. I still dream about being on that horse watching the leaves fall all around me and seeing them create a carpet of gold below the horse.

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