Ecochallenge.org

2020 People's Ecochallenge

October 7 - October 28, 2020

Veronica Beaupre

The Hartford Environmental Action Team

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
660 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

advocacy action

completed
UP TO

410

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

16

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

10

hours

volunteered
UP TO

5.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

248

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

2.0

documentaries

watched
UP TO

295

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

420

minutes

spent learning

Veronica's actions

Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community

Learn About Trans, Femme, and Nonbinary Experiences

Do at Home

I will spend 60 minutes learning about the experiences of trans, femme, and/or nonbinary people.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community

Support Native Communities

Do at Home

I will use the resource links provided and spend 60 minutes learning about the native populations that lived in my area prior to colonization, and what I can do to support those that still exist.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community

Learn About Local Environmental Justice Concerns

Do at Home

I will spend 60 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

Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community

Watch a Documentary about Racial Injustice

Do at Home

I will watch 2 documentary(ies) about systemic racism.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Joyful Movement

Do at Home

I will spend 15 minutes doing an activity where I'm both moving my body and enjoying myself.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community

Research Voter Suppression

Do at Home

I will spend at least 60 minutes finding out what local laws, policies, and practices keep people from voting in my community.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Buy From a Farmers Market

Do at Home

I will purchase produce and meat from a local farmers market or food co-op.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Work From Home

Do at Home

I will work from home 15 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Volunteer in My Community

Do at Home

I will volunteer 10 hour(s) in my community during the challenge.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Work-Life Balance

Do at Home

I will not work more than 8 hour days each day to practice work-life balance.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Do at Home

I will not travel for meetings and will instead conduct them virtually.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Meditate

Do at Home

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

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Mindfulness Practice

Do at Home

I will spend 10 minute(s) per day practicing Mindfulness.

COMPLETED 20
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
Food Buy From a Farmers Market

What is one food choice that you make, or could make, that would do more good and less harm?

Veronica Beaupre 10/26/2020 11:31 AM

One food choice I have made is to not eat red meat and to limit poultry and fish consumption. By turning to more plant-based alternatives, I hope to save some of the resources that go into producing meat.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Healing and Renewal Mindfulness Practice

What best helped you with your Mindfulness Practice? How does Mindfulness keep you grounded and sustain your work with compassion?

Veronica Beaupre 10/26/2020 11:30 AM

I found the Headspace app to be very helpful at teaching me how to be mindful. Mindfulness for me is important in making sure I don't beat myself up for not taking on more. If I am not paying attention to what I am getting done, I get upset that I am not accomplishing more.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Justice for the Whole 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?

Veronica Beaupre 10/20/2020 12:35 PM

Connecticut has ID requirements that do not allow for flexibility due to economic circumstance or disability. In the midst of COVID, CT has also failed to allow for early in-person voting. To address ID requirements, CT could make it easier to obtain a state-issued ID by allowing more of the process to be done online, removing fees associated with obtaining an ID, or by not making it a requirement to vote.

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?

Veronica Beaupre 10/19/2020 6:59 AM

My favorite activity that gets me moving is walking/hiking in nature. Especially since we are in autumn right now, I love taking in all of the colors, sounds, and smells of the outdoors. On my walk yesterday, I encountered two squirrels and a chipmunk. I look forward to keeping up with these walks and am considering switching to snowshoeing in the winter!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Work-Life Balance

How might practicing work-life balance lead to a more sustainable life for yourself? How might it contribute to sustainability more broadly?

Veronica Beaupre 10/16/2020 9:02 AM

Practicing work-life balance helps to prevent burnout and frustration. It allows me to have the energy to practice activities that are more sustainable, like commuting over public transportation, shopping at a farmers' market, or cooking a low-waste meal at home. Often times, the downside to sustainable activities is the time required. Work-life balance helps me (and others) have the time.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community Support Native Communities

Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?

Veronica Beaupre 10/16/2020 9:00 AM

Balance is important to sustainability because often people will think they need to give up every activity that has a negative impact: no driving, no plastics, no air travel, etc. In reality, it is about reducing your negative impact and then finding a way that you can provide a positive impact. I believe that this is the balance of sustainability.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Volunteer in My Community

What is one thing you can do to help your community become more sustainable?

Veronica Beaupre 10/16/2020 8:46 AM

To help my community become more sustainable, I want to help encourage technological adoption amongst the non-profits I am involved with. I believe that by leveraging more modern technologies, tasks can be simplified and performed remotely.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Justice for the Whole Community Learn About Trans, Femme, and Nonbinary Experiences

How is equality for trans, femme, and nonbinary people important to a just and sustainable society?

Veronica Beaupre 10/07/2020 5:04 AM

Equality for trans, femme, and nonbinary people is important to a just and sustainable society because they are people. Everyone deserves access to the resources needed to help them be healthy, emotionally and physically. If society does not allow a certain group to be treated with dignity, than we have failed in maintaining a fair and just culture.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Conduct Virtual Meetings

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?

Veronica Beaupre 10/07/2020 5:01 AM

To ensure virtual meetings honor my personal values and the company's culture, I think it is important to make sure everyone in the call is given the opportunity to speak on a topic. This could mean calling on individuals who have been muted throughout or sending out a follow-up email with the major discussion points and asking for any last thoughts. I think this helps maintain the culture of inclusivity that The Hartford was working to foster and takes into account the personal home situations people may be experiencing that prevent them from joining every meeting.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Work From Home

It takes the average worker in the United States 26 minutes to travel to work. One way to fix long commutes would be to make cities more affordable. An even simpler option: promote the use of telework. How have you used technology to replace in-person meetings or work this year?

Veronica Beaupre 10/07/2020 4:58 AM

This year especially all in-person meetings and work have had to be replaced with technology. To be honest, most work was already being done over Skype and Outlook due to having employees across the globe. Transitioning to work-from-home was more mental than material in execution.

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