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October 7 - October 28, 2020
Katie Emerick's avatar

Katie Emerick

Saint Louis Zoo Volunteers

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 503 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1,075
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    45
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    1.0
    plastic straw
    not sent to the landfill

Katie's actions

Food

Smart Seafood Choices

Do at Home

I will visit seafoodwatch.org or download the app and commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Healing and Renewal

Go for a Daily Walk Outside

Do at Home

I will take a walk outside for 20 minutes each day.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Encourage others to vote

I'm writing letters through Vote Forward to encourage others to vote. Vote Forward's goal is 10 million letters to voters this election year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Watch a lecture series on climate change

The Aquarium of the Pacific has bundled a number of their past lectures on various aspects of climate change. You can pick and choose, but they have arranged them in a sequence that they believe presents a coherent picture of climate change and its impacts. Each of these lectures was presented by a leader in his/her field. See link below.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Support Local Pollinators

Do at Home

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 30 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Online Energy Audit

Do at Home

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Skip the Straw

Do at Home

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Simplicity

Read about sustainable living

Read a (new to you) book about sustainable living. Check the links for some suggested titles or ask a friend or fellow volunteer for a recommendation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use the plastic footprint calculator

Complete the 3-minute consumption calculator to find ways to balance your plastic footprint.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Be a litter hero

Pick up trash in your neighborhood or a local park.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Build a bee condo

Help a very important native pollinator - bees! Provide a nesting spot.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Buy orangutan-friendly candy this Halloween

Orangutans and many other animals are in danger due to unsustainable palm oil plantations, which destroy their forest homes. Palm oil can be found in many products—even candy! We are dedicated to caring for animals, so we encourage you to consider purchasing candy that contains sustainable palm oil. For a list of suggestions, please visit: https://www.stlzoo.org/files/9815/6985/6138/STLZoo_Candy_Guide_for_Holloween.pdf

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Use the sustainable palm oil app.

Download the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's sustainable palm oil shopping app.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Advocate for Sustainable Palm Oil and Help Orangutans

Support companies that have joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Write to your favorite companies and restaurants. Ask them to use sustainable palm oil in their products and to join the RSPO if they haven't done so already.

UNCOMPLETED
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?


  • Katie Emerick's avatar
    Katie Emerick 10/19/2020 6:40 AM
    I am reading 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg. Very easy read with lots of great ideas. Sparked some conversation with my husband about things we can do in our household.

    • Pat Hofmeister's avatar
      Pat Hofmeister 10/28/2020 12:22 PM
      Just bought it.  Will get it tomorrow.  Looks like weekend reading!

    • Pat Hofmeister's avatar
      Pat Hofmeister 10/28/2020 12:19 PM
      Thanks, Katie.  I will add this to my list.

    • Jim Stroeher's avatar
      Jim Stroeher 10/19/2020 7:10 PM
      It doesn't appear I can reply to a reply so I'm answering your question here. Around my house mason jars are used for everything. I make a lot of dressings and sauces so they come in handy for those. I also use them for storing dried fruits and nuts. They also get put to use for any little things like a jar of marbles I'm keeping for some unknown reason. Any of the unique ones tend to get snatched up by the daughter.

    • Jim Stroeher's avatar
      Jim Stroeher 10/19/2020 7:00 PM
      I reserved the book from the library.

  • Katie Emerick's avatar
    Katie Emerick 10/14/2020 11:25 AM
    Thank goodness Reese's is on the orangutan-friendly Halloween candy list!

  • Katie Emerick's avatar
    Katie Emerick 10/05/2020 1:58 PM
    I'm excited for this challenge. I have been missing all of our Zoo volunteers (and what my job used to be like!), and this is a chance to connect with all of you. I'm inspired by how our volunteers truly live our mission, and I want to take more steps in that direction too!