Vanessa Castaneda
""In nature's economy the currency is not money. Its is life." -Vandana Shiva "
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 1,115 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO1.0waste auditconducted
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UP TO1.0advocacy actioncompleted
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UP TO2.0treesplanted
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UP TO63minutesspent learning
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UP TO10hoursvolunteered
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UP TO420minutesspent exercising
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UP TO440gallons of waterhave been saved
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UP TO1.0community eventhosted or attended
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UP TO1,367minutesspent outdoors
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UP TO21minutesbeing mindful
Vanessa's actions
Nature
Go for a Daily Walk
I will take a 20-minute walk outside each day.
Nature
Support Local Pollinators
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.
Nature
Do Nature Activities
I will engage in nature-based activities alone, or with my friends or family, for 45 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.)
Nature
Tend a Garden
I will tend to a garden each day, or work on starting one.
Nature
Join An Outdoor Project
I will join an outdoor restoration project in my community.
Nature
Keep a Nature Journal
I will journal each day about my experiences in nature.
Nature
Plant Trees
I will plant 2 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.
Community
Volunteer in my Community
I will volunteer 10 hour(s) in my community during the challenge.
Water
5-Minute Showers
I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.
Food
Meet My Local Farmers
I will visit my nearest farm to find out who produces my food, and will learn about the quality of life of those who produce my food in other regions of the world to make better choices when I shop.
Waste
Personal Waste Audit
I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.
Food
Try a New Way to Prep
I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.
Waste
Find Local Recycling Depots
I will spend at least 20 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.
Nature
Explore My Area
I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.
High Impact Action Track
Research Impact Investing
Simplicity
Using the links provided below, I will research impact investing and deterimine if it is right for me.
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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Vanessa Castaneda 10/23/2019 12:58 PMFun podcast learned facts about birds: 90% of birds have only one mate that they raise chicks with. They can travel insane distances that very few species can accomplish. They are extremely intelligent. Magpies have the ability to recognize themselves in mirrors. Owls have the ability to turn their heads 180 degrees around and have this ability because their ears are up higher on their heads-which gives them the ability to triangulate the direction of sounds. Birds also have large salt glands right on their skulls giving them the insane capabilities to drink salt water. Crows can recognize faces and if you give them enough treats, they will bring you trinkets in gratitude! Check out podcast "Ologies" to learn more insanely cool and fun science episodes! This challenge made me want to learn more about nature, and now I can't get enough. -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/22/2019 12:33 PMRead an article last night about how the top plastic pollutants/debris found on beaches and in ocean are food packaging and fishing nets/lines. After doing my trash audit, I can see how this is the case. When I take my kids to the parks or to play at their school playgrounds, I find myself picking up trash and most of the trash are wrappers-food or snack wrappers or juice box straw wrappers. Plus they pick up in the wind easily, so it's easy to see how they could wind up in rivers, streams or the ocean. We need to do better by making our own snacks and putting them in glass Tupperware or mason jars that can be used over and over. You can purchase them for really cheap at secondhand stores like Goodwill or St. Vincent DePaul, etc. -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/21/2019 4:37 PMJust listened to a podcast during my lunch with an interview by an Lepidopterologist (scientist who studies butterflies) and he was talking about how important it is for people to leave their leaves on their lawns because many pollinators depend on the leaves to lay eggs as well as finding food or pockets of water on top of the leaves. It's also really healthy for your soil and the composters in the ground. That soil content and soil ecology has really taken a hit since the manicured lawns became popular. Food for thought! -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/21/2019 11:06 AMStarted my Christmas shopping which usually requires me to start this month (two big families). And I've decided to do all gifts to be either lightly used books or crafting supplies (lots of kids and grandparents) or things I have made myself or plants. Thanks to sites like Instagram and Pinterest, I have a lot to work with! I managed to get a lot of nice, new supplies at Goodwill and managed to get some people checked off my list for little money and reduce my waste/carbon footprint. -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/20/2019 9:19 AMWe got our pumpkins yesterday! The kids almost caught a frog and I had fun teaching them about pumpkins. Did you know a pumpkin is technically a berry? -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/18/2019 2:23 PMA fuzzy squirrel visited our glass patio door and my kids were so happy to watch him/her until it left our patio. I realized it's the only one I've ever seen at our apartment complex (think over manicured lawns and baby maple trees) which made sense because there are no real food sources for more than one little guy. So today, I'm stopping at the garden store to get some feed for our new little buddy. Hopefully we can get him to come by daily. Feed your wildlife! :) -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/17/2019 3:20 PMgood morning garden! -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/16/2019 9:36 PMfound this little guy today! My six year old was in heaven, “Mom!! He’s so FLUFFY!” -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/15/2019 8:06 PM -
Vanessa Castaneda 10/12/2019 4:02 PMWe swung into the outdoors today, all three of my kids had a blast