Arianna Daniel is participating in the Campus Ecochallenge!

Arianna's points

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
116 TOTAL

Arianna's actions

Waste

Repair a Broken Item

I will repair at least one item that is broken, but is repairable. This might be items like garden tools, sewing machine, small appliances, electronics, clothing, and more.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Adjust the Thermostat

I will adjust my thermostat down 2 degrees from usual when I use the heat, and up 2 degrees when I use air conditioning.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Understand My Water Footprint

Each of us has a water footprint, directly linked to our daily activities as well as the water required in the production of things we use each day. Understanding our water use is important for a healthy planet. I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste, then share what I learned on the feed.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Plan Meals for the Week

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Meet My Neighbors

Strong neighborhoods are built on connection and trust. I will introduce myself to 1 neighbors or spend time getting to know people in my community.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Drive Less and Combine Trips

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Declutter My Living Space

I will declutter, clean, and donate or recycle unneeded items in my dorm room, apartment, or home to create a more peaceful and organized living space.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 10 minutes per day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity

How can you prevent yourself from accumulating more things in the future?
Arianna Daniel 7/19/2026 9:50 AM

In the future I can research what I want to buy very thoroughly and question whether I really need the thing I want. This week I made myself wait at least 3 days before buying anything and I didn't buy anything online. Online shopping makes it so easy to consume and I wanted to cut that out entirely

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature

Rachel Carson said that we need the beauty and mysteries of the natural world for our spiritual and emotional development. Does that ring true for you? What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time indoors?
Arianna Daniel 7/19/2026 9:45 AM

I think this rings true for me because spending time outside really does wonders for my mental health. When a culture is connected to nature we care more about it. Like the text says " If the nature of life is that we’re all connected and that change is continuous, then we are all co-creators" (138) If we all have a stake in nature than we have more reason to take the mantle of co creators and percipitate change. This week I went out to the lake and paddleboarded and did not think about work or school and just let myself reset a bit.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?
Arianna Daniel 7/12/2026 2:55 PM

Because I live somewhere that there is not much access to reliable public transportation I have had to rely on my car a lot. However, this week I tried to cut down on my trips as much as possible. For instance, my girlfriend and I went grocery shopping together (we live in different houses) after work (we work together) so we were able to save multiple car trips. We also try to carpool to work when we can. Here's a picture of Francis the Fiat for reference :) He is a 2015 and I have had him for 8 years now

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- Amy Minato 7/14/2026 12:49 PM
  
  its hard when you dont live near public transit!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

What did you learn about your neighbors or community through this action? How can building connections with your neighbors improve your community?
Arianna Daniel 7/12/2026 1:08 PM

This week me and my brothers helped my neighbor mow her lawn and she gave us some of the produce that she grows. She lives by herself and does not have any family close so we often help her out. One time she had a flat tire and asked us if we had anything and luckily we had a pump. Creating community and spaces that people feel comfortable asking for help is very important, as the text says " Communities, too, need courage to create space for difficult conversations, make far-reaching investments and policy changes, and risk sharing political and economic power." (91)This can be started with little steps and just getting to know your neighbors. You have to build trust and community first to make those changes

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- Amy Minato 7/14/2026 12:45 PM
  
  sh'e's lucky to have you!
  
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- Jesse Anderson 7/12/2026 2:20 PM
  
  It's always great to help out those who need it. This is how we make a stronger community that is capable of taking on the big challenges necessary to focus on more sustainable practices!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four in the US spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where else would you rather invest this money instead of wasting food?
Arianna Daniel 7/05/2026 2:17 PM

This number does not surprise me because I see it happen all the time, and I have for sure thrown out food before because I just didn't get to it in time. When you cook for a single person it is hard balancing between getting enough and then having too much in terms of portions. For this challenge I planned out my meals for the week and then went shopping on my day off. It is a lot of work to make myself get up and run errands on my days off (I usually like to just shop after work because I am already out) but this way I was more prepared and not just rushing through. I am already through some of the meals I planned and it is so much better than just going and getting fast food. It also gives me like a little ritual to decompress and prepare my food. The text really is eye opening in about the amount of food we waste and I want to do my part to try to mitigate that in any way I can, I think the next task is maybe having a little garden.

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- Amy Minato 7/06/2026 8:56 PM
  
  i hope you do get to plant a garden!
  
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Arianna Daniel 7/05/2026 2:06 PM

For this week I researched my water footprint and different ways to cut back on my water usage. One thing that I struggle with lately that impacts my water usage is my work pants. I have recently torn 2/3 of the pants I use for work so now I am doing laundry more often. I just need to buy some new pairs but I don't like spending money and pants are expensive, however I do know that using the washer more often contributes to a larger water footprint. Another thing that text brought to my attention was a "virtual water" footprint, all the water that is used when it comes to the manufacturing process and behind the scenes things it takes to get the things we want to us. Included is the screenshot of the water calculator footprint I did.

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- Amy Minato 7/06/2026 8:54 PM
  
  a lot of water goes into making new pants so maybe its better to wash one pair...or buy used pants!
  
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- Renny Ratana 7/05/2026 7:03 PM
  
  Hi Arianna! If you want, what you could start doing is a dry wash on your pants. You’ll need to look up the process for your specific pant fabric but this is what I do with my partners pants since he works as an arborist in tree care and has to wear Kevlar chainsaw safety pants that are incredibly finicky in the wash. (Wash only one day every five to prolong their life. The Kevlar is strong but the shell is super fragile. Looks like scarecrow pants from all the mending).
  
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Arianna Daniel 6/27/2026 9:04 PM

For my second eco challange I was focused on AC consumption. I usually open my windows at night until early morning when I leave for work. When I am home I try to wait until the last minute to turn my AC on by using fans or by keeping my room as dark as possible with blackout curtains. I also try to just wear cooling clothes like shorts and flowy shirts so I am not heating up easier. This is easier for me because I do not have any pets so I dont have to worry about their wellbeing which enables me to kinda tough it out some days (I don't torture myself or put myself at risk healthwise I just have a higher threshold lol).

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- Amy Minato 6/29/2026 10:45 AM
  
  a cool damp bandana around your neck also really helps!
  
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- Thomas Gowing 6/28/2026 12:35 PM
  
  A/C can be tricky, I would suggest if you had anything with a thermostat, such as a wall clock or something that shows the temp in your place. once it gets to a certain temperature let's say 80 degrees you turn the A/C on for 5 minutes to help maintain a lower temp in combination with the curtains. it's harder to cool down a place when it's extremely hot which in turn will have the A/C running longer than normal. And I agree no need to torture yourself.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What did you fix and how did it go? Share a few pics if you can!
Arianna Daniel 6/27/2026 8:52 PM

This week we did a clean out at my mom's house and my sister was going to get rid of her record player. I have wanted to purchase a record player before but haven't really gotten around to it. The problem was that it would turn on but wouldn't spin so I opened it up and all that was wrong was that a wire had gotten disconnected somehow, so I just plugged it in and voilà it worked. This action is twofold because I was able to cut down on my consumption by not buying a new record player and also keep something from going to the landfill.

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- Amy Minato 6/29/2026 10:47 AM
  
  i wish i still had my old turntable! learning fix it skills is a perk of reusing stuff. Portland has a repairpdx group that teaches skills and helps fix stuff. https://www.repairpdx.org
  
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