Ecochallenge.org

Campus Ecochallenge

Summer Jin

EJ and Ecospirituality, Spring 2026

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,045 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

580

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

95

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

water footprint

calculated
UP TO

104

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

920

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

80

minutes

spent learning

Summer's actions

Waste

Complete a 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. I will share a photo and reflection of this action on the feed.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Make Smart Seafood Choices

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Exercise Daily

Daily movement supports our physical and mental health. I will spend 20 minutes each day exercising in a way that feels good to me, such as walking, running, stretching, or dancing.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Think About My Core Values

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

Transportation

Share Rides with Others

I will sign up for a car-sharing service or coordinate ride shares with roommates, classmates, or campus peers to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Buy Used Clothes Instead of New

I will spend 20 minutes learning about the perils of fast fashion and will choose thrift stores, clothing swaps, or second-hand options when I shop for clothes.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Choose A Carbon Offset When Flying

Flying emits a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere, which affects air quality and the health of our planet, animals, and people. If buying a plane ticket, I will also buy a carbon offset.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Launch a Recycling Program

I will set up a recycling center at my workplace, dorm, or elsewhere on campus.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Practice Loving-Kindness Meditation

I will spend 15 minutes practicing Loving-Kindness Meditation to nurture love and compassion for myself and others.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Go Paperless and Opt Out of Junk Mail

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 3.4lbs (1.5kg) a month or 41lbs (18.6kg) a year by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Turn Off Lights and Electronics

I will keep lights, electronics, and appliances turned off when not using them.

COMPLETED 7
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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

I will save up to 4 gallons (15 L) of water each day by turning it off while brushing my teeth.

COMPLETED 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Power Down the Computer

I will power down my computer and monitor when not using it for more than 2 hours, saving up to (1.1) lbs of CO2 per day.

COMPLETED 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Learn How to Save the Pollinators

I will spend 20 minutes learning which plants support local native pollinators and grow some in containers, a campus garden, or at home if space allows.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Health

How can practicing Loving-Kindness Meditation be helpful to the health of the environment?
Summer Jin 2/26/2026 10:20 AM
During my practice of Loving-Kindness Meditation, I have tried to meditate about things I could be doing to be more sustainable in my life. I found this daily meditation to bring peacefulness in my life and is both mental and physical relief for me.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water

What surprised you most about your water footprint, and how did it influence your perspective on water use? What changes can you make to reduce your water consumption, and how will these impact your daily routine?
Summer Jin 2/24/2026 7:33 PM
I am surprised by the amount of water each person uses each day. After calculating my water footprint, I got 1128 gallons/day. This is a crazy number to me, as I would not expect myself to consume this much water each day. While my personal water footprint is lower than the average US water footprint (1802 gallons/day). From now on, I am going to try to reduce the amount of time I shower every day, and I believe this wouldn't impact my daily routine as much. Especially if it's the day I don't need to wash my hair, I should significantly cut down my shower time.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

Take a moment to think of places you frequent often (work, grocery store, school, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?
Summer Jin 2/23/2026 12:12 PM
Since my friend and I both live on the Capitol Campus now, but still take classes on the Hilltop, we often need to call an Uber back when it's too late. I have been coordinating with my friend and tried to share a ride when we were both on Hilltop and coming back to Capitol. I really enjoy sharing rides as it not only helps reduce emission rates for the trips, but also save money for both of us

Read More
Summer Jin 2/22/2026 9:08 PM
Since we are almost at the end of our eco challenge, I have realized some patterns in my daily actions. I have chosen to select 5 daily actions so far to complete them every day. Each of these actions are very small but important action to do throughout the time. I stuck with a limited number of daily actions since I wanted to make sure that I would be able to accomplish all of them every day, and finish what I started while building these habits, even after the eco challenge. So far, I feel really good about the fact that I was able to accomplish all these challenges, and all of these challenges feel meaningful to me

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

Reducing your paper mail can reduce mental clutter as well as physical waste -- by reducing what is coming in, you can reduce what is going into the recycling bin too. How does it make you feel? What is the next step you will take to reduce your waste?
Summer Jin 2/21/2026 4:31 PM
I think it makes me feel a lot more relieved, since most of the time when I receive any paper mail, they end up being in the recycling bin, and I always find it a little annoying to throw away all the commercial paper mail when I won't even read them. The next step I want to take is to try read more digital books, as I often put the books I read aside and never use them again.

Read More
Summer Jin 2/21/2026 4:29 PM
Go Paperless and Opt Out of Junk Mail
For this specific eco challenge, I find it super useful to opt out of all paper mails especially for all of my bank statements, and switch them into digital versions. In addition to that, I have been trying to avoid taking notes on paper and printing out readings. Instead, I have been trying to do as many readings and write on a computer or iPad as possible.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What did you learn from trying to improve recycling in your space? What changes or support would make it easier to succeed?
Summer Jin 2/19/2026 1:53 PM
After putting a recycling paper bag in my room, I have learnt about more recycling trash in my daily life. I have realized that having a recycling place in my own room could save me a lot of effort to separate trash whenever I try to throw my trash into the trash room. While the recycling space has also helped me realize these small sustainable actions I could accomplish. I think knowing that others are doing it with me is the support to make this process easier to succeed.

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Summer Jin 2/17/2026 12:32 PM
Choose A Carbon Offset When Flying
After learning about carbon offset, I have chosen to buy a less emission rate of flight ticket from IAD to LAX. The flight is reducing 29% total emissions. Instead of having a regular average of 311kg CO2e, my flight is reduced to 223kg CO2e. In those cross-country flights, it is a little hard to find alternative travel methods other than flying. However, if possible, we could still try to buy flights with lower carbon emissions.

Read More
Summer Jin 2/15/2026 10:32 AM
Since the temperature has finally gone up this weekend, my friends and I went to practice golf at a range yesterday. It feels really nice, both mentally and physically, to be out on the field again and be able to do an outside sport without worrying about freezing

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity

Do people with economic privilege have a responsibility to consume and own less? How can the concept of “reduce” be presented to those who may be struggling to have enough food, clothes, shelter?
Summer Jin 2/12/2026 5:02 PM
In my opinion, I don't think people with economic privilege should all have a responsibility to consume and own less. However, I do think no one should overconsume, as this is definitely not sustainable. For those that have economic privilege have the right to buy more clothes as long as they can make sure all clothes will be used properly and not go to waste. I think the concept of "reduce" for those who may be struggling shouldn't necessarily be to reduce in daily basis. It could be seen that whenever they have the chance to gain a lot of food and clothes all at once, they should also make sure not to overconsume and make sure nothing goes to waste.

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