Katie McGinnis
4/21/2021 6:20 PM
My favorite joyful activities are biking, walking with friends, or dancing to music!
Katie McGinnis
"I aim to consciously limit my over-consumption to the benefit the environment, women's equality, and a more just world."
Points Total
- 30 Today
- 80 This Week
- 527 Total
Participant Impact
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up to1pounds of CO2have been saved
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up to30minutesspent exercising
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up to0poundsfood waste prevented
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up to60minutesspent learning
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up to9meatless or vegan mealsconsumed
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up to60minutesspent outdoors
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up to1waste auditsconducted
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up to134gallons of waterhave been saved
Katie's Actions
Health
Joyful Movement
I will spend 20 minutes doing an activity where I'm both moving my body and enjoying myself.
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.
Waste
RESEARCH LOCAL WASTE SITES
I will spend 25 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.
Action Track: Building Resilience
Support Local Pollinators
At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 10 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard or local community garden.
Water
Eco-friendly Gardening
I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.
Water
5-Minute Showers
I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.
Nature
Practice Gratitude for Earth
I will spend 30 minute(s) per day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and my natural surroundings.
Food
Weekly Meal Planning
I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.
Food
Reduce Animal Products
I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 0 vegan meal(s) each day this week.
Health
Take Control
Both systemic and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.
Waste
Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion
I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.
Feed
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Reflection QuestionHealth Joyful MovementWhat's your favorite activity(ies) in which you experience joy while being active and moving?
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Reflection QuestionAction Track: Building Resilience Support Local PollinatorsWhy is it important to take care of pollinators?
Katie McGinnis 4/18/2021 8:24 AMPollinators are a key part of maintaining our ecosystems because they promote the fertilization of other plants and allow for a large portion of global food production. This is why it is important for me to choose plants such as milkweed, butterfly weed, coneflowers, and goldenrod when planning my friend's rain garden we're going to build this summer. Plus, who doesn't get excited when they see a pollinator doing its job! :)-
Ariana Porcello 4/19/2021 9:15 AMPromoting and planting pollinator plants is a great way to help our pollinators and our plants!
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Reflection QuestionWaste Personal Waste AuditWhy is it so difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places? How might your experience with this challenge impact your future consumption and choices?
Katie McGinnis 4/16/2021 1:43 PMSince our society is beautifully specialized and interconnected, we rely on others for doing their part to create products. However, when unsustainable shortcuts are taken, it can lead to the entire product being unsustainable. Sometimes businesses cover up these practices so the consumer is unaware, which makes it more difficult to determine which is most sustainable.
Personally, the majority of my waste was thin clear plastic from food products so I know now to try food products that do not have as much plastic. Once it is safe enough to do so, I will also bring my reusable cup so I do not need to get a single-use plastic or compostable one instead. -
Katie McGinnis 4/14/2021 3:51 PMThis EcoChallenge is making me excited for Sust week! 🥳-
Elyse Zeswitz 4/15/2021 12:16 PM🥳🥳🥳
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Reflection QuestionNature Practice Gratitude for EarthKathleen Dean Moore says that a sense of gratitude leads to a sense of moral obligation. Do you agree? How can we cultivate a sense of gratitude as individuals, and as a society?
Katie McGinnis 4/14/2021 3:27 PMCalling out the things I'm grateful for can help me realize that these comforts are a privilege that is not guaranteed for many. For example, I can plug a lamp into the wall and instantly have light. Being thankful for this luxury reminds me that electricity is not accessible all over the world and I do not have to witness the fossil fuels burned to create the electricity. -
Reflection QuestionWater 5-Minute ShowersName some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?
Katie McGinnis 5/02/2020 7:02 PMOther water-reducing steps that can be taken in the restroom are using water-saving toilet flushing methods and turning off the water while brushing teeth. -
Reflection QuestionFood Reduce Animal ProductsWhy do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our planet and other people?
Katie McGinnis 5/02/2020 7:00 PMEating meat requires more water than eating at lower trophic levels. Moreover, it requires farmers to divert crops from feeding people to feeding other livestock. -
Reflection QuestionWater Eco-friendly GardeningWhat are the most prominent water concerns in your area? Examples include drought, flooding, pollution, access, security, and privatization.
Katie McGinnis 5/02/2020 6:58 PMOne of the most prominent water concerns where I live is flooding in the spring time. When the snow melts during the water season, water has difficulties entering the nearby sewers and rivers. This is why it can be helpful to have rain gardens and other surfaces that allow for higher water infiltration. -
Reflection QuestionWaste Learn About & Practice Sustainable FashionHow can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?
Katie McGinnis 4/22/2020 7:23 PMMy favorite ways to express personality without the use of fast fashion is to wear minimalistic pieces that function for my lifestyle. I'm fortunate enough to own a working sewing machine so I can create new pieces from items I no longer fit or care for. Instead of buying a new pair of shoes, I can trade the laces with another pair for a new look.-
Katie McGinnis 4/24/2020 8:23 AMEllie let's do it -
Ellie Romfoe 4/22/2020 9:59 PMSo Katie, you're saying if Ariana and I send you fabric scraps, you will make us all matching shirts that say "micro-plastics suck & soil rules" ???? 👀 -
Ariana Porcello 4/22/2020 7:56 PMThis is so cool!! Re-working your clothing for new styles is such a neat way to be sustainable and keep up your own fashion! Keep up the awesome work!!
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Reflection QuestionFood Weekly Meal PlanningAn 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 would you rather use this money?
Katie McGinnis 4/22/2020 7:20 PMLiving in a land where all types of food are abundant in supermarket chains and excessive marketing, it does not surprise me that Americans throw away 240 lbs of food per year. While this is a horrible statistic, I believe it is caused by the imbalance of consumer-to-food systems in place.