Olivia Montosa

Although I started this activity a little late in the challenge, I always try to take some time every day to go outside.  Being outdoors allow for a healthier mindset and adds to your overall wellbeing; however, the biggest influence it can have is allowing you to embrace and cherish the environment around you.  It shows you how many green spaces are around you that should be left conserved and preserved.  Recently, I visited an aboretum park that is around the corner from my parents' house.  I actually had no idea it existed until this challenge forced me to look up all the parks that are around me and I realized that there a lot more parks than I had previously thought there were.  This park specifically was split up by species of plants by country.  One portion of the park was dedicated to plants found in South America and another for Africa.  It was cool to explore a bunch of different species in a controlled environment that are not native to North America.

I strictly only purchase used and second-hand clothing.  This activity allowed me to mend my own clothing to stay away from purchasing any new clothes that could replace them.  Supporting fast-fashion leads to more carbon emissions and this activity proves it's possible to not support companies who do not care about the environment.  Doing something like this is a small yet significant way to lessen your own carbon footprint and is super easy to do.  You can buy a small sewing kit anywhere online and use the thread to patch small holes in your clothing to keep them in your wardrobe. 
-Below is a pair of sweatpants I mended with black thread

I was once a member of a women's climate activist group where we learned and taught others about how climate change affects women specifically.  I was taught a great deal about how climate change can significantly affect women more than other people.  Currently, I have been passionate about restoration and water quality group in the Bay Area.  

Although vegan meals are different and expensive to make happen, I adopted a meatless meal about twice a day.  Today, it was cereal for breakfast with almond milk rather than cow milk.  Tonight I plan to have another meatless meal - possibly spaghetti.

I currently live in Concord, CA and after reviewing the "Headwaters Economics" website, I discovered some climate related issues with my neighborhood.  About 98.8% of my town does not have canopy tree coverage which can cause risks to both the public and the species that live in it. It also causes more energy consumption due to the increased usage of air conditioned especially since the climate is typically hotter. Tree canopy provides natural cooling and coverage from heat and sun.  Without this natural canopy, these elements can increase heat strokes and other harmful possibilities.