Earth Month Ecochallenge 2022: Sustainable Development Goals

April 1 - April 30, 2022

Tim Scherbatskoy

"Students and teacher in our Agroecology class will share, learn, have fun and take meaningful steps to live more lightly on our planet by reducing our negative impacts on agriculture, food systems and environment."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
812 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

468

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

55

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

15

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

101

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

9.4

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

9.0

sustainable seafood meals

consumed
UP TO

20

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Tim's actions

Climate & Ecosystems

Ecological & Xeriscape Gardening

SDG #14 & 15

I will do one or more of the following actions in my yard, or volunteer in my community: plant indigenous plants, landscape with water-efficient plants, add mulching, replace a lawn, and/or use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Basic Needs & Security

Know Your Produce

SDG #2 Zero Hunger

I will visit ewg.org to learn about and use their Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen produce lists.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Basic Needs & Security

Make Zero-Waste Meals

SDG #2 Zero Hunger

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero waste each day.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Climate & Ecosystems

Reduce Single-Use Plastics

SDG #14 & 15

Throughout the day, I will note the single-use plastics I use and consider the reusable options available to me.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Basic Needs & Security

Reduce Animal Product Consumption

SDG #2 Zero Hunger

I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 1 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Climate & Ecosystems

Support Local Pollinators

SDG #15 Life On Land

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 pollinators and plant some in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Education & Livelihood

Work-Life Balance

SDG #8 Work & Economy

During the workday, I will schedule time for daily rest during work days to practice work-life balance.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Climate & Ecosystems

Learn About Invasive Species

SDG #14 & 15

I will spend 20 minutes learning about invasive species and ways to reduce their impacts.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate & Ecosystems

Calculate Your Carbon Impact

SDG #13 Climate

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how lifestyle changes could reduce the carbon footprint and impacts on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Economy & Communities

Induction Cooking

SDG #7 Energy

I will spend 3 minutes learning about induction cooking and consider if I could add this to my food prep methods.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate & Ecosystems

Know Your Sustainable Seafood Options

SDG #14 Life Below Water

Using Seafood Watch's list, I will enjoy 1 sustainable seafood meal(s) each day.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Basic Needs & Security

Calculate Your Water Footprint

SDG #6 Water & Sanitation

I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Tim Scherbatskoy 4/28/2022 5:51 PM
Is fish “meat”? Yes, it is the muscle of an animal. But it is a more ecological form of meat because fish feed lower on the trophic pyramid than most of the common commercial legged meats. Of course, it depends on how the animal feeds: 100% grass fed four-leggeds are probably energetically more sustainable than farm-raised fish being fed chicken meal and Kansas corn…..

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Tim Scherbatskoy 4/28/2022 5:38 PM
I decided to interpret zero waste meals to be based on not generating any kind of waste. Because I compost energetically at home, I do not consider apple cores or vegetable scraps or the uneaten dried out heel of bread as waste. I do, however, consider the packaging that my cheese came in or the cookie box as real waste. For the purposes of this Eco Challenge I counted meals in which nothing went in the waste bin as zero waste, even thought the food came into the house in packaging. When something went in the trash - like tonight, when I threw out the wire tie around the store-bought lettuce - I do not count it as a zero waste meal. So today, only two zero waste meals…. Yesterday, for lunch I ate every bit of my cheese sandwich, but because I threw out the plastic wrapper on the cheese I have been slicing from for over a week, it was not a zero waste meal.

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Tim Scherbatskoy 4/20/2022 6:36 PM
As a professor, I try to model sustainable behaviors, like using low lighting in the classroom, reducing paper use, etc. The Eco Challenge seemed like a fun and demonstrative way to share and promote sustainability outside the classroom yet still involving my students in a team effort.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Economy & Communities

Would you consider using an induction cooking surface? If you have used one before, what do you like about induction cooking?
Tim Scherbatskoy 4/09/2022 7:47 AM
This was amazing, to learn how much more efficient and faster electric induction is compared to gas. Now I wish we had not bought a new gas range two years ago…. But I’m not going to trade it in for a while. Because of the embodied energy in manufacturing a stove - or car, or whatever - one should not replace an item until it has passed it’s energy break-even point. Good luck figuring THAT out….

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Climate & Ecosystems

What plastic or single-use items do you regularly use? What did you substitute or could be substituted?
Tim Scherbatskoy 4/08/2022 5:15 PM
Arghhh… so many that I can’t avoid. I could buy eggs in a compostable container. Yay! Packaged cheese…. Hmmm. I never buy iced coffee in plastic, always ask for paper cup. It’s challenging, but I continue to work at it…

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Education & Livelihood

How does practicing a work-life balance create a more sustainable life for you? How might it contribute to sustainability more broadly?
Tim Scherbatskoy 4/07/2022 4:40 PM
By taking time out of my work day to meditate or go for a walk for 15 minutes, I reflect more on the world around me, improving my ability to put things in perspective, see the big picture, connect the dots. This helps me recognize the parts of the world I most care about and want to help improve. When I just work work work all through the day I often get so caught up in one task after another that I lose sight of the beauty and peace in the natural world.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Basic Needs & Security

What was the tastiest meatless or vegan meal you ever had or had recently? Did you make it? Can you share a recipe?
Tim Scherbatskoy 4/07/2022 4:21 PM
Barbecued Tempeh from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant (1987). A oldie but goodie. Made it tonight on this cold rainy night because we wanted something warming and yummy. Sauteed tempeh, sweet red peppers, rich barbecue sauce, baked in casserole, served over rice.

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Tim Scherbatskoy 4/07/2022 11:53 AM
I created this team and invited student from my Agroecology class at SUNY Adirondack to join. We've already had one lively class discussion due to the EcoChallenge (about what is really a "zero waste meal").

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- Chris Holman 4/07/2022 6:09 PM
  This morning I spent so long trying to figure out how to make myself a zero-waste breakfast that I realized in order to meet this goal we'd have to radically change our shopping habits. Difficult to do with a picky 3 year old!
  
  The exercise was of value to me, even in failure.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Basic Needs & Security

How did you incorporate using an entire vegetable (skins, peels, tops, and stalks) during one of your meal preps? What's something new you're going to try that is a zero-waste meal practice?
Tim Scherbatskoy 4/07/2022 5:35 AM
Because I compost all my vegetable scraps, I do not consider carrot peels or lettuce cores wasted.

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