14 Days of Green

Guess who's back?

As the school year winds down, I want to give you one last online challenge. Environmentalism is an overarching cause that touches on all aspects of life. It's not just about using less plastic or bringing a tote bag to the store (though both of those are good steps to take). It's about educating yourself, learning about the role of corporations in emissions, learning about how systemic racism is perpetuated, seeing how a lack of empathy and self-awareness leads to a snowball of consequences.

I am not asking you, as a student, as a person, to become an experienced, worldly environmentalist in 14 days. I am asking you to take some steps towards learning more. Towards becoming more involved. Towards knowing more about how you can help and what you can support.

To that end, I have 14 challenges for you. They vary in levels of effort, but every one of them is important in their own right. What I want is for you, no matter how many challenges you complete, to feel like you've accomplished something and know that there is always a way to help, no matter who you are.

The challenge starts Saturday, May 1st, and ends Friday, May 14th. There is one challenge per day, but you can complete multiple per day if you want, as long as you complete them!

Now let's go a little deeper into what each challenge means.

May 1 - Check out PNJ

Local news sources help you stay connected to your community. PNJ has great articles on environmentalism and local climate measures. Read at least one of them and see what you think about it! Write a little reflection, make a comment, share the article, etc. Check out this one on energy goals, look up ECSD's neighborhood specialists, read about the Navarre Beach bridge project.

May 2 - Find a farmer's market

Buying from a farmer's market is a great way to reduce emissions from transporting and packaging food. It's a great way to support local farmers and businesses and build up community relationships. And there are a great many farmer's markets in Pensacola! Saturday/Sunday Palafox market is a great example, but a farmer's market can also be Bailey's Produce and Grocery. It can be East Hill Market. It can be The Farm. See if you can find one close to you and check it out!

May 3 - Consider the role of community

It's impossible to make social change all by yourself. Environmentalism means working together with your community to make positive changes or create new systems. Today, you don't have to do anything but consider what community can mean for environmentalism. How does community play a role in climate action? How can we use community to inspire change? You can write a little reflection with just your thoughts and/or watch a video/listen to something on this topic.

May 4 - Listen to a podcast

You can find podcasts on environmentalism everywhere: on apple podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, etc. Personally, I like listening to Green Dreamer and Hot Take in my free time. You don't have to listen to an hour-long episode, but see if you can find a topic that interests you. There's You're Wrong About's episode on acid rain, How to Save a Planet, Eco Chic, For the Wild, and so many more. The choices are endless! Make sure you write down what you listened to, and maybe what you thought about it.

May 5 - Check out local businesses and resources

Small businesses owners and environmental organizations are a-plenty in Pensacola. Keep Pensacola Beautiful, Jen's Eco Living, and Ocean Hour are just some examples. This doesn't have to be all about environmentalism either. There are local bakeries to try, like BlueJay's Bakery downtown. There's a backyard vegetable store on 1380 Watson Avenue. There are Little Free Library stands in various places where you can exchange books free of cost. Get creative and see what you can find around you! Take a picture of what you find/where you go/what you buy.

May 6 - Read some good news!

The state of the climate can make things seem bleak. But it's not all bad. There is good news everywhere if you know where to look. Maybe there's a college campus that's dedicated itself to renewable energy. Maybe there's a student that's created a new way to deal with food waste. Maybe legislation has been passed for animal preservation. Maybe there's good news about bees somewhere. Whatever it is, find something good that'll make your day.

May 7 - Reuse your clothes

If the clothes were not close to your body or are particularly hardy (jackets, jeans, etc.), consider re-wearing them before washing them. If your socks have holes in them, consider patching them up. If your jeans are falling apart, consider making them patchwork or stitching them up to another pair of jeans to make two-tone pants. If your t-shirt is falling apart, consider making a produce bag out of it. Use your clothes to block a draft. Use an old shirt as a rag to clean your bathroom. The possibilities are endless!

May 8 - Help clean up.

Ocean Hour hosts regular cleanups on Saturdays from 8:45 AM to 10:00 AM. Their cleanup on May 8 will be at Chimney Park. I strongly suggest bringing a hat and gloves, but they provide gloves, grabbers, and buckets at the site. It's free to attend, and you can complete an hour of service while helping to clean up a local park!

May 9 - Bring a bag

Whether you're going shopping today or not, remember to bring a reusable bag of some sort to the grocery store. Reusable bags can hold much more than plastic bags, so that means less trips bringing in groceries. Plus, some stores offer incentives for bringing in bags! Bailey's Produce and Grocery takes 15 cents off of your purchase for bringing your own bag. If you don't want to bring a bag, you can bring a plastic laundry basket and load your groceries directly into it from the cart. Once you get home, you only have one trip to make with that laundry basket, and then you're done!

May 10 - Check out student projects

Students are innovative. Younger people bring change. Look around at PHS to see what students are doing for environmentalism and climate change. Or, look at other students in Pensacola. Are there projects at UWF, at Washington High, at Escambia High, that are working to advance positive change? Are there students at other universities who are spearheading efforts? Make sure you record your findings! Maybe you'll find something you're interested in following.

May 11 - Share Legume

This one is easy. Share Legume with another person by sending the link to the website or a specific article. Post Legume on your story or send it to a friend. Talk about it with your neighbors, mention it to your parents, do whatever you want!

May 12 - Define greenwashing and try to identify it.

The term greenwashing has probably floated past you at some point. Do you know what it means? How it's being used? Find out what it means and see if you can find instances where you've seen examples of greenwashing. Maybe on social media or in the store.

May 13 - Read some good news

This one is a repeat. You know the drill. Find some positive environmental news and revel in it! It's good to stay updated on advancements and see what's being done in the world.

May 14 - Reuse, reuse, reuse

Today, find something to reuse. Anything. It could be clothing again. It could be a piece of paper that you didn't finish writing on. It could be an old toothbrush that could be used to clean those pesky corners. It could be a plastic cup that could collect rainwater or hold propagated plants. It could be a jar that could store ingredients or leftovers. Find something to reuse. See if you can stick to reusing it!

You can print out the checklist shown above to keep track of the challenges you complete. If you don't want to print out the checklist, make sure you keep a record of which challenges you completed and when. Try to take pictures of or write a comment on the challenge that you completed and send it to Legume, either through email or Instagram, so I can keep track of it.

14DoG Checklist.pdf

Download PDF • 45KB

As with all of Legume's other challenges, there will be prizes involved for varying levels of participation! Mrs. Parnell will be offering extra credit for students of hers who complete the challenge! You must provide proof of your completed challenges or fill out the checklist to receive credit and/or a prize.

Most of all, have fun with this challenge! Please share the challenge with your friends and acquaintances. Get more people involved and make it a competition! Go to the farmer's market together!

Live Green!