Venice Lupus

Blue and Gold Greenies

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
370 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

30

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

80

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

2.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

3.0

more servings

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

10

minutes

spent learning

Venice's actions

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Eat Mindfully

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Beach cleanup

I did a beach cleanup with my club at UCLA. I chose this because I thought that it would be nice to get outside and help the environment and clean up areas that really need to be picked up.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Smart Seafood Choices

Ocean Farming

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Recycle Everything I Can

Recycling

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, making sure to not contaminate recyclables with non-recyclables.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

More Fruits And Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 3 cups of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Industry

Campus cleanup

My action this last week was a campus cleanup with my club. We often do beach cleanups but I think the campus cleanups are extremely effective as well. Last year when I lived on the hill I noticed that there was trash literally everywhere and I also noticed that the trash cans were often over flowing and over loaded so I thought it would be a great idea to do a campus cleanup. Similar to the beach cleanup, we filled bags with trash and recyclable materials that we found all over campus and they filled up so quickly. It made me really sad because there are so many trash and recycle and compost bins around campus so why can't people just walk the extra steps and put the materials where they need to go and be disposed of. I thought that this was a very rewarding activity and made me feel good that I was making where I spend most of my time a little cleaner.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use More Fruits And Veggies

How does eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat positively affect yourself, other people, and our planet?

Venice Lupus 6/05/2023 4:19 PM

This week and last week I focused on eating less meat and eating more fruits and vegetables. I have already seen a large change in how I feel throughout the day and how much energy I have. I feel like I do not have much of an energy crash and can get through the 3-5 slump with eating less meat and more vegetables. I also feel a lot better about myself and am proud of myself for making healthier choices that I know will benefit me both mentally and physically. I have also been buying my fruits and vegetables at the farmers market so it has been really nice to be able to support local businesses. Also, adding more vegetables to my food gives my meals more volume so I feel a lot more full and satisfied when I am eating my meals and this in combination with eating more mindfully has been extremely successful for me. This has a positive impact on the planet because I am eating less meat and more naturally grown products which helps reduce carbon and methane emissions. Overall, I will continue to eat more fruits and vegetables during the day and less meat.

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Venice Lupus 6/04/2023 5:17 PM

My eco challenge this week is going well. I chose to intentionally eat meatless meals for 2 of my meals per day and even though I already didn't eat a ton of eat to start out with, I didn't really keep track of how many meals I ate meatless. I found this challenge to be a little hard because I find that I eat a lot of chicken, but after talking with my vegetarian roommate, it became a lot easier because she taught me different recipes she makes with tofu so it was really fun to cook tofu in different ways and in different recipes. I actually felt a lot better and more awake and less lethargic with only 1 of my meals being with meat. I overall felt a lot better and felt like I was making a good change that I could continue to work on for a long time. I am glad I made this change and think that I will continue this habit and maybe I will even take it a step further and only do one meal with meat a week.

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Venice Lupus 5/23/2023 11:09 AM

Last week, I did a beach cleanup with one of the clubs I am in here at UCLA. We have done a few beach cleanups before and I really enjoyed doing this one last week. The weather was nice as well so it was fun for me and good for the environment at the same time. I ended up filling almost an entire trash bag of trash just by walking around the beach for only an hour. I found this experience very rewarding because I saw how much of a change I made just by doing something for an hour as well as how much I enjoyed being outside and doing it. It made me realize how just a small action that I can take that doesn't require much effort can impact the environment.

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- ANNA YAKURA 5/24/2023 10:19 AM
  
  Hello, I've had similar experiences during beach clean-ups I've participated in in the past. It is so disheartening to see how much trash is scattered around or even buried in the sand. Not only are people literally "trashing" the planet, but many of the plastics and sharp material are health hazards for people at the beach and animals.
  
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- Hope Dorman 5/23/2023 11:18 AM
  
  That's awesome you did a beach clean up! But disappointing that it only took 1 hour to fill a whole bag with trash.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks Smart Seafood Choices

Many states and countries have advisories on eating fish. Find out what is advised for your region. Do you think your diet choices fall within these guidelines? What steps do you need to take to make sure that they do?

Venice Lupus 5/03/2023 10:24 AM

I think that my diet choices fall within the guidelines of the Los Angeles area which on certain websites there are options where you can see what fish are safe to eat by your location. I really don't eat much fish as it is and when I do eat any kind of seafood I find myself eating shrimp, which aligns a lot with my research project topic of Mangroves. By doing my research project, I found that a lot of unsafe shrimp farming has contributed to the destruction and loss of some mangrove forests so I found one way to help reduce this problem a little bit is to use the Monterey Bay Aquarium's website called the Seafood watch program which tells you which kind of shrimp to look for that are safely caught when you are out shopping. This had made me more mindful in my food choices and shopping choices and also has made me feel like I am having an impact on helping the mangroves even though I am not close to them. The steps that I need to take to make sure that my diet falls in the advisories on eating fish are making sure I am eating safe fish by looking at a website that will tell me as well as making sure that if I do buy seafood I double check what kind I should be buying from the seafood watch website. This has been interesting for me because I never really realized how much of an impact unsafe fishing has on certain ecosystems.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Healing & Renewal Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?

Venice Lupus 4/25/2023 2:45 PM

I decided this week to eat more mindfully and slow down without distractions for each meal I eat throughout the day. My eating experience differs when I practice mindfulness in a few ways that I have noticed. I feel like I can taste the different flavors of my food more and I tend to eat more slowly and chew slower as well without distractions. I also have found that I have been able to better gauge when I am getting full even if there is still some food on my plate. When I am not mindfully eating I feel like I am just rushing through my meals and not even processing what the food tastes like, sometimes leaving me to take it for granted and also become extremely full and tired after I eat. I find it really hard to mindfully eat and set aside some time to eat without distractions because as a student and having extracurriculars I feel like I am always rushing throughout my day. Mindfully eating has helped me not only relax and take time for myself during my day but also give my brain a break from all distractions and has really enhanced my meals and the flavors and textures of the food I eat. It has made me appreciate the food I eat more and I feel like it is positively impacting my health and mental health.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Recycle Everything I Can

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?

Venice Lupus 4/17/2023 10:44 AM

I could incorporate the other R's into my lifestyle by reducing the amount of plastic that I use by not buying single use plastics at the store and also brining my own reusable grocery bags to the store as well as buying reusable ziplock bags instead of the plastic ones for my food. I can implement "reuse" into my lifestyle by reusing different containers and bottles and thinking of creative ways to use certain plastic items. I can implement "refuse" into my lifestyle by refusing to use or buy single use plastics and using plastic water bottles. I can also refuse to support and buy from companies that are not sustainable and use a ton of single use plastics. I can implement "repurpose" into my lifestyle by finding new uses and sustainable uses for single use plastics that I may have used in the past. For example I could use an old plastic water bottle to create and make a compost brick which I actually learned how to do in my Earth club. Implementing these R's into my life over the past couple weeks has made me feel really good and made me feel like even though it is a small change in my lifestyle it is helping the environment. I also have inspired my roommates to stop using so much single use plastic so this gives me hope that one person can inspire a bunch of people to make small changes in their lifestyle that can have a pretty big impact on the environment. Recycling more and reducing my single use plastics has been a very reflective task for me and made me realize how much plastic is wasted in my apartment and how easy it is to make small changes to recycling more and reducing my single use plastic.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Go for a Daily Walk

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?

Venice Lupus 4/10/2023 11:16 PM

This week for my eco challenge I decided to start going on daily walks and being extremely mindful on these walks with no headphones or music. I noticed just after a few days that I was less stressed out and felt more grounded and relaxed throughout my day. I also started to notice new plants and buildings in Westwood and even got to see a few cats that I have never seen before. I also noticed how beautiful our campus is but I noticed that there is a lot of trash that lines the streets. I have enjoyed being up in the mornings and being able to breathe in the fresh air and take a look around and notice the beauty in the little things like the birds chirping or my neighbors cute succulent garden. Some infrastructure changes that could make my walks more enjoyable or possible would be less trash on the streets (which I am going to make as my eco task for this upcoming week) and maybe just more plants and trees and flowers planted along the campus. Overall, my daily walks have been a great experience and have made me feel better and notice more in my surroundings.

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- Karena Caro 4/11/2023 8:33 PM
  
  Hi Venice! I also chose going on daily walks as one of my eco challenge actions. I will say that although there are several infrastructure changes that could be done to make walks more enjoyable, going on a walk today did make me feel better. I'll definitely be doing this more often! It feels great to just be out for a little and take in what our surrounding environment has to offer for us like the beautiful trees and green grass.
  
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- SOPHIA KALANSKI 4/11/2023 1:01 PM
  
  Before I started doing daily walks, I was really not looking around my environment and surroundings. I was simply just going from point A and point B without having any appreciation for the trees around me. I started paying attention to how on sidewalks, there are plants growing in and around them. I noticed that not only is it healthy to go on daily walks as it has allowed me to get exercise on days where I may not have time to go to the gym, but I am also decreasing my carbon foot print by not driving to nearby places. I have really enjoyed getting out and exploring the journey than focus on just getting to my destination. I think that if there were more trees and it was less urban, I would enjoy my walks even more because the infrastructure takes the beauty away from the natural environment.
  
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