Challenges

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Home

2. Challenge: Today, turn off the lights in your living space and meditate. We are working to save both your energy and electricity. If you are unfamiliar with meditation, read through this article and go from there. Write a short reflection on how you felt before, during, and after the meditation. Keep track of and include your heart rate (bpm) if you wish.

3. Submission: Reflect on your experience in the textbox or upload a PDF file.

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Sustain Champlain

2. Challenge: Download the Merlin Bird ID App on your phone and go birding! See what birds you can hear around campus.

3. Submission: submit a photo/screenshot of what you see/hear!

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Transportation

2. Challenge: Find a vacation destination and plan out how you can get there using the transportation options listed on Champlain’s website. 

3. Submission: Submit your plan for how you could do that.  

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Home

2. Challenge: Part of sustainable living is being grateful for the world around you. Hand-write a note of gratitude to someone important to you, and give/mail it to them. 

3. Submission: Don’t forget to take a photo of it and send it in!

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Transportation

2. Challenge: Go for a group walk and take pictures with the bike racks. Try to find at least 5 of them!

3. Submission: Submit your photos here!

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Sustain Champlain

2. Challenge: Look around the Sustain Champlain web page and note all of the different programs that it has to offer. Choose 2 of Sustain Champlain’s programs that you either haven’t heard of before or don’t know much about and look further into them. 

3. Submission: Submit the answers to the following questions in a reflection of 150-200 words. How does this program help the community? What did you learn about that program in your research? Is this something that you could get involved with? If not, is there anything about it that you can apply in your life another way? 

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Zero Waste

2. Challenge: Think about the clothes that you wear. Take out of your closet everything that you wear most often. Pick out the clothes that are most important to you and think about how you could form a “capsule wardrobe”. If you can, put the rest of the clothes not included out of sight. If you do not wear them or miss them in a few months, consider donating locally or donating to the Swap Shop! More info on Capsule Wardrobes.

3. Submission: Upload a photo of your capsule wardrobe! 

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Home

2. Challenge: Wash your laundry with cold water, and better yet, if you can, hang dry your clothes instead of using the dryer! 

3. Submission: Take a photo of your washer settings and/or your hanging clothes and send it in. 

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Home 

2. Info: Water is a finite resource; today, only 3% of the Earth’s surface consists of freshwater, and that percentage steadily drops each year. We can only do so much by ourselves, but one way we can help is by shortening our shower times.

3. Challenge: Create a playlist of around 10 minutes or less that you can play while you shower. Alternatively, simply time yourself while you shower and aim for something lower than that 10-minute mark. 

4. Submission: Take a screenshot of your playlist and/or timer when you’re done and upload it below! 

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Sustain Champlain

2. Challenge: Read through the most recent Sustain Champlain progress report. Write a brief reflection (150-200 words) about two major victories from last year and one thing that could be improved on. Choose one of these three points to make a visual about it using Canva or any similar tool which could raise awareness of that point. 

3. Submission: Submit the reflection and a screenshot of the graphic. For bonus points, post this graphic on social media with a powerful caption and submit a screenshot of your post, as well. 

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Zero Waste

2. Challenge: Make a zero-waste substitution that makes sense for you! Don’t throw out a single-use or short-lived item that still has use to make the swap, but try to find something that fits into your day. (opt for a towel instead of a paper towel, purchase or upcycle something you already have into a produce bag at the grocery store, and opt to cut down on waste in small ways today.

3. Submission: Reflect on the substitution you made in some way; a text entry (<200 words), or a social media post, and submit it below.

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Transportation

2. Challenge: Learn about the Champlain bike shop and write down a quick description of what it is. Check out the other bike-related resources at Champlain, located at Juniper, 194 St. Paul, and beside the Samuel de Champlain statue.

3. Submission: Submit a selfie taken outside of the bike shop, or submit a few sentences about what it offers. 

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Zero Waste

2. Challenge: Make a list of everything you use in a day that will eventually get thrown out after use. Think makeup, food products and packaging, shower products, and school products. Then, make a list of these items and come up with potential substitutions.  Check out this list for inspiration and tips! https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/the-ultimate-list-of-zero-waste-swap

3. Submission: Upload your list as a photo or PDF.

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Sustain Champlain

2. Challenge: On the Eco-Reps webpage, find an Eco-Rep from your area. Send them an email introducing yourself and telling them about your experience with the Green-Up Challenge so far. What have you learned so far? What has interested you the most? Feel free to ask for any advice or tip, or to propose any event ideas in your email, as well. 

1. Submission: Send a screenshot of your sent email.

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Zero Waste

2. Challenge: Grab a bag and carry with you all of the trash, recycling, and compost that you generate in a day. At the end of the day, sort what you’ve collected. Create a Tally Mark board above your sort it out station in your hall - see how many times it is used throughout the day and upload a photo. Or - look inside the trash, recycling, and compost bins in your hall - are they sorted out correctly? 

3. Submission: Upload a photo or your sorted collection!

Challenge option 1: Attend our event!

1. Category: Sustainability Open House

2. Challenge: Attend our Sustainability Town Hall on Wednesday 3/27 from 1-3pm in the Fireside Lounge.

3. Event info: Come learn about what sustainability initiatives Champlain College already has and give feedback about what you want to see next! We will have interactive elements and will be inviting various groups on campus so you can learn how to get involved as well. This will be a great opportunity to ask questions about sustainably moving out after finals!

1. Submission: Sign your name to our event attendance sheet!

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Sustain Champlain

2. Challenge: Do some research about the Green Revolving Fund here at Champlain College. You can read about it on Sustain Champlain’s website, as well as in our yearly progress reports which contain more interesting information. Brainstorm a project that the Green Revolving Fund could be used for. 

3. Submission: Submit a summary of what you come up with (250-400 words)! Bonus points if you also submit it as an actual proposal!

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Transportation

2. Challenge: Using the transportation resources on Champlain’s website, plan a more sustainable way for you to get from Champlain to your hometown. 

1. Submission: Write it down and/or draw it out and submit a picture of your plan.

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Home

2. Challenge: Pick one of your most-used cleaning products. Select an ingredient and find them in Made Safe’s Chemical Profile list or the EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning. Share the chemical and what you learned about it. Find a safer alternative for your product. Try Seventh Generation, Package Free, Blueland, etc. for ingredient-transparent cleaning products!

3. Submission: Let us know what you found or post it on social media and submit a screenshot.

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Transportation

2. Challenge: Look at the Transportation page on the Champlain College website and read up on the modes of transportation listed there. 

1. Submission: Write a quick description of how to use it (2-5 sentences).

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Zero Waste

2. Challenge: Eat a vegetarian meal. If you’re already vegetarian, eat a vegan meal! Plan a vegetarian meal night in your res hall/ have the meal /share a list

3. Submission: Upload a photo of your meal. 

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Transportation

2. Challenge: Find a CarShare Vermont pod. Hint: we have 3 CarShare cars on our campus!

3. Submission: Take a picture outside of it and submit it below

Challenge option 1

1. Category: Sustain Champlain

2. Challenge: Find a bulletin board or PSA from an Eco-Rep, whether this is in your hall or on social media.  Make your own infographic poster by hand or using Canva!

3. Submission: Take a photo with the eco rep board in your hall. Write one takeaway from what you read. Take a picture of it or upload a PDF and write a brief reflection (150-200 words) about the topic(s) being addressed in the bulletin board or PSA. Why is it important that students know about that topic and how does it impact the community here? Feel free to do more in-depth research of your own, too!

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Transportation

2. Challenge: Use your Champlain ID to ride the city bus for free! Or the Champlain shuttle bus!

3. Submission: Submit a selfie on the bus. 

Challenge option 1

1. 1. Category: Sustain Champlain

   2. Challenge: Fill out a Green Room Certification Form for your living space. Worth double the points!

   3. Submission: Submit a screenshot of the form completion.  (form will be linked once Green Room certification is revamped)

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Bonus!

2. Challenge: Green Up Challenge Event: Pop Up Swap Shop, 1:00pm - 4:00pm in Fireside Lounge

3. Event Blurb: Come join us for a pop up swap shop hosted by the Eco-Reps Swap Shop Committee! It will be from 1:00 - 4:00 in the fireside lounge. Come check out our free thrift shop and feel free to bring your own donations and take what you’d like!

4. Submission: Sign your name to our event attendance sheet!

Challenge option 1

1. 1. Category: Zero Waste

   2. Challenge: Visit City Market and stroll through the bulk section -- either replace one of your usual purchases with a bulk item in a reusable container, or plan a snack or meal with the items you see. 

   3. Submission: Include either a photo of your purchase or a photo of your list below.

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Sustain Champlain

2. Challenge: Do some research about Champlain College’s Eco-Reps. On the Champlain website, you can find a roster of the current Eco-Reps and lots of information about their roles around campus. You can also find Eco-Reps on Instagram @EcoReps

3. Submission: Write a short reflection (150-200 words) about what the Eco-Reps do. Then, list 2 sustainability-related questions that you could ask one of your area’s Eco-Reps.  

Challenge option 1

1. 1. Category: Zero Waste

   2. Challenge: Use a reusable bag when you shop for groceries, at the school store, or anywhere you would get a single-use bag. Find out how many people in your Res Hall use reusable bags when grocery shopping?

   3. Submission: Upload a photo! Upload the # and take a group photo! (or a photo of the bags)

Challenge option 2

1. Category: Home

2. Challenge: Take a moment to think of your most used beauty or bath products. Use this database to see how the ingredients in these products may be impacting you and the planet. How did your item score? 

3. Submission: Upload your responses in the submission form below!