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COLTON HONG's avatar

COLTON HONG

The Salish Sea School's Guardians of the Sea

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 130 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    disposable cup
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    20
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    8.0
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill

COLTON's actions

Transportation

Fix all car leaks

I will maintain my car/vehicle by fixing all car leaks and avoid leakage draining to the Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Use a Carwash

When I wash my car I will always take it to a commercial car wash facility to avoid driveway drainage of toxic chemicals entering the storm drain and local waterways, poisoning fish and Orcas in Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Transportation

Properly dispose of boat waste

I will learn where pumpout facilities are in the Puget Sound areas I go boating, and use those pumpout facilities instead of dumping into the Puget Sound or Pacific Ocean beyond.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

I will be Whale Wise as a Marine Boater or Paddler

I will spend 10 minutes learning about local marine laws pertaining to orcas, responsible boat maintenance techniques, and will follow the Be Whale Wise guidelines.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Pick up after my pets

I will pick up pet waste on every walk and once a week in my yard, since stormwater otherwise carries it to the Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Pick up Trash

I will pick up and properly dispose of litter on a daily walk through my neighborhood, since stormwater will otherwise carry it to the Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Recycle Everything I Can

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by my local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate, so long term, it stays out of the Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases further reducing plastics that may enter Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Skip the Straw

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our Puget Sound and/or Pacific Ocean waterways. I will keep 5 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to landfills by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 4 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream, and downstream in Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean, by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Education

Switch to Natural Yard Care Practices

I will spend 10 to research, write-up, and deliver 1 page about why my family, landlord, apartment manager, or school should switch to natural/organic yard care practices, and deliver to that person.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Education

Share my connection with Orcas through art

I will make a piece of art that connects my life to the life of Orcas and Salmon, and share it on social media.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Education

Educate my family or friends

Spend 10 minutes educating my family/friends about Southern Resident Orca Whales and their endangered food supply.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Education

Learn about my watershed

I will spend 10 minutesIdentifying what sub-basin I live in and learning about my watershed's water quality, fish habitat problems, and options for volunteering.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Support Local Pollinators

At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 15 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard to improve our regional ecosystem.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Get Expert Advice

Contact my Conservation District (or other local technical service provider) to come explain my home's landscape conditions and potential for restoration projects.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Organize a Trash Cleanup Event

I will organize a trash clean up effort with friends, family, and neighbors at my favorite local trail or salmon stream to keep trash from flowing downstream via storm drains to Puget Sound and/or Pacific Ocean.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Advocate for Green Spaces

I will call or write 1 public officials per day to advocate for more green spaces around my community and shared watershed.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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?


  • COLTON HONG's avatar
    COLTON HONG 10/19/2020 8:19 AM
    Over time, plastic gets broken down, like many other things. But when it does, it just becomes tiny pieces of plastic, microplastics. When in the ocean, these microplastics are consumed by tiny marine animals, like zooplankton. This zooplankton is eaten by an animal bigger than it, and that animal is eaten by an animal bigger than it and so on. But the problem here is that the tiny microplastics first eaten by the zooplankton still remain. This process is called bioaccumulation. The plastic moves up the food chain until it reaches the orca, where it has harmful effects.

    According to One Green Planet, "These contaminants can impair the immune and reproductive systems of orcas, act as endocrine disruptors, and alter development of the brain and reproductive systems." Keep in mind, the orcas are receiving an entire ecosystems worth of plastics, so this makes it harder for the orcas to reproduce, which has caused no calves to have been seen in the West Coast Community in decades of study.

    Please use a reusable water bottle not a plastic one.