EcoFriend

The Project

We all share one big planet Earth and sometimes...that can be a big problem. People have different needs and desires, but again, we do all share the same place. Trash in the ocean, cutting down trees, throwing garbage anywhere...these are things people do in their daily lives without giving it a second thought. That's why I created EcoFriend, your personal guide to keeping the environment just the way it deserves to be. EcoFriend teaches you how you can help save the environment. It covers points like climate change, air pollution, deforestation, and so much more. Taking care of the environment can be a tedious task, and sometimes, people wonder, What’s in it for us? Why should we do anything? The truth is, EVERYONE affects the world, however small that effect may be. So, I designed EcoFriend to be something fun and interesting, like a game, but also VERY educational. As a user, you start at Level One with 0 points. There are monthly missions; if you complete those, you have to send us an email with a picture of yourself doing the mission to get 20 points. You also have the opportunity to take a monthly quiz; If you get more than a 70% on it, you get 20 points. You even have the ability to read articles and watch videos on serious matters. Slowly, but surely, you gain points, until you reach Level 10 and earn a certificate. I wanted people to understand that protecting nature isn’t something you can do within a week or within a month. It takes years, if not even more, hence the concept of monthly missions, monthly quizzes, and monthly tips. With EcoFriend, you can even select a city and view its Particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution level, water quality, and climate change evidence. Attached to each of these sections is either a chart, report, or other website that serves as evidence to the data. So, although EcoFriend may have all these features, it’s purpose remains the same: to educate anyone and everyone about taking care of the environment around us because what good is being knowledgeable when you can’t give back to the one place that you can always call home: Mother Earth.

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Team Comments

I chose to make EcoFriend because I wanted to help our environment. Nature gives us so many things, we can't we give back to it? I wanted to teach people how they can make a positive impact in our world.

I faced many, many technical difficulties while creating EcoFriend. The biggest one was just getting my code to work! I used Flask-SQLAlchemy for this project, which meant being able to create and use databases—a skill I had only had practice with once, yet I persevered and got it to work!

Yes! I would add a multi-user component that would let people compete with each other to get more points! This would attract more people and more people equals a better environment.