by Robin Spano

The B.C. elections are over. While we wait for results from the one to the South, it’s time to have some fun.

I love games. My daughter and I stay up late playing Clue when her dad goes out to play ping pong. I play Pokémon Go as I walk through the forest – I’ve even added PokeStops and gyms to populate my favourite trails. I’m not a gambler at heart, but I love the math of low stakes poker.

So I recently had this idea: If Sustainable Steps exists to make climate action approachable, and to feel like a community building momentum together, why not game it up a bit?

I’ve recently overhauled the site with something called a Step Counter – so people can create a free account and earn Steps by engaging with the site. Once you’ve earned 2000 Steps (AKA, walked a mile) you can exchange them for a free t-shirt from our shop – or a charitable donation if that’s more your jam.

All the content is still free to read for people who find it organically through Google, or subscribers who don’t share my love for all things you can play. But if you do want to get gaming, create your free account and join us!

So far, the ways to earn Steps have been things like visiting the site, sharing it on socials, and checking boxes throughout for sustainable steps you’ve already taken. But this month – the month of the pumpkin – we’re introducing a new way to play: Field Missions.

A Field Mission is a real-world challenge. They’re designed to get us off our screens (even though this is a website) and into the field to do real things for the planet. Some will be earthy, some will be political, and others might be social. You don’t have to do them all, you don’t have to get them right, and you definitely don’t have to be a sustainability expert. Just pick the ones that sound fun and give them a go.

Mission #1: The Whole Pumpkin

This first one is for the whole family. An adult will need to create the account, but it’s a great way to get kids thinking about sustainability as a creative challenge they can be part of.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: use the whole pumpkin from your Halloween carving.

• Carve it. Decorate it however spooky you like, as long as it’s compostable at the end.
• Use the seeds. Roast them, plant them, sprout them, whatever you like.
• Cook the flesh. Soup, muffins, roasted cubes, pie, a spiced latte.
• Return the rest to the earth. Shell and scraps go in your compost or green bin.

Then you tell us about it, in two parts. For the SHOW part, upload up to four photos: your carved pumpkin, your seeds, your pumpkin-guts creation, and the shell on its way to compost. For the TELL part, fill in a short form about how it went. Who carved? Any funny stories? What did you make? (Tip: carve late, since a carved pumpkin only stays fresh for a couple of days, and take your design photo right away while it’s at its most terrifyingly beautiful.)

Everyone who completes the mission gets a Whole Pumpkin badge on their My Steps page and 100 Steps – 20 for each approved photo, plus 20 more once we’ve approved your whole submission. You’ll need that free Steps account to collect them.

And since we’ve also just launched an eco-streetwear line, we have prizes to give away, too. There are two grand prizes: one for best pumpkin design and one for best recipe (seeds or flesh, so include your recipe in the form if you want to compete). Each winner gets a Sustainable Steps t-shirt in the design of their choice, with custom wording if they like, shipped free. Not a t-shirt person? Swap it for a $20 donation in your name to one of our favourite non-profits. We’ll be judging on creativity, enthusiasm, and how well you use the whole pumpkin, with help from a panel of very serious Lions Bay kid judges.

The mission is open now through November 2, so you can finish after Halloween night and still enter. We’ll announce the winners on November 16.

So grab a pumpkin. No perfection required – everyone’s a winner just for taking part. And stay tuned; there are more missions coming.

The game is afoot. Start the Whole Pumpkin mission →