Thank you to the Community Cupids! 💞

[#1]

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Community Cupid challenge on Valentine's Day! 💘 All of you made it a huge success, and here are some numbers to prove it:  Community Cupid badges earned: 3,154 Community Leaders who earned bonus rewards: 40 Super Cupids who earned the badge 100+ times: 15

Our ‘Super Cupids’ this year are…

• @Abhilekh Verma 

• @Adriana Valentina Hernández Moreno 

• @Amanda Barber 

• @Andy Gladstone 

• @Ankush Bora 

• @Barbara Szczesniak 

• @Bo Zhao  

• @Jeff Tillett

• @Jimmy Seddon

• @Laurie Sciutti 

• @Mikael Sandberg 

• @Summer_Hogan 

• @Tomislav Tobijas 

Honored to see not just our amazing Community Leaders on this list, but some future Community Leaders as well

On another note, prizes!

This year our Super Cupids had the option of choosing to plant 100 trees or remove 100 pounds of plastic waste from the ocean ! Thanks to our cupids, we are sending 100 trees to Brazil, Ethiopia, Honduras, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, and the Philippines for a total of 800 trees planted and removing 700 points of plastic waste from the ocean!

Our donations of trees are completed through the Eden Reforestation Project, and our donations to remove ocean plastic are completed through The Ocean Cleanup. You can find the total tally of trees we’ve planted and waste we’ve removed from the ocean thanks to this incredible community here.

I hope you all had as much fun spreading love around the community (and doing good for the planet!) as I did, and stay tuned for more Kudos to come! 💖

[Andy Gladstone]

I was not sure which reward to pick...

So @PJ Zaiac and I had a discussion and I used ChatGPT to help me figure it out. Here is the prompt and response for all of those that had the same dilemma.

PROMPT:

Which has a greater environmental impact - removing 100 lbs of plastic from the ocean or planting 100 trees?

ANSWER: 

Determining the greater environmental impact between removing 100 pounds of plastic from the ocean and planting 100 trees involves considering various factors.

Removing 100 pounds of plastic from the ocean:

1. Direct Impact: Removing plastic from the ocean directly mitigates harm to marine life, reduces pollution, and prevents the further breakdown of plastics into microplastics, which can be harmful to marine ecosystems.

2. Indirect Impact: By removing plastic waste from the ocean, it helps to improve water quality, protect marine habitats, and reduce the risk of entanglement for marine animals.

Planting 100 trees:

1. Carbon Sequestration: Trees absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, helping to mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

2. Ecosystem Services: Trees provide various ecosystem services, including oxygen production, habitat for wildlife, soil stabilization, and water filtration.

Comparing the two:

• Removing plastic from the ocean directly addresses a pressing issue of marine pollution and its immediate impacts on marine ecosystems.
• Planting trees contributes to long-term environmental benefits by sequestering carbon and providing various ecosystem services, but it may take years for the trees to grow and reach their full potential in terms of carbon sequestration and ecosystem services.

Both actions have significant environmental benefits, but the greater impact may depend on the specific context and the urgency of addressing the issues. If the immediate concern is mitigating marine pollution and its impacts, removing plastic from the ocean may have a more immediate and direct effect. However, if the focus is on long-term climate change mitigation and ecosystem restoration, planting trees may have a greater overall impact over time.

HOW I CHOSE:

Playing the long game here - 100 trees please! 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳💙

[PJ Zaiac]

Love the transparency on your choice and helpful eco-friendly info @Andy Gladstone! Figuring out the best avenues to help the planet is SUCH a great use case for GPT answers 🤩 Thanks again for being a Super Cupid and everything else you do!!!

[Jeff Tillett]

Such an amazing way to give back WHILE building the community! 

[John Funk]

Congrats to all the Super Cupids!!

[Abhilekh Verma]

Thanks a lot @PJ Zaiac I have been always up for challenges, and this was amazing one to deliver. Planting 100 trees is an achievement for me virtually thanks to Atlassian Team.

I had already applied for Community Leader or Co Leader Role for my city, Hyderabad, India and looking forward to attending my first physical event on Feb 27!

Hope to become the leader soon for Atlassian. Been running a lot of community events already for Microsoft.

Anyone who wants to connect, happy to network: Abhilekh Verma | LinkedIn

[Jimmy Seddon]

This was a great initiative and I loved being able to participate in it.  Great job everyone and thank you!

[Tomislav Tobijas]

Nice! Cheers to everyone who participated! 🌳🐟

[Sarah Brown]

What an amazing achievement! Congratulations to this inspiring group. And a special shout-out to my talented ServiceRocket colleague @Adriana Valentina Hernández Moreno

[Summer_Hogan]

This was a ton of fun and thanks for the great challenge @PJ Zaiac! I love these types of challenges and I loved the choice between planting trees or removing plastic from the ocean! Due to the amount of trash I see floating up on the Hawaii beaches over the past few years, I chose removing plastic from the ocean! 

[Dan Breyen]

Missed it by that much, Agent 99....