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In Assam, ATMs purify arsenic-laced water

Aatreyee Dhar

July 19, 2021 |

The Third Pole |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Barigaon, Assam

A water management committee manages Barigaon’s water ATM, which uses a nanotechnology-based ion exchange resin to remove iron and arsenic from groundwater. Residents, who swipe a pre-paid card to collect water in their own containers, pay 40 cents per 20 liters or a flat monthly fee of less than $3. Water is free for families who can’t afford the fee and delivery is arranged for those who are unable to transport water. Around 250 villagers use the ATM each day and its success inspired five additional ATMs, with plans to install 172 statewide. Fees cover maintenance and the landowner’s electricity costs.

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Tribes Are Leading the Way to Remove Dams and Restore Ecosystems

Lindsay VanSomeren

July 14, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Port Angeles, Washington

After decades of collaboration between the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in Washington state, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other organizations, the Elwha River dams were taken down to restore fish populations and return the ecosystem to its natural state. Grant funding has helped tribal biologists partner with organizations and universities to implement their fish restoration plan. While the work is expected to take years and funding isn’t always guaranteed, the restoration work so far has seen native plants and fish return.

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Reimagining Public Spaces: The Share-It-Square in Portland, Oregon

Laura Puttkamer

July 13, 2021 |

Culture Days |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

The Share-It-Square is a public space intended to foster a sense of community. Neighbors started the idea as a way to get to know each other. The intersection in Portland has grown from a simple meeting place to one that now boasts a library, a playhouse, a message board and a kiosk that’s always full of tea.

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As Men Lead Charge Against Period Poverty In Nigeria, More Girls Now Make Their Pads

Ifedayo Ogunyemi

July 12, 2021 |

Prime Progress |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

The Feyisayo Sobowale Initiative (TFSI) works to address Period poverty, the lack of access to menstrual products by people who cannot afford them. In the four-hour training, TFSI distributes free sanitary products and teaches girls in schools how to make reusable pads so as to avoid the dangers of using old rags or paper. The girls receive a pattern and pamphlet with the steps to turn locally sourced cotton fabric into a sanitary pad that can be washed and reused for up to a year. The pad consists of two pieces of the cotton fabric sewn together with a pre-cut towel material inserted between them.

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Could A Ward Map Drawn By Citizens, Instead Of Aldermen, Become A Reality In Chicago?

Elly Fishman

July 12, 2021 |

WBEZ |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

California residents passed Proposition 11, a redistricting reform ballot initiative, in 2008 and in 2010, voters strengthened that reform by passing a bill to allow an independent commission to redraw state and congressional lines. Fourteen people, who were selected from 30,000 applicants, spent a year holding public hearings across the state to make informed decisions on how to fairly redraw district maps. As a result, more than a dozen Congressional incumbents lost their seats, which was not an intentional outcome but rather what resulted from decisions made based on the public testimony they heard.

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Kathy Friedman and InkWell Workshops offer struggling writers a chance to turn the page

Ziya Jones

July 11, 2021 |

Toronto Star |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Canada, Toronto, Ontario

InkWell Workshops offers a safe space for writers who have experienced mental health and addiction issues. In addition to mentorships and other professional development guidance, the group offers free weekly drop-in workshops led by professional writers, all of whom have lived with mental illness. The weekly schedule provides routine, while the drop-in structure allows needed flexibility for those managing the ups and downs of their mental health. The group has made a point of reflecting participant diversity in their instructors. Participants have published work created in Inkwell’s workshops.

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The Brooklyn Bridge needs a makeover. Is rainforest lumber still in style?

Ashoka Mukpo

July 08, 2021 |

Mongabay |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Guatemala, Petén

In the 1990s, Guatemala established the Maya Bisphere Reserve to stop the burgeoning rates of deforestation. However, some communities lived within this region. The organization tasked with overseeing the MBP decided to let the communities stay in the area as long as they agreed to a tight supervision of how they used the forest. The arrangement is known as a forestry concessions. Community-owned concessions must follow strict guidelines or face eviction. It worked. Deforestation rates are low, wildlife is thriving, and communities earn an income without depleting the forest.

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How Montana ag producers are building topsoil, drought resilience and profits

Emily Stifler Wolfe

July 06, 2021 |

Montana Free Press |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Montana

Faced with the effects of climate change, in Montana, some farmers are turning towards organic or regenerative practices, a form of farming that includes thing like crop rotation, and using fewer pesticides. It’s a switch from conventional farming, which usually involves mono crops, heavy use of pesticides, and genetically modifies seeds, producing thehighestt yield. A technique that has led to soil erosion. Nationally, farmers are turning towards regenerative farming which builds the topsoil, meaning it is better for the land and the environment.

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How Indigenous-led organizations are rebuilding connection to language and culture

Jolene Rudisuela

July 06, 2021 |

Capital Daily |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia

The Nisaika Kum’tuks and Tsawalk learning centers provide alternative schooling options for Indigenous students to learn more about their culture and languages. The centers teach a total of 100 students from 23 different nations, many of whom come from single-family homes that are experiencing economic hardship or have been part of the foster care system. While the schools have recently shut down to be consolidated with the local school system, efforts are underway to create a new learning center that continues the mission of combining traditional knowledge and culture with academia.

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How Bogotá's Waste Pickers Reinvented Their Jobs for a Modern City

Peter Yeung

July 05, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia

In Colombia, there are about 50,000 waste pickers, they collect and sort through trash to findrecyclabless to make a living. Their livelihood was threatened in the 1990s after Colombia adopted neoliberal policies that privatized trash collection. However, in 2016 the government officially recognized wastepickers as recycling service providers under a decree. That same year, the government introduced a "second payment," that supplement the income of waste pickers. Coupled, these two policies have improved the livelihood of wastepickers.

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