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‘Our biggest challenge? Lack of imagination': the scientists turning the desert green

Steve Rose

March 20, 2021 |

The Guardian |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, s’-Hertogenbosch

A Dutch group of engineers known as the Weather Makers has an ambitious plan to regreen the Sinai Peninsula — the stretch of desert connecting Egypt to the rest of Asia. Their efforts would restore forests, wetlands, and even adjust the weather for the region. This form of ecosystems regeneration could help with food security and mitigate the effects of climate change. Their process of changing an entire ecosystem can be controversial, but initial tests have shown how this could work on a large scale.

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Pricey textbooks holding Fresno college students back. Could this fix the problem?

Ashleigh Panoo

March 19, 2021 |

The Fresno Bee |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Reedley, California

For many college students, the cost of a textbook is often cost-prohibitive and instructors are looking at ways to address that. At Reedley College in California, instructors are curating their own teaching content through the use of open educational resources, which "are openly licensed content, freely available online to be reused, adapted, redistributed, or changed without permission from the creator." This "Zero textbook cost course" approach has been used in 23 colleges in the state, and showed increases in students' grades.

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Green space in cities can bring considerable health benefits for communities, but access is unequal

Ambika Chawla

March 19, 2021 |

Ensia |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Platte Farm Open Space used to be a garbage dumping ground in Denver, but it’s now an urban green space thanks to the efforts from community members, organizations, and the government. This community-led project was able to secure funding to replace the contaminated land with fresh soil that now attracts animals and includes walking paths and a playground for children. This project offers lessons on how to build a green space in a diverse neighborhood and the health benefits that come from such an initiative.

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Hopeworks expands its outreach to support small businesses and fight regional poverty

Courtney Duchene

March 17, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Camden, New Jersey

Hopeworks is providing a paid job training program along with internship and employment opportunities in any of three businesses owned by the nonprofit. Hopeworks also provides living arrangements in a residential program where students, alumni, and interns can all live together. The nonprofit adopted a trauma-informed approach that allows participants to learn healthy coping mechanisms.

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An Illinois district proved programs for gifted students can be diverse

Danielle Dreilinger

March 16, 2021 |

The Hechinger Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

U-46, Chicago's second-largest school district faced a legal suit in 2005 for discrimination of Hispanic students in its gifted programs and is now setting an example for how programs can be upended for good. By 2018 U-46's gifted program consisted of 48% Hispanic students, a better representation of a 57% Hispanic district. The changes implemented by the district included addressing systemic issues by not relying on teacher recommendations and instead testing all third and sixth graders, expanding the number of seats for gifted students. The district also has teachers undergo antiracism training and more.

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Solar lights help Kenyan women escape sex-for-fish trap

Kagondu David Njagi

March 16, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Kendu Bay

A renewable energy project in Kenya is empowering women to catch their own fish instead of relying on “sex-for-fish” deals. Previously, men used to control the mechanisms for catching fish and would only sell to women who would have sex with them. About 400 women have received free solar lights, which allows them to fish at night. The batteries are lightweight and can run up to 120 hours on a single charge. For one woman, using the light also enables her to keep her fish stall open longer, earning her 10 times more than what she used to.

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The tutoring revolution: How it could transform education

Stephanie Hanes

March 16, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Research shows tutoring can increase learning. Two years into the pandemic, the exact rates of learning loss due to pandemic learning are still unknown, but its effects have been documented. Researchers, teachers, and academics are advocating for “high dosage,” or “high impact," tutoring (a form of tutoring where one tutor is paired with one student, or a group of small students) at a national level. Students at Chicago public schools who got high impact tutoring “two to three times as much as their peers.”

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What a Texas school district can teach others about virtual education

Emily Donaldson

March 16, 2021 |

Dallas Morning News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Grapevine, Texas

iUniversity Prep, part of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District, has consistently outperformed the state in student outcomes in Texas. The school has existed for over a decade and has found success by creating a collaborative, adaptable, and flexible learning environment for its students while also providing high levels of support to its teachers.

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This ‘Hygiene Hub' Is Run By People Experiencing Homelessness

Emily Nonko

March 16, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

People experiencing homelessness can now access hot showers and bathrooms at the Hygiene Hub. Staff at the Portland initiative include both unhoused paid workers and housed volunteers, all with extensive staff training to help create a safe space so everyone who needs services at the Hygiene Hub feels welcomed.

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How the West Lost COVID

David Wallace-Wells

March 15, 2021 |

New York Magazine |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Although no universal set of policies were likely to have prevented the spread of Covid-19, the general inaction and lax interventions by countries in the western hemisphere prevented Europe, North America, and South America from containing the spread of the virus. Comparatively, actions taken by governments and citizens in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia allowed that region to prevent a high death toll. Similarly in East Asia, South-East Asia, and Oceania, the region experienced "inarguable success."

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