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Urban living makes us miserable. This city is trying to change that

Fleur MacDonald

October 15, 2019 |

Mosaic Science |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Scotland, Glasgow

Glasgow continues to learn from its systemic failure in urban planning during and after the industrial revolution by redesigning its living spaces to be separated from industrial areas, and by including nature and green space in the city scape. One initiative, called the Children's Wood, brings youth to a designated green space and teaches gardening as well as peer support and community engagement, fostering a sense of connectivity in the younger generation.

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This Conservative City Built a $132 Million Park Using One Weird Trick

Zach Mortice

October 11, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

After falling behind in urban planning and innovation in the 1990s and early 2000s, Oklahoma City created a limited-time sales tax called MAPS to pay for capital projects, like the new Scissortail Park. The tax consisted of a series of one-cent sales taxes and has brought in over $1.5 billion and has helped fund convention centers, other urban green areas, and more.

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Mental health solutions in Lampedusa's veg garden

Irene Caselli

September 27, 2019 |

BBC |

Podcast |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Italy, Lampedusa

In Lampedusa, a small Italian island, those that are struggling with mental health issues are finding help and solace in a local vegetable garden. Although this solution is not intended to act as a stand-alone answer, it has provided a sense of purpose for many involved as well as addressed the social isolation many were facing.

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Farm-To-Lunchroom Using Hydroponics

Jill Nadeau

September 19, 2019 |

Wisconsin Public Radio |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Menasha, Wisconsin

At one high school at the Menasha Joint School District in Wisconsin students are growing their own vegetables inside a classroom. That’s because they have their own a hydroponic garden, a garden that does not require soil. The homegrown produce is part of their meal program and is leading to positive effects. Students express more interest in learning about vegetables and feeling more connected to gardening. “They have a very personal connection to that produce.”

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Fighting Gun Violence in Chicago, With Trees, Rakes, and Cleanup Crews

Brian Freskos

September 18, 2019 |

The Trace |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is trying something new when it comes to violence prevention: beautifying public spaces that have been known to be places of violence. The city has launched an official pilot program called Grounds for Peace, which partners with READI Chicago to provide jobs within the initiative to at-risk men. While the effort to beautify has shown a decrease in gun violence in other cities, Chicago residents approach this with caution, as the neighborhoods its working within are often neglected.

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A Greener Afterlife

Courtney Duchene

September 11, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s West Laurel Hill Cemetery has gone green. While the burial business may be notoriously filled with chemicals, this cemetery has introduced 50 different sustainability initiatives, including banning machinery use, only allowing biodegradable caskets – or no caskets at all – and keeping the grounds flourishing with native plants instead of manicured lawns. The efforts also include community engagement to bring residents into the environmental shift as part of a larger, cultural trend toward sustainability.

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The Kids Are Alright, and They're Fixing Their Neighborhoods After Natural Disasters

Monica Humphries

September 05, 2019 |

NationSwell |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Rockaway, New York

In starkly unequal Rockaway, Queens, New York, a group of 60 young people organize grassroots campaigns to equalize outcomes across race and class lines in the Rockaway Youth Task Force. Just a year after its founding Hurricane Sandy hit, and the RYTF really came into its own when it turned a vacant, half-acre lot into a thriving youth-run farm. The group also successfully lobbied the city to extend a bus line that gave over 10,000 more residents transportation access.

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The Fashion Executives Who Saved a Patagonian Paradise

Jason Mark

September 04, 2019 |

Sierra Club |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Chile, Patagonia National Park

After amassing a large amount of property in Chile, the Tompkins Conservation would donate millions of acres to the government to maintain as national parks for wildlife conservation and sustainable land use. This was the largest act of “wildlands philanthropy” in history. When the Tompkins started buying land, locals were at first distrustful, but now they’re concerned the government won’t be able to maintain the properties. Thanks to the Tompkins Conservation, wildlife, like the South Andean deer, are being reintroduced and forests have recovered.

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Green Thumbs, Black Gardeners: How Urban Gardens Help a Community Grow

Chad Small

August 26, 2019 |

Blavity |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Eliminating food deserts is a community effort. Thanks to work of members, volunteers, and other partners of the East New York Farmers’ Market (ENYF), the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, formerly troubled by a lack of nutritious food, now benefits from semi-weekly produce markets. ENYF also serves as a positive community service for youth and young adults.

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Former Juvenile Inmates Are Earning Double Minimum Wage to Grow Crops — and Business Skills

Monica Humphries

August 16, 2019 |

NationSwell |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

For young adults leaving prison in Atlanta, they have the opportunity to participate in Gangstas to Growers, a local nonprofit that provides job skills training and personal development. The program, created in 2016, gives participants the opportunity to learn skills like farming, gardening, and how to run a business, and supplementary knowledge like financial literacy and environmental sustainability. Even more, Gangstas to Growers pays participants working on black-owned farms $15 per hour, which is almost twice the minimum wage.

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