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Lawmakers want to revive FDR's Depression-era "tree army" to help boost rural economies

Jason Nark

August 31, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal program to build outdoor recreation facilities, creating thousands of jobs during the Great Depression and building iconic state parks. Delaware programs, like the Senior Corps that enlists the help of people over 55, encourage civic engagement modeled after the CCC. Pennsylvania's Outdoor Corps hires young people to restore public lands over the summer. Congress introduced bills to revive CCC-like initiatives that could support rural economies hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, but environmental funding is not a priority of the current administration.

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Hold the Salt: The Promise of Little Fresh Fishes

Paul Tullis Htoo Tay Zar

August 24, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Myanmar, Yangon

In Myanmar, aquaculture production from medium-sized freshwater farms is growing and could be an important and sustainable supplier of food for the world’s growing population. Aquaculture businesses are thriving in Southeast Asia despite the decline of wild fisheries — the acreage of cultivated fishponds in some regions has expanded by more than 250 percent. While some environmentalists argue that it damages ecosystems, research suggests that freshwater aquaculture have a much lower environmental impact than marine fish farming.

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‘It's like paradise for us': the Cree Nation's fight to save the Broadback Forest

Sarah Cox

August 22, 2020 |

The Narwhal |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Quebec

Canopy works to preserve the untouched Broadback Forest, which stores twice as much carbon as the Amazon and is central to the Cree Nation. The nonprofit works with 750 corporations, including fashion brands, commercial printers, and publishers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and eliminate sourcing from biodiverse, ancient, and endangered forests. They help source waste from grain and other food harvests for packaging, paper, and fabric production and enlist companies’ support of conservation initiatives. They also partner with other groups to lobby the government to protect the Broadback forest.

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Solar Power Is Booming. But It's Putting Desert Wilderness At Risk.

Kyla Mandel

August 20, 2020 |

The Huffington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Solar development can reduce or significantly alter local biodiversity, and this should be considered when planning sustainability projects in the desert, argues a new study. Scientists measured the impact of a solar plant built in California and found that while some grasses and native shrubs grew back, cacti and yucca didn’t fare well. They recommend building solar projects on places that have already been developed or have low environmental impact. Groups like the Nature Conservancy are using that advice to pilot a project demonstrating that old mine sites in Nevada can be used for clean energy.

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Is the way cattle are grazed the key to saving America's threatened prairies?

Lynne Curry

August 19, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

An unlikely partnership between ranchers and conservationists is working together to protect grassland biodiversity on the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve in Oregon. The Nature Conservancy has cultivated relationships with landowners in the area to promote sustainable grazing practices. While some ranchers are skeptical about the organization’s intentions in the area, one rancher says they are “a good neighbor” and because of his alliance with the nonprofit, his pastures have consistently achieved good ratings over the years.

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A secret hidden in centuries-old mud reveals a new way to save polluted rivers

Paul Voosen

August 18, 2020 |

Science Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Scientists have transformed a stream in Pennsylvania into a marshy waterway because of a restoration project that removed 22,000 tons of legacy sediment built up by colonial-era farming and logging. After removing meters of mud from the banks of Big Spring Run, native vegetation returned, which resulted in the storage of organic carbon tripling in the restored area and the amount of key pollutants in the stream sharply dropping. Similar restoration projects are being tried in other mid-Atlantic states.

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How the World's Largest Garbage Dump Evolved Into a Green Oasis

Robert Sullivan Jade Doskow

August 14, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Staten Island, New York

The former Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island is turning into a public park that will accept visitors in 2021. By capping the trash site with plastic, covering it with soil, and planting native grasses, city officials are restoring the area’s former tidal wetlands and scrublands; nearly 314 plant and animal species have already been sighted. While the successful closing of the dump nearly 20 years ago means that the trash is being sent to other neighborhoods in the United States where people dealing with economic hardship live, the project could be a model for sustainability and urban renewal.

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Raising Nature on Florida Ranchlands

Virginia Gewin Carlton Ward Jr.

August 11, 2020 |

bioGraphic |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

Ranchers and conservationists in Florida are working together to lobby for policies that preserve their farmland, protect wildlife species, and conserve water instead of turning it over to be developed. The Sunshine State has experimented with conservation incentive programs like payments for panther habitat restoration, reimbursements for livestock losses, and water storage projects but most of these programs have had mixed success and are often underfunded.

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Building Trees in the Metaverse Might Actually Save the Forest

Teresa Carey

August 02, 2020 |

Freethink |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Southern Pines, North Carolina

By building scientifically accurate virtual tress, NatureXR is providing an opportunity for scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders to use virtual reality to understand ecosystems and model conservation impacts. Creating an authentic 3D-version of a tree can be challenging, but by developing a “procedural” tree, the software can generate a forest of trees that are unique, accurate, and realistic. VR nature can also make the environment accessible for people who might not be able to experience it due to disabilities, distance, or even fear.

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Tackling a notorious waste problem in Africa's largest informal community

Shi En Kim

July 16, 2020 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

Kibra Green, a grassroots organization in Kenya, mobilizes the young people in the community to clean up their neighborhood. At times, the group has as many as 500 participants for a community-wide clean up. Yet, a lack of steady funding and socioeconomic barriers for volunteers to regularly contribute to the group has made it difficult to scale the organization.

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