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As hundreds of golf courses close, nature gets a chance to make a comeback

Travis Wood

November 08, 2017 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Michigan

More golf courses are closing than are opening, allowing the rare opportunity to have open space in an urban environment. Restorations are becoming popular to allow wildlife and humans to make use of the natural space through the encouragement of different animals and plants to inhabit the same area as well as the development of parks and bike paths to foster human use.

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China's Crazy Plan to Keep Sand From Swallowing the World

Vince Beiser

October 01, 2017 |

Mother Jones |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Duolun

Overfarming, over-grazing, climate change and population growth are all to blame for turning Duolun County in China's Inner Mongolia region into a bigger desert than it was to begin with. With 87 percent of the area turned into desert, sandstorms began to be the norm and would often engulf the neighboring region of Beijing. The Duolun project attempts to stop this by embarking on a tree-planting mission. Not without it's limitations and criticisms, this solution is by no means perfect, but it's somewhat of a start that has seen Duolun reportedly increase to 31 percent forested land.

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In Africa's Oldest Park, Seeking Solutions to a Destructive Charcoal Trade

Amy Yee

September 14, 2017 |

Yale Environment 360 |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Central African Republic

The deforestation of Virunga National Park has lead to erosion, landslides and loss of wildlife habitat. The trees are often used for charcoal which is seen as an essential commodity in the region. To save the forest, and the wildlife that require it to thrive, both local and international groups are testing out alternative methods to get the people the charcoal they need while saving what is left of Africa's oldest park.

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The Science of Fighting Wildfires Gets a Satellite Boost

Megan Molteni

September 11, 2017 |

Wired |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada

Climate change is only worsening the frequency and ferocity of forest fires. Projects such as researching what makes trees more susceptible to fires, and having satellites send images of fires as they happen, in order to help forest services react most effectively, are new ideas being researched and implemented.

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Pueblo of Santa Ana Works To Restore Habitat & Bring Back Wildlife

Laura Paskus

September 07, 2017 |

KNME-PBS |

Broadcast TV Programs |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico

The local tribe in the Pueblo of Santa Ana in New Mexico has been working on restoring their land for some time in order to maintain the health of the ecosystem and their culture. They've since expanded through collaboration efforts with state and local government that have helped reintroduce species and further restore the area.

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Humans are damaging the fragile Galapagos ecosystem. Maybe coffee can help save it.

Deepa Fernandes

August 23, 2017 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: Ecuador, Galápagos

Scalesia, is a species of tree native to the Galapagos Islands that is quickly disappearing thanks to human activity. With much of the island's wildlife dependent on this tree, the ecosystem is threatened with the tree's extinction. Conservationists have taken action, however, by planting thousands of the trees as part of a shade-grown coffee operation.

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These Tree-Planting Drones Are About To Start An Entire Forest From The Sky

Adele Peters

August 10, 2017 |

FastCompany |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Myanmar, Pathein, Ayeyarwady

Villages along the Irrawaddy River delta in Myanmar have spent years replanting mangroves in at attempt to restore their ecosystem and guard against the negative effects of climate change, but it is a labor intensive and time-consuming process. Now, with the help of specially-designed tree planting drones from startup BioCarbon Engineering, as many as 10,000 trees can be planted in a single day, using technology that not only distributes seeds in special pods, but is able to calculate optimal soil conditions, locations, and species of tree most likely to survive in any given area.

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Conundrum Hot Springs Has A Poop Problem, So You May Have To Bag Your Business

Sam Brasch

July 17, 2017 |

Colorado Public Radio |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Aspen, Colorado

Hikers in Conundrum Hot Springs often do not properly dispose of their human waste, burying it or leaving it in the open where it can contaminate the water or make the trails less enjoyable. "Wag bags" are bags distributed to hikers to put their waste in and hike it out of the area and to a trash can.

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America's ring of fire

Ike Sriskandarajah

June 17, 2017 |

Reveal |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Flagstaff, Arizona

After a wildfire in 2010 burned 15,000 acres outside Flagstaff, triggering evacuations and a fatal landslide, voters approved a $10 million bond issue to transform the local fire department and fire-prevention practices. Part 4 of a package of stories on rampant homebuilding in wildfire-prone forests (starts at 35:25) tells how firefighters spend most of their time cutting trees to thin the forest to mimic its pre-settlement form, when periodic fires were a normal and small-scale threat. Suppressing all fires, letting forests thicken, and building homes in them calls for a new prevention ethos.

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U-Haul Invests in New England Wild Spaces

Leon Kaye

June 15, 2017 |

Triple Pundit |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Success, New Hampshire

U-Haul and supermarket supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers are striving to help offset their wood use by increasing donations to The Conservation Fund. This partnership has led to the promotion of the conservation of the Success Pond and its surrounding forest, the establishment of newly planted trees, and a significant investment in land easements that will restore and protect native habitats.

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