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'Community Ownership' Might Be the Best Way to Fight Deforestation

Peter Yeung

October 15, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Evidence shows that "community-run forests," or forests that are owned and managed by the people that live in the community are better for the environment. In a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo 300 people manage 5,000 hectares of forest. Data shows that the rate of deforestation in 57 community concessions like the one in the village was 23 percent lower than the national average. Community-run forests also provide financial means for the people In Guatemala a community-run generated 9,000 jobs and $6 million in revenue.

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How regenerative agriculture is building soil and community in Big Sandy, Montana

Emily Stifler Wolfe

October 14, 2021 |

Montana Free Press |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Big Sandy, Montana

Quinn Organic Research Center sits at the hub of innovations slowly transforming farming culture away from industrial agriculture toward organic and regenerative strategies. Countering the decades-old "get big or get out" thinking about farming in Montana, the Quinn operation conducts small-scale experiments to develop new markets based on tactics that decrease soil erosion, improve biodiversity, and capture carbon. These climate-change-ready operations have seen many setbacks. But they've also been embraced by more locals and helped Big Sandy enjoy a subtle but real rejuvenation.

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How decades of stopping forest fires made them worse

Kimberly Mas

September 22, 2021 |

Vox |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Prescribed burning or controlled burning is an ancestral indigenous practice in which specific sections of a forest are burned. Controlled burning also happens naturally like when lightning strikes a forest. Controlled burning is good for a forest, it gets rid of dead areas, leads to healthier soil by clearing the ground, and minimizes the strength of large fires. However, due to U.S. laws that criminalized controlled burns the practice was discouraged in the U.S. Now, due to climate change and larger fires, prescribed burning is making a come back.

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Why these farmers are welcoming muskrats, birds, and snakes

Marsha McLeod

August 12, 2021 |

TVO |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada

In Canada, farmers are rewilding their farmlands, a process where a farmer restores their habitat to a more natural state. It includes things like planting trees, building hedgerows, and creating ponds. Rewilding can prevent soil erosion, carbon sequestering, and filtering water, among many other things, reversing some of the adverse effects caused by farming. One non-profit, the Alternative Land Use Services is funding these rewilding projects by paying farmers. ALUS projects span 31,000 across Canada.

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A San Francisco Airport Site Is Crawling With Snakes—And That's a Good Thing

Ashley Stimpson

July 27, 2021 |

Atlas Obscura |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

The endangered San Francisco garter snake has made a comeback due to conservation efforts at the San Francisco International airport. They built ponds and wetlands to make the conditions ideal for the snake to thrive and as a result, approximately 1,300 snakes call the property home. While there are still issues with invasive plants and industrial runoff polluting the area, the ecological improvements have helped the snake population’s rebound.

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Fighting plastic waste: a double-edged sword

Justice Nwafor

July 26, 2021 |

SciDev.Net |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Lagos

Teams of recyclers in Nigeria gather plastic bottles from the streets and landfills and brings them to recycling plants where they can exchange the waste for money. HISL Recyclers collects this waste — which usually contains polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, a dangerous chemical — as a way to remove the waste from the environment. However, more work needs to be done to get more people to participate in the program and to scale the operations. So far, they’ve been able to recycle up to 20 tonnes of plastic waste a month.

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Many mangrove restorations fail. Is there a better way?

Katarina Zimmer

July 22, 2021 |

Knowable Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Guinea-Bissau

Mangrove forests are known to be excellent storers of carbon and hosts of biodiversity, but they are also able to protect communities on coastlines from storm surge. However, many of the projects to restore these forests fail because they are rushed or planted in the wrong places. Scientists argue that organizers should focus on natural regrowth or “ecological mangrove restoration,” a science-based approach, which has been used in Indonesia and Guinea-Bissau.

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Cooler, Cleaner Megacities, One Rooftop Garden at a Time

Marianne Dhenin

July 08, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Egypt, Cairo

Organizations in Egypt and Bangladesh are greening their cities by turning rooftops into urban gardens that can grow food, reduce air pollution, and decrease air temperatures. Green Savers in Dhaka has installed more than 5,000 rooftop gardens in the city and Urban Greens in Cairo partners with sponsors to install hydroponic rooftop gardens for families experiencing economic hardship. It’s been a challenge to convince people that the cost to maintain these spaces is worthwhile, but through community outreach efforts, these organizations have seen an increase in interest in installing rooftop gardens.

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

Emily Stifler Wolfe

July 06, 2021 |

Montana Free Press |

Text |

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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Could miniature forests help air-condition cities?

The Economist

July 03, 2021 |

The Economist |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Japan

The Miyawaki method of planting miniature natural forests in cities as a way to reduce air pollution and cool down temperatures is gaining ground throughout the world. The process involves planting a variety of trees in a particular way that allows for them to grow rapidly. While this method is very labor intensive and can be difficult to scale, there are more than 1,500 of these types of forests in Japan, India, and Pakistan.

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