Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 254 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

The Big Dance: Saving the Great Bear Rainforest

Andrew MacLeod

September 24, 2020 |

The Tyee |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, British Columbia

Finding common ground between environmentalists, logging companies, and indigenous communities to protect the Great Bear Rainforest in Canada took years of discussion and even a dance at an Elton John concert. But these groups were able to negotiate an agreement to make 3.1 million hectares of rainforest off limits to logging, allow 500,000 hectares available for forestry, and strengthen First Nations rights. The process could be a model for what reconciliation can look like among competing interests.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In New Zealand, Police Work and Social Work Can Go Together

Serena Solomon

September 22, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: New Zealand, South Auckland

In South Auckland, epicenter of New Zealand's high rates of domestic violence, police respond to calls for help but instantly call in Te Taanga Manawa, a Māori-led team of multiple, culturally appropriate social-services agencies to guide families toward fixing the root of their problems. In the past, police may have made referrals to services agencies. But the Māori's distrust and the time lag in getting offers of help meant that families often rejected it, having papered over their conflict for a time. Now, nearly all accept the help offered while the crisis is still hot.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The remarkable floating gardens of Bangladesh

Kalpana Sunder

September 10, 2020 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh, Gopalganj, Bihar

Bangladeshi communities are reviving a traditional method of crop cultivation known as floating vegetable gardens to grow food during monsoon season. On these floating organic beds, farmers can grow vegetables like okra, spinach, and snake gourd. They can supply enough food to feed their family and be a source of income. While scaling this approach to other parts of the country can be difficult, many see this practice as a way to adapt to the effects of climate change.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Coastal Louisiana tribes team up with biologist to protect sacred sites from rising seas

Ty Baniewicz

September 02, 2020 |

Southerly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Indigenous communities in Louisiana are working with scientists to restore wetland ecosystems and protect tribal mounds along the Gulf Coast through backfilling projects. Depleted oil wells and canals in the area are often abandoned, creating reservoirs of stagnant water that affects freshwater plants and animals. The group has started to identify priority canal sites to fill in and seek funding to kick off the project, which can be challenging to get.

Read More
Go to Original Story
To Manage Wildfire, California Looks To What Tribes Have Known All Along

Lauren Sommer

August 24, 2020 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Mariposa, California

To combat wildfires in California, Native American tribal leaders and government officials are coming together to facilitate “cultural burnings” or controlled burns. Regularly burning the landscape prevents thick, dried out vegetation from catching fire and causing massive wildfires. Tribal groups used to perform this ritual in the 1800s, but as settlers moved West, many of them prevented Native Americans from doing these cultural burnings. While controlled burns can be challenging in places where there’s too much underbrush, these partnerships can bring together indigenous knowledge and wildfire management.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Amazon ‘women warriors' show gender equality, forest conservation go hand in hand

Rosamaria Loures Sarah Sax

August 21, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Maranhão

Women “warriors” of the indigenous Guajajara people in Brazil use drones to patrol their territory of the Amazon rainforest in an effort to prevent deforestation. Because of their work, they have been able to cut deforestation down to just 63 hectares in 2018 compared with 2,000 hectares in 2016. While the work can be dangerous and difficult at times, the women are committed to protecting the forests as a way to combat climate change. “If we don’t act, there would be no forest standing,” says one of the women warriors.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Why indigenous folklore can save animals' lives

Arnel Murga

July 28, 2020 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Philippines, Iloilo

Conservations in the Philippines are using indigenous beliefs known as “mariit” — which is the belief that nature is inhabited by unseen dwellers and should be respected and taken care of — to protect the country’s endangered species. The Mariit Wildlife and Conservation Park serves as a refuge for at least 62 animals and the Taklong Island Marine Natural Reserve is a breeding ground for fish species caught outside its boundary. Experts caution though that mariit can have a positive impact on the environment, sometimes the beliefs can undermine science-based conservation activities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Citrus for Sourdough, Eggs for Yeast

Annelise Jolley

July 21, 2020 |

Life & Thyme |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Michigan

Food bartering helps families during times of food insecurity, which is often exacerbated by crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Families with lower incomes have bartered for food for a long time but the pandemic has brought diversity to the families exchanging food with friends and neighbors. Food bartering is part of the cultural fabric of different groups, such as the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, which hosts workshops on cultivating gardens. Food bartering is an inclusive and community-building practice but when bartering is the only way to get food, the communal reliance can be an emotional drain.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Native American groups address mental health amid COVID-19

Deagan Urbatsch Jacqueline Robledo

June 19, 2020 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

Aware that already-high rates of mental health problems and suicide in native American populations could grow even worse during COVID-19 isolation, a number of support groups rolled out online sessions that have attracted thousands of attendees seeking connections and comfort. The Native Wellness Institute's daily Power Hour on Facebook Live and the Healing Indigenous Lives Initiative's online meetings offer storytelling, wellness training, peer support, and other lessons in self-care.

Read More
Go to Original Story
For Indigenous Zapotec Families, Spinning Becomes a Lifeline

Tracy Barnett

June 17, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Oaxaca

Mark Brown has brought Ghandian economic principles of economic justice and local autonomy to the Mexican countryside to form a farm-to-garment textile business that employs villagers who once made woolen textiles until the industrial clothing era started producing cheap synthetic clothing and rendered their craft unprofitable. Khadi Oaxaca aims to regenerate the village way of life in a sustainable way and employs several hundred villagers who grow the cotton, spin the thread, design the clothing and bring it to market for tourists - bringing a previously economically depressed village out of poverty.

Read More
Go to Original Story