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 2044 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

'Plastic recycling is a myth': what really happens to your rubbish?

Oliver Franklin-Wallis

August 17, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: England

After decades of recycling plastic, the world is now coming to terms with the waste industry it has created, and seeking more sustainable models. One promising model is material recovery facilities, like England’s Green Recycling, that has invested in an AI sorting machine to help humans more efficiently and accurately find materials that can be recycled. While a costly model of sustainability, new strategy proposals are emerging that can help the world make this change possible.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In Montana, challenges abound for students, but new solutions are emerging

Cameron Evans, Keila Szpaller

August 17, 2019 |

Missoulian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Billings, Montana

Several courses offered at colleges throughout Montana are using storytelling that is founded in cultural competency to better connect students with their heritage. This effort is part of a larger project that aims to raise graduation rates by implementing support systems for students. Other offerings include block scheduling and career and technical education certificate programs.

Read More
Go to Original Story
When public lands become tribal lands again

Anna V. Smith

August 16, 2019 |

High Country News |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians Reservation, United States, Umpqua National Forest, Oregon

After decades of failed legislation, over 17,000 acres of public land was finally restored to the Umpqua Tribe with the passage of the Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act. The land was a constant source of tension between the tribe, the government, and environmental conservation groups, “under the pretext that Native peoples didn’t know how to manage them.” But in December 2018, with the passage of the Act and the return of 3% of the land that was originally seized, a sense of justice was felt.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Post-Soviet Co-ops: Mongolian Herders Borrow a Tool From the Recent Past

Sarah Trent, Khaliun Bayartsogt

August 15, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar

Members of Post-Soviet Mongolian tribes return to a co-op way of life in order to survive - but this time, the co-ops are community run, rather than state-run. Because climate change has degraded the quality of soil and made it difficult for pasture-raised animals to survive, these tribes have banded together to manage pastureland more efficiently and sell their products, as a group, to national companies.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Resource centers nourish parents, children with food and education

Abbagail Leon

August 14, 2019 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona

Family resource centers across Maricopa County in Phoenix offer services to children, parents, and guardians in a holistic approach to child development. Programs that they host include parenting classes, a library, and sessions that teach reading skills to preschoolers and other children. Reading and being read to are critical in a child's brain development, and these centers help parents offer regular opportunities to stimulate their child's brain. There are now over 30 centers across the county.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Got a parking ticket? In some cities, you can pay for it with school supplies or cat food.

Marisa Iati

August 13, 2019 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Muncie, Indiana

Across the United States, cities are letting residents pay off their parking tickets with donations to local organizations. For set periods of time, cities like Muncie and Las Vegas write off traffic tickets – as long as they aren’t related to public safety – when residents donate things like cat food to the local cat shelter, or school supplies to educational organizations. The initiatives have been such a success that people from around the country are sending in their donations, even without the trade-off of a paid parking ticket.

Read More
Go to Original Story
One year after Red for Ed, teacher shortage plagues AZ schools

Morgan Loew

August 12, 2019 |

KPHO-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Arizona

Over the past year, a school in Arizona has filled the gap in teacher vacancies by growing its own teachers from within the community and issuing "emergency teacher certifications." The approach is helping but doesn't make up for the shortage of fully certified and qualified teachers, district officials say.

Read More
Go to Original Story
School on Wheels Program Turns Bus Into School for Asylum-Seeking Children

Chloe Kellison

August 11, 2019 |

NowThis News |

Video |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

School on Wheels is a program serving children in a refugee camp along the U.S.-Mexico border by transforming an old school bus into a space for learning. The school can fit up to 80 children, all of whom are waiting for asylum in the U.S. It is run by the California-based nonprofit, Yes We Can, and it currently has 3 teachers and over 30 students. The school aims to teach the children values like love, happiness, and being a good person while they are at a particularly tumultuous time in their lives.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How a State Plans to Turn Coal Country Into Coding Country

Dana Goldstein

August 10, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Sheridan, Wyoming

Since Wyoming passed legislation in 2018 requiring all grade levels to teach computer science curriculum by 2022, teachers have spent significant time outside of work getting themselves up to speed. The idea is that these coding skills will transition the state's economy away from the coal industry and keep young people in the state. However, some critics note that there are few success stories of technology clusters in remote areas.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In wealthy Silicon Valley, a $500 million plan to save threatened farmland

Johnny Magdaleno

August 08, 2019 |

Reuters |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Martin, California

In Santa Clara County, California, the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program is funding an effort to prevent development and bolster agriculture on local farmland. The County, home to Silicon Valley, purchases land at market prices to protect it from development, incentivize agriculture, and prevent sprawl. While still in the beginning stages, the county looking long-term to see how this program will be financially sustainable.

Read More
Go to Original Story