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

Fresh start: Using agriculture to build confidence during recovery

Mia Ryder-Marks

August 29, 2021 |

Capital Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oregon

Blanchet House is a nonprofit that provides food and housing for people in need. Men who are recovering from substance abuse can live at the farm and have an opportunity to work on the land and learn skills that promote self-sufficiency and confidence. Men generally stay up to 8 months with free room and board, attend daily AA and NA meetings, and are assigned jobs like tending to the animals and ground maintenance. Unlike other sobriety programs that emphasize deep self-reflection, Blanchet House focuses on the physical component of getting your hands dirty and learning responsibility.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How Kansas ranchers and the land benefit from going back to the way of the bison

Michael Pearce

August 03, 2021 |

The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas

In Kansas, a group of younger ranchers are shifting away from decades long, traditional, ranching practices and instead using methods synched with nature. Changes include things like burning the pasture to clear dead grass in the spring, instead of burning in the summer. Research shows summer burns save millions in operating costs and it's actually a long-held practice by indigenous people before settlers arrived. The ranchers are also changing how they graze and spray, methods that use less pesticides and increase wildlife.

Read More
Go to Original Story
After a century of dispossession, Black farmers are fighting to get back to the land

Tom Philpott

May 01, 2021 |

Mother Jones |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

In the U.S., a movement of Black farmers is trying to reclaim their legacy as agrarians. Only 1.7 percent of farms were run by Black farmers according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture. Black farmers are forming collectives, creating land trusts, creating conferences.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

Ashifa Kassam

April 09, 2021 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Spain, El Puerto de Santa María

A Spanish chef piloted a project to start a “marine garden” — cultivating eelgrass and obtaining grains it produces to be used in different recipes. The grain has healthy benefits, including 50 percent more protein than rice, and growing the seagrass can transform salt marshes into biodiverse ecosystems that can also capture carbon emissions. They are working to scale the project to understand the ideal conditions to grow the plants.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Having Your Desalination and Eating It, Too

Pip Knight

April 09, 2021 |

Hakai Magazine |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Spain, Canary Islands

A pilot experiment in the Canary Islands seeks to recycle brine waste from desalination plants to grow hydroponic tomatoes. The leftover brine can be harmful for seagrass along the coast, so researchers looked into ways to create a nutrient solution that could be used to raise tomatoes. Though the yield of the tomatoes using the brine solution was lower, they did have a sweeter taste.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Community restores grasslands in Lamkani, making the village drought-resilient

Vinaya Kurtkoti

April 08, 2021 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Dhule, Maharashtra

The village of Lamkani, in India, was lush but became barren after years of droughts. In 2000, Dhananjay Newadkar, initiated a multi-pronged approach that was supported by the community. It included watershed development, a ban on grazing and felling trees. However, the bans were not enforced. Instead, artists incorporated messages about conservation in their performances and educated the community. Finally, the grasslands were restored through rotational grazing. Now, the town is water-sufficient, even in droughts.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Can California's Organic Vegetable Farmers Unlock the Secrets of No-Till Farming?

Gosia Wozniacka

March 30, 2021 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

A trial experiment with three farmers and several California universities is looking to better understand how to farm with little or no chemicals. No-till farming can boost soil health and better store carbon, but it’s not a perfect system. These farmers are testing how to reduce soil disturbance, use cover crops, and diversify their species of crops, yet so far, they haven’t found much success. “Figuring this all out has been ‘a school of hard knocks,’” says one of the farmers.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Large food companies are looking to lock carbon in soil as a way to meet ambitious emissions goals

Meg Wilcox

February 09, 2021 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fairfield, Maine

Stonyfield, an organic dairy company, is working with six of its suppliers to pilot how farms can measure the amount of carbon it’s trapping in soil through regenerative farming practices as a way for the company to achieve its goals to cut carbon emissions. The OpenTEAM initiative is working to demonstrate how a dairy farm could improve its soil health to reach carbon net zero and, eventually, have food companies pay its farmers to adopt the new practices.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Planting crops — and carbon, too

Gabriel Popkin Gabriella Demczuk

January 22, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Rock Hall, Maryland

Maryland farmer Trey Hill became the first seller in a tech startup’s carbon marketplace, paying him $115,000 for initiating regenerative farming practices. By introducing cover crops, he has been able to sequester about 8,000 tons of carbon in the soil, which then buyers can purchase the credits to offset the carbon they produce. If more farmers get on board, supporters say it can be a tangible solution to curbing climate change.

Read More
Go to Original Story
With Centuries-Old Techniques, This Farm Is Preparing for the Future

Klaus Sieg

December 18, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: France, Normandy

An unusually robust crop yield is stunning scientists at a small family farm where traditional farming techniques have replaced machinery, pesticides, and fertilizers. The French farmers implemented tips and tricks from cultures around the world and they now produce organic produce at much higher rates per square feet than conventional farms. Their methods have also bolstered the farm against extreme weather patterns, making it a model worth replicating.

Read More
Go to Original Story