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'It's a groundswell': the farmers fighting to save the Earth's soil

Matthew Taylor

April 24, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Governments, UN officials, and climate experts alike are ringing the alarm bells of growing soil degradation around the world. But a new agricultural movement is tackling this challenge head on. Instead of the centuries-old method of ploughing, or turning up the soil, farmers have recently taken to keeping their fields covered with varied plants year round, to keep soil healthier. Advocates also point to lower costs on machinery and labor, more resilient crops, and climate change dividends as added benefits as well.

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Lego releases Braille bricks to teach blind and visually impaired children

Emily Dixon

April 24, 2019 |

CNN |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Billund, Jutland

The Lego Company has released a new product called Lego Braille Bricks that is designed for blind and visually impaired children to learn Braille in a playful way. The concept was originally proposed to them by two foundations for the blind (one is Danish and one is Brazilian), so Legos prototyped with them to come up with the final set of 250 bricks that feature the complete Braille alphabet, numbers from zero to nine, math symbols, and more. These bricks will improve education for children with vision impairments, and reactions to the product have already been glowing.

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Behavioural science and nudges could make kids better readers

Amar Diwakar

April 23, 2019 |

Apolitical |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Enrolling parents in simple, scalable ways can improve early child learning outcomes. Building on a model used in the US state of California, firms in the UK are developing an SMS-based curriculum geared toward parents of children entering kindergarten. The method involves sending parents text messages that explain short, easy tasks that both instruct and motivate children, encouraging positive cognitive and behavioral development.

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Marijuana tax money targeted for Colorado's full-day kindergarten rollout

Jon Murray

April 23, 2019 |

The Denver Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Colorado may tap into an unlikely funding pool to finance the state's expansion of full-day kindergarten - marijuana taxes could help to pay for new furniture and other infrastructure needs in some of the state's most rural and resource-deprived schools.

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When counselors are in short supply, students step in to help

Noble Ingram

April 23, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Lacking sufficient counseling resources, schools are training students to fill the gap. The approach is not intended as a comprehensive solution, but as a way to help more students get connected with basic services.

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Community buy-in stamps out elephant poaching in Zambian park

John C. Cannon

April 22, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Zambia, Luangwa Valley

In the North Luangwa National Park in Zambia, a conservation team worked with local communities to bring the rate of elephant poaching in the area down to zero in 2018. Poaching had surged in the Luangwa Valley in 2014, and since then the group has protected the elephants by placing the decision-making and benefit-reaping in the hands of the community members. They use financial incentives to stir the economy without depending on poaching money, work with the government to revise policies that redirect any income for the area to benefit the residents, and they patrol the park for any poachers.

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How to Inspire Girls to Become Carpenters and Electricians

Hallie Golden

April 22, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

A Portland program for girls aged 8-14 aims to inspire interest in trade fields such as construction, plumbing, and electricity with a week-long spring break camp. The camp was founded by an organization called Girls Build in 2016 and has since proven to be a success with over 400 participants and half of those being returnees. Girls Build seeks to rebalance the gender inequity in trade professions as well as source skillsets for an industry that is currently lacking supply of.

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Barber pays kids to read a book during haircut to boost literacy, confidence

Megan Yoder

April 22, 2019 |

KUSA-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Kutztown, Pennsylvania

City Cuts is a special barbershop in Kutztown, PA that, in addition to being a barbershop, is simultaneously running an internationally-acclaimed literacy program for kids. Barber Jon Escueta gives young clients $3 to read a book aloud to him during their haircut for a program he calls Books for Kids, which boosts confidence in public speaking and literacy. When a video of a client reading to a City Cuts barber went viral, Books for Kids starting receiving hundreds of donations of money and books from around the world, and the kids themselves love and respect the program as well.

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The zero-waste revolution: how a new wave of shops could end excess packaging

Stephen Moss

April 21, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Crickhowell

All across the UK, zero-waste shops are gaining traction, with over 100 stores popping up in the last two years. They encourage shoppers to buy in bulk, minimize plastic waste, and ponder the power they have as consumers in where they shop. It’s part of a broader trend of reuse and repair that is making it easier to shop and live in an environmentally friendly way.

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Growing Pima County: Utah turned to private investors to fund public preschool

Luis Carrasco

April 21, 2019 |

Arizona Daily Star |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

Understanding that it would be hard to gain support for increased taxes to fund early childhood education in a conservative county, Pima County in Utah turned to a Pay for Success model. In this public-private arrangement, private investors are paid only if a social program achieves its goals.

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