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‘Tons and tons of fishing equipment': B.C. tour operators clean up ocean debris during coronavirus pandemic

Matt Simmons

September 15, 2020 |

The Narwhal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver Island

Expeditions to clean up debris from the coastline are underway along the B.C. coast after an ecotourism company was forced to stop tours during the pandemic. The project is largely funded by the B.C. government’s Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund, and involves five different companies. In just one expedition, 61 tonnes of garbage was collected and removed via volunteers, a helicopter, and a barge.

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Smartphones saving the rainforest

Julie Ball

September 15, 2020 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Brazil

Rainforest Connection makes a smartphone app that is part of a system using solar-powered phones in the rainforests of Brazil, Sumatra, Costa Rica, and Peru to stream audio of suspected illegal logging. This system, using recycled phones, enables the capture and shutting down of logging operations. In Brazil, about 100 loggers have been arrested and a large share of the rainforest has been protected, though many loggers there and in other countries still evade detection. This app is one example of innovations in use around the world to extend the lives of smartphones to benefit environmental conservation.

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Cities are using poop to look for early Covid-19 outbreaks

Katherine Ellen Foley

September 03, 2020 |

Quartz |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Arizona

Wastewater-based epidemiology is helping scientists and public health experts track the prevalence of coronavirus in communities. Although this practice can be complicated by the size of cities and lacks a standardized testing protocol, it has already helped identify outbreaks at two universities.

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What sewage can tell us about the spread of COVID-19

Jane C. Hu

September 02, 2020 |

High Country News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bozeman, Montana

Scientists in Bozeman, Montana are tracking community spread of COVID-19 by studying samples from the city’s wastewater. Although this form of tracking is more tedious and not necessarily as effective as testing individuals via a swab, the wastewater tracking program is able detect the virus and help health officials identify the area where it likely originated from.

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Organic fertilizers to lift African farmers out of poverty

Morgane le Cam

August 27, 2020 |

Heidi.news |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Burkina Faso, Koubri

After realizing that chemical fertilizer was doing more harm to the land than good in Burkina Faso, a Burkinese agronomist created a fertilizer from organic waste that has allowed the land to once again become fertile. Although the organic fertilizer promises a much higher increase in yields, chemical fertilizer is still widely used in the region.

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Preserving forests while emptying trash cans? The story of a Burkinese green charcoal

Morgane le Cam

August 24, 2020 |

Heidi.news |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou

To preserve the millions of trees that are cut down just to produce coal in Burkina Faso, a Burkinese engineer created "green charcoal that would not only protect forests but also help fight against the proliferation of garbage." This ecological fuel is made from carbonized collected garbage and coconut husks, which in turn has reduced the amount of garbage that has to be managed by the authorities in charge of sanitation.

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On the Delaware, A Promising New Era in Cleanup of an Urban River

Jon Hurdle

August 20, 2020 |

Yale Environment 360 |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Camden, New Jersey

Once known for being dirty, the Delaware River is being cleaned up by nonprofits and government entities to the point where they’re encouraging people to swim in it again. The Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority diverted the flow of sewage at 52 municipal plants to a new treatment plant, which has kept 15 million gallons of sewage out of the river each day. While overflows have not been completely eliminated, a national advocacy group even named the Delaware its River of the Year because of its improvements in water quality.

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How the World's Largest Garbage Dump Evolved Into a Green Oasis

Robert Sullivan Jade Doskow

August 14, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Staten Island, New York

The former Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island is turning into a public park that will accept visitors in 2021. By capping the trash site with plastic, covering it with soil, and planting native grasses, city officials are restoring the area’s former tidal wetlands and scrublands; nearly 314 plant and animal species have already been sighted. While the successful closing of the dump nearly 20 years ago means that the trash is being sent to other neighborhoods in the United States where people dealing with economic hardship live, the project could be a model for sustainability and urban renewal.

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Use of plastic bags in England drops by 59% in a year

Rebecca Smithers

July 30, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, England

The sales of single-use plastic bags has dropped by more than 95 percent in England’s supermarkets since 2015 when a monetary fee was introduced to encourage shoppers to reduce their plastic waste. Despite this reduction, research suggests that the amount of plastic waste in the world’s oceans was still likely to triple in volume in the next 20 years.

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Tackling a notorious waste problem in Africa's largest informal community

Shi En Kim

July 16, 2020 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

Kibra Green, a grassroots organization in Kenya, mobilizes the young people in the community to clean up their neighborhood. At times, the group has as many as 500 participants for a community-wide clean up. Yet, a lack of steady funding and socioeconomic barriers for volunteers to regularly contribute to the group has made it difficult to scale the organization.

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