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Listening to Silence: Why We Must Protect the World's Quiet Places

Jenny Morber

June 30, 2020 |

Yale Environment 360 |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Ecuador

The nonprofit Quiet Parks International certifies “quiet parks” after performing a detailed sound analysis. Their work is an effort to raise awareness of and increase public support for preserving these locations.

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Could Akira Miyawaki's 50-year-old innovation help promote biodiversity and reduce the risk of climate change?

Kamala Thiagarajan

June 11, 2020 |

Ensia |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Bengaluru

An innovative approach to combat climate change involves growing forests and resorting natural vegetation on degraded or barren land. Known as the Miyawaki technique, planting seedlings of indigenous trees close together could speed the growth of the trees and not only offset carbon emissions, but also increase biodiversity. While the technique can be challenging to do correctly, corporations, nonprofits, and even schools have planted 285 of these forests around the world in India, the Netherlands, France, and Pakistan.

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Pakistan's solution to the locust invasion? Turn the pests into chicken feed

Rina Saeed Khan

May 28, 2020 |

Scroll.In |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Pakistan, Depalpur, Punjab

As locust swarms threaten crops in Pakistan, a pilot program offers farmers a way to get rid of the pests without using insecticides that harm the environment, while also earning money. Once farmers trap the locusts at night, the creatures are turned into high-protein chicken feed for animal feed mills. During the pilot project, farmers netted up to $125 for one night’s work and the community hauled an average of seven tonnes a night. While harvesting locusts works for some farming areas, it might not be as easy for farmers in desert areas who have to rely on chemical sprays offered by the government.

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In the forests of New Zealand, indigenous Maori and Western scientists work through past injustices to save a threatened species together

Per Liljas

May 19, 2020 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: New Zealand

A native tree species known as the kauri is being threatened by a deadly pathogen in New Zealand, so Western scientists, the government, and the Māori people are working together to stop it. Early tests suggest that chemical signals from other plants might be able to distract the pathogen and slow down the spread of it. However, collaboration between scientists and indigenous people was not easy, but they were able to build trust between each other.

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Seed by seed, a women's collective helps reforest Brazil's Xingu River Basin

JoAnna Haugen

May 12, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Brazil, Xingu River Basin

A group of women, known as the Yarang Women’s Movement, from villages in Brazil collect and sell seeds to nurseries, landowners, and other organizations to replant degraded land by the Xingu River. While this effort has helped reforest the area, a significant amount of land is still degraded and climate change threatens the availability of seeds throughout the year. Yet, “they have found creative ways to survive and adapt to climate change. The Yarang Women’s Movement is an example of resilience,” said someone who has worked with the group.

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Saving and protecting peatlands in Indonesia

Nithin Coca

April 21, 2020 |

Inkline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia

The degradation of peatlands is a public health and climate change issue. Organizations in Indonesia are working to understand these wetlands better by mapping the location of them throughout the country and around the world. By creating a comprehensive picture of peatlands, which contribute up to 10 percent of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, key partners can understand how to prevent carbon emitting from the wetlands into the atmosphere.

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How women in Iowa are leading farmland conservation efforts

Mark Bittman Melanie Saltzman

March 07, 2020 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Iowa

A group of women called The Women, Food and Agriculture Network was founded in 1998 in Iowa to educate female landowners about land conservation and implementing sustainable practices on their farms. The group has held more than 250 meetings since 2009, reaching more than 3,800 women landowners—and their surveys find that after a one-day session, 50-70% of the women go on to take an action to improve conservation on their property. Longterm, this group empowers women to play a bigger role in the future of agriculture in the state.

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How a Beloved Bird Is Helping Save the Chesapeake Bay

Libby Sander

February 18, 2020 |

Hakai Magazine |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chesapeake, Maryland

The Natural Lands Project works with local landowners to turn hundreds of hectares of marginal croplands into native grasslands. The grasses offer refuge for the northern bobwhite quail and grip the soil, which helps prevent erosion and keeps agricultural runoff and sediment out of the Chesapeake Bay. The quail population has grown to 450, a 39% increase from 20 years ago. The project works with landowners to convert small parcels of their land for the habitat. The landowners receive a small payment and help planting and maintaining the native vegetation. Many species have flourished in the new habitat.

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The Green Miles

Gabriel Popkin Jahi Chikwendiu

February 13, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

After strip-mining for coal devastated Kentucky’s forests and planting grass didn’t revive Appalachia’s ecosystems, a federal employee reversed course and spearheaded an ambitious reforestation effort. By planting trees on used mine land, Patrick Angel and his nonprofit Green Forests Work are providing employment for out-of-work miners and are helping prevent frequent flooding. They have planted more than 187 million trees on about 275,000 acres of former min

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The Bitter Side of Cocoa Production

Teresa Carr

February 13, 2020 |

Sapiens |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Dominican Republic

Carla Martin is an anthropologist at Harvard University, who also founded the Nine Cacao and Chocolate Institute — a nonprofit that brings together industry professionals, academics, and producers to share insights and discuss the challenges of producing chocolate. Cocoa production historically has participated in questionable labor practices, unfair wages, and tropical deforestation, so through her workshops, Martin aims to empower the workers along the supply chain to ensure their voices are heard through the process.

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