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Aging cocoa trees provide opportunity for agricultural reform in Ghana

Nellie Peyton

August 30, 2018 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Ghana

In Ghana, cocoa trees are aging and producing lower yields, worrying the farmers who rely on the crop to make a living; the decreased yield is also presenting opportunity for agricultural reform to produce a more sustainable vision for agriculture in the region. Across western Ghana, organizations are working together to create customary land agreements and helping land tenants to encourage long term investment in replanting cocoa trees.

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Giving new life to vacant buildings can boost struggling towns

Eillie Anzilotti

August 15, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Newburgh, New York

In New York, an intentional form of housing development is keeping affordability in mind. Neighbors for Neighborhoods provides funding for locals to redevelop blighted property from land banks and rent it out as affordable housing. The parameters ensure local impact: there is a limit to how many properties an individual can rent out, and the properties must be rented to people making below 80% the median income in the region. The program has $4 million in funding so far.

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A simple solution to help cities fight overheating: more trees

Adele Peters

July 20, 2018 |

FastCompany |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

Trees are an effective bulwark against summer heat, providing shade and cooling the air as water evaporates from leaves. A collaborative project mapped heat and other considerations in Dallas and picked the neighborhood of Oak Cliff to plant more than 1,000 trees. The ultimate goal is to revegetate the entire city.

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To Combat Gentrification, One City Is Changing How Homes Are Bought and Sold

Lornet Turnbull

July 13, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Buffalo, New York

The city of Buffalo is beginning to gentrify, and long-time residents are trying to stop it and keep housing affordable. Under leadership of locals and with support from city officials, the new Fruit Belt Community Land Trust aims to develop a strategic plan and find ways to keep housing in the hands of community members for the next 99 years. Though there is some opposition from people who want to maintain the value of their homes, the land trust leaders are hoping to demonstrate the value that collective action can add to their neighborhood.

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The Push to Turn Church Land Into Farmland

Leilani Clark

July 02, 2018 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Paicines, California

Churches across the U.S. own a staggering amount of land that often goes unused and untended. FaithLands is an intersectional group of church leaders who are seeking to encourage churches to parcel off some of this land to local farmers who will implement sustainable agricultural practices on the unused land. This solution stimulates the local economies, feeds local people, allows small scale farmers to earn a living, and benefits the churches by turning unused land into profitable land.

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Indonesia combines Islam with environmental activism

Rizki Nugraha

June 14, 2018 |

Deutsche Welle (DW) |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Indonesia

In order to raise awareness about the impact of plastic waste in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Greenpeace and the Indonesian Ministry of Forest and Environment have teamed with the country’s largest Muslim organizations.

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How Saguaro National Park Hopes To Catch Prickly Cacti Thieves

Tyler Fingert

April 30, 2018 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Saguaro National Park, Arizona

The National Park Service has resorted to microchipping hundreds of saguaro. Despite extensive legal protections, the iconic cacti are going missing. Rangers can only read the microchip by scanning a suspect cactus, but they hope this move will serve as an additional deterrent to would-be thieves hoping to cash in on the demand for saguaro among building owners.

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Malawi Plants 60 Million Trees This Year Alone

Deogracias Benjamin Kalima

April 19, 2018 |

Greentumble |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Malawi

Malawi ranks fourth in the world for deforestation rates, but the country is on a pathway to making a dent in recovery thanks to community and government efforts. In just one rainy season alone, running from December to April, the country has managed to plant 60 million tree seedlings and is showing no signs of slowing down. Designated as forestry season by the government, this initiative has helped spur a national planting movement from various entities including a hydroelectric power plant and singular individuals.

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In India, this group helps turn wasteland into greener pastures

Fred de Sam Lazaro

April 19, 2018 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV Programs |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: India, Tamil Nadu

An organization funded by the government called Foundation for Ecological Security is leading the charge to reforest wastelands in India to alleviate some of the struggles that rural areas undergo. This creates holding ponds, replenishes soil, and even prompts the community to work together to equitably distribute any leftover water amongst the farmers. It also helps stem the tide of urbanization and addresses the concern that the country may soon run out of food. The group has worked in 13,000 villages across India, reaching about 8 million people, and they still have millions of acres of land to reforest.

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Can Dirt Save the Earth?

Moises Velasquez-Manoff

April 18, 2018 |

The New York Times Magazine |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Marin, California

One tactic for combatting climate change has to do with soil health. Soil can withdraw and store carbon from the atmosphere—at a higher rate when covered by manure—and also supports long-term soil sustainability and saves farmers money. Because agriculture already consumes much of the world's surface, proponents of carbon farming envision a world where large swathes of land act as a carbon sink. Potential drawbacks and things left to explore include how to produce compost without creating more energy than it saves and how to use cows effectively when they also contribute much of the carbon in the atmosphere.

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