Volunteers, First Nations work to bring back a disappearing oak prairie

The fate of the Southeast's longleaf pine forests, and the endangered woodpeckers that depend on them, is in jeopardy. Fort Bragg, a station of the US military, is trying to save their local environment.

After once again being granted rights to their native land, the Martu people are bringing back the bioregenerative technique of small-scale land burning. In the past century, wildfires have ravaged the areas these people call home and has lead to the loss of over 18 species of animal. They hope that imparting this traditional method of ecological maintenance will decrease the number of wildfires and in many cases, the resulting extinction of other animal species.

Threatened wildlife co-exists with poverty stricken communities who inhabit the Arizona-Mexico border region. Borderlands Restoration's conservation scientists are hoping to alleviate poverty while repairing the local environment by providing jobs that help preserve and renew the environment.

More golf courses are closing than are opening, allowing the rare opportunity to have open space in an urban environment. Restorations are becoming popular to allow wildlife and humans to make use of the natural space through the encouragement of different animals and plants to inhabit the same area as well as the development of parks and bike paths to foster human use.

There's a mezcal boom happening around the world, but it originates in Oaxaca, Mexico. There some of the biggest players in the game are actively working to influence and stabilize the agave industry through sustainable practices.

Agroforestry, is the practice of planting trees around crops, which can yield many benefits to farmers and the environment. In India, agroforestry is helping tigers stay alive.

Hurricane Mitch, deforestation, and flooding, were all factors that led to the decline of mangrove trees in El Salvador. The Mangrove Association, a coalition of 80 communities, is bringing the mangrove population back up.

Belize, cited by Darwin as home to “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies," recently became the first country to issue a moratorium on all offshore oil exploration and drilling in order to protect the reef and the species that rely on it.

As the name implies, Russian olive trees are not native to the United States, but have taken over many regions due to their ability to outgrow and outcompete native plant species. Organizations are working together in Durango, Colorado to fight back against this invasive plant species, however.

As climate change continues to threaten the survival of native plants species and the health of the eco-systems they support, the North Carolina Arboretum’s Germplasm Repository is taking a clever new approach to the preservation of native plant seeds: pushing to capitalize on their commercial value. Plant physiologists like Joe-Ann McCoy know that the best method for saving many species may also create jobs and boost local economies, when businesses start leveraging the medicinal uses of native plants for products like herbal supplements.