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India trashes 100 million tires a year. She turns them into playgrounds.

Kamala Thiagarajan

March 29, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Bengaluru

Anthill Creations has built 275 "playscapes" across India, mostly using discarded vehicle tires as the affordable raw materials. In many parts of the country, children lack outdoor play spaces and toys to enliven their play. By "upcycling" some of the 100 million discarded tires the country generates annually and painting them bright colors, the 5-year-old project has benefits ranging from the environment to children's safety and happiness.

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Green space in cities can bring considerable health benefits for communities, but access is unequal

Ambika Chawla

March 19, 2021 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Platte Farm Open Space used to be a garbage dumping ground in Denver, but it’s now an urban green space thanks to the efforts from community members, organizations, and the government. This community-led project was able to secure funding to replace the contaminated land with fresh soil that now attracts animals and includes walking paths and a playground for children. This project offers lessons on how to build a green space in a diverse neighborhood and the health benefits that come from such an initiative.

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Avid Bookshop's New Book Club Promotes Literature About Race and Labor

Abir Saberi

March 17, 2021 |

Grady Newsource |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

Georgia’s Racial Justice Centering Committee, part of the University of Georgia’s United Campus Workers, runs the Racial Justice, Labor, and the South Book Club at the Avid Bookshop. The moderator-led discussions provide attendees with exposure to diverse literature and an opportunity to learn about the intersection between labor and race. While University of Georgia students are the target audience, the book club is open to the public. Meetings are currently held on zoom, but in-person meetings at the bookshop introduced a wider audience to the diverse books and increased support of the local business.

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Don't call it summer school: Battling the COVID slide in math, science, reading with summer programs

Trisha Powell Crain

March 10, 2021 |

AL.com (Alabama Media Group) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Alabama

Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL) provides funding for summer programs that mix academic learning and fun enrichment activities. The “COVID slide,” where students fell behind in math, science, and reading, had a greater impact on children of color and those in low-income families, who are the majority of students in SAIL-funded programs. High-quality academics, taught by certified teachers, are paired with fun activities and personal enrichment provided by community partners. Students in SAIL's virtual 2020 summer programs showed average learning gains of 2.3 months in reading and 1.6 months in math.

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Medical Providers Are Taking Nature Therapy Seriously

Jenifer Frank

February 22, 2021 |

Connecticut Health Investigative Team |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Haven, Connecticut

Medical providers are increasingly prescribing nature therapy – like walks, hikes, or recreational activities – as a way to help children and adults cope with life stressors. First popularized in Japan as "forest bathing," this practice has been shown to decrease a patient's anxiety and depression and increase their ability to concentrate.

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Halls of game: Bingo centers are unheralded pillars of the Corpus Christi community

Clay Carpenter

December 23, 2020 |

Corpus Christi Caller Times |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Corpus Christi, Texas

In Texas, bingo is considered a charitable operation and can act as a revenue source, offering a significant contribution to the funding of many 501c(3) nonprofits, but it also "nourishes the community in other, less obvious ways." Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the bingo operations around the state often provided scholarships and food distribution and offered a reprieve from social isolation. Although the pandemic has altered how many players can be a in a room together, the bingo halls are still attracting regulars.

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National organization repurposes summer camps, combating ‘summer slide' in reading and math

Catenya McHenry

December 14, 2020 |

KXAN-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

As summer programs across the country shut down to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School summer program in Austin tried was forced to quickly pivot to virtual learning. They had to make large technological purchases, hire a help desk staff, reached out to volunteers, and had to figure out how to get students to log on.

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In Rwanda, Learning Whether a ‘Smart Park' Can Help Both Wildlife and Tourism

Amy Yee

November 24, 2020 |

Atlas Obscura |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Rwanda

Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, once a conservation failure, has been revitalized with fences, patrols, and new technology to become a successful wildlife park. The government partnered with conservation group African Parks to manage the national park, which has led to an increase tourists, patrols, and even lions and black rhinos. Akagera also became the world first “Smart Park” after it installed a telecommunications network called LoRaWAN to securely track, monitor, and communicate between rangers, vehicles, equipment, and animals.

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As Wilderness Areas Attract More People, Volunteer Rangers Hit The Trail

Amanda Peacher

September 28, 2020 |

Boise State Public Radio (KBSX) |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Idaho

About 40 volunteer wilderness stewards of the Idaho Conservation League are helping to educate hikers about how to be good outdoor trekkers like disposing of waste properly and staying on the trail. While these volunteers can’t legally enforce the rules, last year, they have destroyed 109 illegal campfire rings and got rid of 100 pounds of litter. These volunteers programs could be effective as other government initiative budgets are cut and more and more people are exploring nature.

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How Did These Students Get The City To Change The Name Of Douglass Park? They Built Collective Power And Didn't Back Down

Pascal Sabino

September 22, 2020 |

Block Club Chicago |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago students organized and, for the first time, convinced the city to rename a park in honor of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. The former Douglas Park was named after a Civil War era Illinois senator who advocated to expand slavery, and whose wife owned slaves. Not daunted by the city’s bureaucracy, the students canvassed in their community and gathered over 10,000 signatures for a petition to change the park’s name. The campaign, which began in 2017, was much harder and longer than the students anticipated, but by forming a coalition and continuing to speak out they persevered.

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