Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 124 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

The roar of military jets triggers a crusade for quiet

Chris Berdik

May 13, 2019 |

High Country News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Forks, Washington

In an effort to decrease noise pollution in natural spaces across the country, Quiet Parks International is seeking to certify wildlife places that are noise-free. Using data collection, the organization is able to measure the noise level in places like the Hoh Rainforest in Washington, and if it falls within a certain parameter, give it the official certification. Doing so not only raises awareness of the effects of noise pollution, but attracts tourists with similar values.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Designing the Butterfly-Friendly City

Allison C. Meier

May 13, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

As the monarch butterfly nears endangerment, cities across the US are integrating butterfly-friendly spaces into their urban environments. Such spaces reside in schools, firehouses, parks, and more, and they enable the butterfly to rest, feed, pollinate, and procreate at any stage in their lifecycle. St. Louis in particular already has over 400 monarch gardens and have ample evidence of public support for the projects.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

Richard Schiffman

May 10, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

In the United States, most playgrounds are equipped with the same types of monkey bars, slides and swings, but a few are replacing these typical options with "dismembered store mannequins, wooden packing crates, tires, mattresses" among other things. Following the success of similar "adventure" or "junk" playgrounds in other countries, the research thus far is showing positive results such as fewer injuries and longer physical playtime.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The First City to Remove and Replace a Confederate Monument

Gabriel Furshong

May 09, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Helena, Montana

Earlier this year, Helena, Montana became the first city in the United States to both remove and replace a confederate monument. A group called the Equity Fountain Project will replace the old monument with a public art project, a "Sphere of Interconnectedness" that will have steel strands on a round millstone.

Read More
Go to Original Story
New Salmon-Challis Smartphone App Lets Users Take Forest Information On The Go

Monica Gokey

May 09, 2019 |

NPR |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Salmon, Idaho

Visitors to the Salmon-Challis National Forest in Idaho can now access the wealth of information in a guidebook with the convenience of a smartphone app. The app, which contains valuable information on history, visitor stops, trailheads, and camp sites, will be especially helpful in much of the national forest where cell phone coverage is spotty.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Community buy-in stamps out elephant poaching in Zambian park

John C. Cannon

April 22, 2019 |

Mongabay |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Zambia, Luangwa Valley

In the North Luangwa National Park in Zambia, a conservation team worked with local communities to bring the rate of elephant poaching in the area down to zero in 2018. Poaching had surged in the Luangwa Valley in 2014, and since then the group has protected the elephants by placing the decision-making and benefit-reaping in the hands of the community members. They use financial incentives to stir the economy without depending on poaching money, work with the government to revise policies that redirect any income for the area to benefit the residents, and they patrol the park for any poachers.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Video The ex-poachers saving big cats in Russia

Yulia James

March 26, 2019 |

BBC |

Video |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: Russia, Gorno-Altaysk

The World Wildlife Fund has hired former poachers in Sailugemsky National Park, Russia to protect the snow leopard. The poachers had knowledge and experience hunting these animals, and the WWF decided to employ that knowledge in an effort to protect the species. Its numbers have increased since the WWF gave the poachers cameras, support, and funding.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Viral Hashtag That's Getting People to Clean Up Garbage

Linda Poon

March 11, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Viral social media trends can be harnessed for social and environmental good. A social media#trashtag challenge that spread from Reddit to Instagram draws upon the satisfying nature of a before-and-after meme. People all over the world who participated in #trashtag challenge went out and beautified green spaces. They then posted photos of themselves surrounded by the trash bags they had collected.

Read More
Go to Original Story
A Comeback for African National Parks

Patrick Adams

February 20, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mozambique, Gorongosa, Sofala Province

The Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique has repopulated its large mammals by over 700 percent through collaborations between wildlife authorities and nonprofits. With millions of dollars in philanthropic assistance, the park’s revival is made possible by supporting and using local and indigenous knowledge, as well as taking a whole-community approach that provides services for those towns around African national parks. Such philanthropic approaches to conservation are part of a larger, global trend taking place in countries around the world.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The orchid whisperers: Rare blooms find an urban perch

Eva Botkin-Kowacki

February 14, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Coral Gables, Florida

The Million Orchid Project has been reintroducing native, endangered plants into urban areas. From planting in school yards, to city parks, to the sides of busy roads, the initiative aims to preserve biodiversity by changing the assumption that nature has to be something separate from human society. While the project is still in early phases, it has shown indicators for progress, like the reappearance of wildlife species thought to have been extinct.

Read More
Go to Original Story