Scientists are experimenting with a low-cost way of combatting an invasive species and wildfires. They’re using cattle to graze on cheatgrass, which has spread across the U.S. West, disrupted native plants and animals and become a source of fuel for fires. The cows were able to reduce the grass by an average of more than 60 percent, creating an area that could prevent fires from spreading.

The push for an increase in urban tree canopies is growing in cities like Camden, Detroit, and Baltimore. A collaboration between community members in those cities and local nonprofits yielded a plan and quick execution. More and more trees are being planted in urban areas to offset the heat-island effect, increase air quality, and decrease the tree equity gap between historically redlined areas and surrounding areas.

A startup is making buildings more eco-friendly by converting their energy needs from oil and gas to electric heat pumps. BlocPower is a Black-owned clean tech startup that provides a no money down lease option, making it financially accessible.

With rising temperatures occurring all over the world, cities are implementing plans to combat heat waves and protect its residents. The city of Ahmedabad in India has been a model for heat resiliency after it created its first heat action plan that centered around “community-focused social measures.” Because of the plan, a 2015 heat wave resulted in fewer than 20 fatalities compared with thousands of deaths in previous years. Other cities like New York City are also participating in heat resiliency efforts aimed at protecting all of its residents.

When the Mount Law wildfire ripped through the Westbank Community Forest, traditional mitigation work based on centuries-old methods practiced by Westbank First Nation stopped flames from spreading beyond. The methods, which have been practiced for close to 1,000 years, include "removing ladder fuels and surface fuels to help space out mature trees. Each tree is pruned at least two to three metres above its base so fire can’t carry flames up the branches and spread to surrounding trees."

Indigenous Peoples Burn Network, is a collaboration of Native nations, academic researchers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that advocate for and train fire-lighters in the indigenous practices of controlled forest burns. Under careful supervision, fire-lighters spread lines of fire beneath trees to create fuel-free areas and protect old growth trees from burning. Controlled burns preserve resources that are part of Native cultures, encourage and protect wildlife and biodiversity, and decrease the frequency of largescale, out-of-control forest fires.

An Indonesian government program called Masyarakat Peduli Api, or “Fire Care Community,” aims to improve community responses to wildfires and restore peatlands — valuable ecosystems that store carbon. Through community engagement and education, this volunteer fire brigade patrols the peatlands and addresses small fires before they spread. The program remains underfunded, but residents recognize the importance of their work.

California’s wildfires historically were contained through periodic but limited burning. But “misguided fire police” over many decades, focused on overzealous fire suppression, has accumulated more dry fuel, resulting in wildfires that have grown progressively larger and more dangerous. Climate change only increases the likelihood of more fires. And the inventory of unburned acreage that has accumulated is now so great that it makes it increasingly difficult to ever catch up.

Coordination and planning can prove to be the best defensive measures against wildfires. Funded by the US Forest Service, the Community Planning Assistance for Wild Program (CPAW) promotes community fire adaptation, including measures like prescribed burns. Policymakers and city planners enrolled in CPAW benefit from teaming up with foresters, economists, and other experts to model risk and mitigate the impact of fires.

In northern Spain, the Fire Flocks project uses goats to clear vegetation between grassland, bushes and treetops because this can help stop the spread of future wildfires. This depends on shepherds moving herds to key areas that are vulnerable to fire. It’s a difficult life, so the project supports shepherds by encouraging butchers to sell goat products with the Fire Flocks brand to get support for the organization’s efforts.

Ventura County, which has been covered in relentless wildfires, can learn a thing or two from its northernly neighbor Deschutes County, which hasn't lost a single house to regular wildfires since 2003. The reason? A comprehensive approach to removing and thinning out trees and other flammable materials around homes.

Climate change is impacting not just the environment but the way in which humans are able to exist within the altered landscape. As ecosystems shift, storms worsen and loss of homes continues to rise, the mental health industry is looking towards changing traditional practices in order to account for clients presenting with "eco-anxiety and climate grief."

The Boise nonprofit, LEAP, builds affordable housing with innovative approaches, including using donated land held in trust and solar panels to keep utility costs low. The creative approach to land ownership and the use of alternative construction techniques and materials help more people afford homes in a fast-growing metro area.