Whether they have access to an excess of land or a spare rooftop on their building in the middle of a cramped city, schools across the United States are making efforts to incorporate more green space into their properties. Gardens and trees, in lieu of traditional asphalt playgrounds, offer a multitude of mental health and environmental benefits. Advocates of the green schoolyard movement emphasize that adding green spaces to schools is essential and should be thought of as part of any municipality's larger park planning process.

When baseball bats break, as they often do during games, they don't always find another purpose. As part of a recycling and conservation effort in Japan, though, these bats are repurposed into chopsticks that don't just serve a practical purpose, but also raise awareness about the kind of wood used to make the bats.

Recycling is having a moment of reckoning across the United States as many people continue to dispose of garbage in recycle bins. Mitch Hedlund, executive director of Recycle Across America, explains that a lack of public outreach and education is to blame. Through implementing a labeling system, however, the organization has seen an uptick in people successfully designating their trash to the correct bin.

Scientists are experimenting with a natural form of pesticide by planting flowers amongst their crops to attract insects that eat the pests that damage the crops. One study in Switzerland found a 61% reduction in leaf damage after ladybugs visited the mixture of wheat, poppies, cilantro, and dill.

Hawaii private school students were taught about ecological sustainability, but public school students were not. After losing a school essay contest about sustainability, a high school student convinced Hawaii’s legislature to pass a resolution requiring that every student learn the meaning of the concept. Due to this student’s advocacy, the state is also piloting a program to install solar panels on its public schools to teach children how to be more self-sustaining.