Several organizations in Vermont banded together to create the Bird-Friendly Maple Project. The program encourages maple syrup makers to safeguard their forest habitats for birds using agroecology practices like keeping a diverse variety of native trees. Operations that meet the requirements receive an official label for their products.

The Dry Stone Walling School of Japan is keeping the tradition of building walls out of stones collected from the neighboring environment alive by connecting students with local craftsmen. Building walls this way is a viable alternative to concrete that supports biodiversity and produces less carbon emissions.

To reduce landfill use and greenhouse gas emissions while feeding those in need, New York’s food donation program requires big businesses to donate edible food to places like food banks instead of throwing it out.

Researchers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, are using native plants, rocks, and other natural materials to create living shorelines that combat erosion and tidal surges. Choosing this option instead of relying on manmade structures like concrete allows wildlife like barnacles and fish to return to those areas.

The University of Georgia soccer program held a Journey to Zero Waste Soccer Season in which it aimed for every home game to divert at least 90% of its waste from the landfill. The stadium crew set up recycling and composting bins with explanatory signage, and students volunteered to educate attendees about how to properly dispose of their waste.

A rapidly changing climate is shaking up how French Polynesian pearl farmers are doing business. Kamoka Pearl Farm is incorporating more sustainable practices like using its own oysters to create the nuclei that form pearls and using fish to organically clean the oysters instead of power washing them.

Pastoralists who range on the Enonkishu Conservancy use mobile bomas, portable corrals that allow them to move freely and protect their herds from predators at night. Moving the herds around puts less stress from grazing on fragile vegetation, reduces the risk of disease, leverages livestock to graze invasive species, and allows the land to double as a destination for wildlife tourism rather than being developed by private property owners.

After experiencing extreme flooding, Hoboken, New Jersey, has reduced its flood risk by rebuilding its sewers to add capacity and designing new infrastructure, like parks, to collect and redirect storm water.

The Colorado-based mycology center Boulder Mushroom is spreading fungi mycelium — the underground, root-looking part of a mushroom — across forest floors that were thinned to mitigate wildfires. The mushrooms quicken the pace at which sawdust and other potential fire fuel decays and improve soil health.

Germany is a world leader in recycling, specifically in the city of Kiel, which was recently declared a “zero waste” city. The city achieved this status through a series of eco-friendly initiatives, aimed at increasing recycling and reducing waste, from bans on single-use items to bottle buyback programs to simply encouraging locals to make more environmentally-friendly behavior changes.

The startup Puna Bio collects microbes that live on the high-altitude La Puna plateau and turns them into a product that farmers can apply to soybeans to increase yields and improve soil health. Since they adapted to survive in such a harsh climate, the microbes can survive depleted soil and extreme weather to pass along key nutrients and antioxidants to crops.

As the drought in Kenya drags on, people are collecting water from the air by using plastic to funnel fog off of trees into buckets at night or a machine that pulls water from hot, moisture-filled air like a dehumidifier would.