Some Wisconsin landowners manage beavers with non-lethal ways

First Nations, like the Kitasoo/Xai’xai, are managing forests and taking the lead on getting rid of foreign trophy hunters. The solution? Pay trophy hunting guides to stop hunting.

The Vincios land collective in Galicia, Spain reintroduced native Cachena cattle alongside goats, sheep, and horses to graze on flammable undergrowth as a wildfire prevention strategy. Since the program launched in 2023, the community has experienced no serious fires, though it's still too early for definitive conclusions about the approach's long-term effectiveness.

Kigali has restored over 1,600 acres of degraded wetlands, transforming polluted swamps into functioning ecosystems with ponds, forests, and native vegetation. This has eliminated flooding, created green spaces, and supported over 200 bird species.

In Europe, India, and other countries like the Netherlands tiny forests are being deployed to fight the effects of climate change. The small forests, some about the size of a parking lot or a basketball court, can help cities mitigate rising temperatures and sequester carbon. In the Netherlands, 144 tiny forests have been planted. A study that analyzed 11 tiny forests showed these forests hosted more than 600 animal species and close to 300 plant species.

Pet cats kill about 100 million animals a year in the United Kingdom, so to discourage the behavior, and protect mice, rabbits, and birds, scientists conducted an experiment with over 300 household cats. They found that feeding the felines meaty food and engaging in play that simulates hunting reduced the amount of wildlife they killed. And about three-quarters of owners who participated in the study said they would continue to play with their pets after it ended.

The overpopulation of white-tailed deer is a conservation realization and an environmental disaster for the communities that harbor them. Hastings-on-Hudson, a progressive community, has opted for a humane birth control method PZP that is injected by darts into does. The method is successful for its non-lethal approach and the population growth has slowed, but as of yet has not significantly decreased.

Rahr Malting, a brewery in Shakopee, MN, has found a creative way to sustainably address their energy needs. The company partners with the Mdewakanton Sioux Community to use waste barley hulls from the malting factory to generate electricity for their facilities, selling excess power to the public grid while the waste heat sprouts the malt to make beer.

Geography and climate change challenge the viability of sea-level cities in Vietnam, but architects, researchers, and urban planners work together to find creative solutions. One architect in Ho Chi Minh City designed green roofs to absorb the rainwater that causes floods.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) has built over 204 wildlife crossings, fencing systems, and protected corridors across a 3,400-kilometer stretch of the Rocky Mountains. Since Y2Y's founding in 1997, reports of wildlife-vehicle collisions have substantially reduced, thousands of safe animal crossings have been documented, and 9.8 million hectares of connected habitat has been protected.

The Baltimore Shines program provides free solar panel installations to low-income homeowners through a 20-year lease model. An average of $1,500 in annual electricity bill savings have been achieved for 50 residents so far, with a plan of reaching 170 installations by the end of 2026.