Trees, tech and people help Mozambican park reverse nature losses

A social enterprise that started in the Netherlands and is spreading to countries around the Celtic Sea is training young people to work in marine industries while restoring ocean biodiversity. The young trainees work on projects like marine mammal observation and planting seagrass.

Communities in Ecuador are building a “bioeconomy” through ecotourism and sustainable agriculture instead of relying on oil extraction. This can help protect the country’s biodiversity and increase locals’ incomes.

Thanks to a government-funded electrification project, Modhera is the first solar-powered village in India, and as a result, nearly all of the residents pay nothing for electricity. Instead, they earn money from selling unused power back to the grid.

A utility company in Framingham, Massachusetts, worked with climate advocates to build a unique geothermal heating and cooling project that spans a whole neighborhood. A group of residential and commercial buildings share the infrastructure necessary to harness stable underground temperatures for heating and cooling, which reduces their greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills.

Menominee tribal members are practicing methods of forest management that blend both conservation and Indigenous culture to preserve the viability of the forest long-term. In 2018, it was found that after a century of logging on the reservation, the forest had higher tree volume, higher rates of regeneration, more plant diversity and fewer invasive species than other, nontribal forests.

Run by a nonprofit dedicated to creating economic development opportunities in underserved communities, the Solar Works DC training program provides people interested in entering the solar industry with certifications. The trainees are paid and spend up to seven weeks learning in the classroom and on the job.

In rural Huron, California, an electric vehicle ride-sharing program, called Green Raiteros, provides free rides for low-income residents who need to get to medical appointments. The organization's 120 clients can call in advance, or just show up when they need a ride.

The Nusantra Fund provides financial support directly to community-led projects in Indonesia. The aim is to improve the livelihoods of Indigenous and local people while tackling climate change impacts and protecting biodiversity.

As a part of the city’s carbon neutrality plan, Ann Arbor Michigan’s Community Action Network is decarbonizing homes in one of its most socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods by repairing, retrofitting, installing solar panels, and asking the community members for their input.

Rewilding Europe is a river-restoration project working to preserve rivers as biodiversity hotspots and prevent damage from human activity. Since Rewilding Europe was founded, its projects have stretched across the continent, including to countries like Spain Italy, Bulgaria, and Sweden and was recently awarded a grant of £4.1m to scale up its work.