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Cleveland shelters work to protect homeless from COVID-19

Conor Morris

August 17, 2020 |

The Land |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Health officials and Cleveland homeless shelters are working together to prevent a coronavirus outbreak among those who are experiencing homelessness. Mass testing, separate areas for the already tested and those yet to be, and a focus on more equitably disseminating information have been key to helping the caseload stay low, although the shelters are facing limitations such as a slow turnaround time for test results.

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How the World's Largest Garbage Dump Evolved Into a Green Oasis

Robert Sullivan Jade Doskow

August 14, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Staten Island, New York

The former Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island is turning into a public park that will accept visitors in 2021. By capping the trash site with plastic, covering it with soil, and planting native grasses, city officials are restoring the area’s former tidal wetlands and scrublands; nearly 314 plant and animal species have already been sighted. While the successful closing of the dump nearly 20 years ago means that the trash is being sent to other neighborhoods in the United States where people dealing with economic hardship live, the project could be a model for sustainability and urban renewal.

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Waiting for a New Deal job program? These US parks are already hiring

Jodi Helmer

August 14, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Asheville, North Carolina

With many people out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some cities and nonprofits are creating outdoorsy job programs to relieve unemployment. Inspired by the conservation corps programs created during the Great Depression, North Carolina, Alaska, and Texas have these initiatives. The reliance on fundraising to pay workers can be a challenge, but these programs are providing jobs for nearly 250 people and are making some conservation progress. For example, the Carolina Climbers Coalition crew has already completed projects at state parks in the Southeast.

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Can Military Academies Serve As A Road Map For Reopening Colleges?

Sequoia Carrillo

August 13, 2020 |

NPR |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado Springs, Colorado

As colleges and universities around the U.S. figure out the best course of action to start a new semester amid an ongoing pandemic, military academies around the country may have some invaluable lessons to offer. The Army's West Point campus in New York state, the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, and U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland used methods like pool testing, where individual swabs are grouped and tested instead of taking a one-by-one approach. The schools also staggered and quarantined waves of students returning to campus, and assigned different spaces to specific groups of people.

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As Malheur County struggles with pandemic, other rural counties provide clues to control

Pat Caldwell

August 13, 2020 |

Malheur Enterprise |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wheeler County, Oregon

Several rural counties in Oregon and Idaho have managed to slow the spread of the coronavirus through early intervention strategies and community compliance. Although the low population and rural nature of the regions also played a role in the success of the counties, the areas still adopted tactics such as mask-wearing and social media campaigns and implemented collaborative efforts between elected and emergency officials. Because of these efforts, several of the counties have been removed from Covid-19 watch lists.

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Zion National Park's shuttles are falling apart, but there is no funding to replace them. Why?

K. Sophie Will

August 13, 2020 |

St. George Spectrum & Daily News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Springdale, Utah

As part of a collaboration between Zion National Park and the nearby town of Springdale, shuttle buses were introduced to limit the amount of noise in the canyon and deal with issues of over parking. However, those shuttles have now reached the end of their lifespan and threaten to disrupt the flow of tourists into the park. Efforts to replace the buses with an electric fleet, that could also reduce carbon emissions, have hit roadblocks as they’ve been denied federal funding.

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How Montana Is Cleaning Up Abandoned Oil Wells

Ray Levy Uyeda

August 13, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Montana

Abandoned oil wells in Montana leak thousands of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, so the Well Done Foundation is working to plug up those wells. In about a year, the foundation plugged its first three wells and expanded their program to other states. The data on the state of abandoned wells and its emissions isn’t complete, which makes it difficult to know the full extent of the problem. But, “what’s exciting about this is that we can make an impact one well at a time,” says Curtis Shuck, founder of the foundation.

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A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants

Anne Pinto-Rodrigues

August 12, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka

As the habitats of wild elephants shrink, conservationists in India are developing safer ways to reduce the number of conflicts between humans and the animal. The Wildlife Research and Conservation Society uses chili smoke and beehive fences as natural ways to divert elephants away from farmers’ crops. Since they started, there have been no casualties related to human-elephant conflict. The nonprofit Wildlife SOS uses radio collars to track the herd’s movement and alerts local villagers via WhatsApp of any potential conflicts. However, the success of some methods vary depending on the time of year.

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Raising Nature on Florida Ranchlands

Virginia Gewin Carlton Ward Jr.

August 11, 2020 |

bioGraphic |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

Ranchers and conservationists in Florida are working together to lobby for policies that preserve their farmland, protect wildlife species, and conserve water instead of turning it over to be developed. The Sunshine State has experimented with conservation incentive programs like payments for panther habitat restoration, reimbursements for livestock losses, and water storage projects but most of these programs have had mixed success and are often underfunded.

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Bogotá Is Building its Future Around Bikes

Andrea Jaramillo

August 10, 2020 |

Bloomberg |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Bogotá

To help essential workers navigate the notorious traffic of Bogota, the city built over 50 miles of an emergency bike network. The plan was in place before the arrival of coronavirus but the execution was sped up to meet the demands of increased bike usage. Other measures were also put into place to make the roads more bike and pedestrian-friendly: Reduced speed limits for cars, a 20 percent increase in private parking for bikes, and a bike registration system to deincentivize bike theft. Efforts to expand bike lanes not only eased traffic, they also helped relieve pressure on the overcrowded bus system.

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