Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 176 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

Ashifa Kassam

April 09, 2021 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Spain, El Puerto de Santa María

A Spanish chef piloted a project to start a “marine garden” — cultivating eelgrass and obtaining grains it produces to be used in different recipes. The grain has healthy benefits, including 50 percent more protein than rice, and growing the seagrass can transform salt marshes into biodiverse ecosystems that can also capture carbon emissions. They are working to scale the project to understand the ideal conditions to grow the plants.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Having Your Desalination and Eating It, Too

Pip Knight

April 09, 2021 |

Hakai Magazine |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Spain, Canary Islands

A pilot experiment in the Canary Islands seeks to recycle brine waste from desalination plants to grow hydroponic tomatoes. The leftover brine can be harmful for seagrass along the coast, so researchers looked into ways to create a nutrient solution that could be used to raise tomatoes. Though the yield of the tomatoes using the brine solution was lower, they did have a sweeter taste.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Community restores grasslands in Lamkani, making the village drought-resilient

Vinaya Kurtkoti

April 08, 2021 |

Mongabay |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Dhule, Maharashtra

The village of Lamkani, in India, was lush but became barren after years of droughts. In 2000, Dhananjay Newadkar, initiated a multi-pronged approach that was supported by the community. It included watershed development, a ban on grazing and felling trees. However, the bans were not enforced. Instead, artists incorporated messages about conservation in their performances and educated the community. Finally, the grasslands were restored through rotational grazing. Now, the town is water-sufficient, even in droughts.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Can California's Organic Vegetable Farmers Unlock the Secrets of No-Till Farming?

Gosia Wozniacka

March 30, 2021 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

A trial experiment with three farmers and several California universities is looking to better understand how to farm with little or no chemicals. No-till farming can boost soil health and better store carbon, but it’s not a perfect system. These farmers are testing how to reduce soil disturbance, use cover crops, and diversify their species of crops, yet so far, they haven’t found much success. “Figuring this all out has been ‘a school of hard knocks,’” says one of the farmers.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Large food companies are looking to lock carbon in soil as a way to meet ambitious emissions goals

Meg Wilcox

February 09, 2021 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fairfield, Maine

Stonyfield, an organic dairy company, is working with six of its suppliers to pilot how farms can measure the amount of carbon it’s trapping in soil through regenerative farming practices as a way for the company to achieve its goals to cut carbon emissions. The OpenTEAM initiative is working to demonstrate how a dairy farm could improve its soil health to reach carbon net zero and, eventually, have food companies pay its farmers to adopt the new practices.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Planting crops — and carbon, too

Gabriel Popkin Gabriella Demczuk

January 22, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Rock Hall, Maryland

Maryland farmer Trey Hill became the first seller in a tech startup’s carbon marketplace, paying him $115,000 for initiating regenerative farming practices. By introducing cover crops, he has been able to sequester about 8,000 tons of carbon in the soil, which then buyers can purchase the credits to offset the carbon they produce. If more farmers get on board, supporters say it can be a tangible solution to curbing climate change.

Read More
Go to Original Story
With Centuries-Old Techniques, This Farm Is Preparing for the Future

Klaus Sieg

December 18, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: France, Normandy

An unusually robust crop yield is stunning scientists at a small family farm where traditional farming techniques have replaced machinery, pesticides, and fertilizers. The French farmers implemented tips and tricks from cultures around the world and they now produce organic produce at much higher rates per square feet than conventional farms. Their methods have also bolstered the farm against extreme weather patterns, making it a model worth replicating.

Read More
Go to Original Story
This sacred bean saved an indigenous clan from climate calamity

Agostino Petroni

November 25, 2020 |

National Geographic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Manaure

A community gardening project growing the guajiro bean has allowed Wayuu farmers in the Colombian desert to achieve food security despite the effects of climate change and external pressures. While scaling this agricultural success to other Indigenous clans can be difficult, using a low-tech irrigation system and red earthworm compost has allowed one settlement to feed its community and make their soil fertile again.

Read More
Go to Original Story
An urban farm nourishes the poorest part of Philly as its growers fight to keep the land

Alfred Lubrano

November 24, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Life Do Grow Farm in Philadelphia, run by the nonprofit Urban Creators, is a two-acre plot that yields food needed to feed the community who might not be able to make ends meet. Since June, the farm has distributed 65,000 pounds of produce, along with free children’s meals. But the farm is also a community gathering space for artists and entrepreneurs. While the land’s lease runs out in 2022, the nonprofit hopes to own it and highlight it as a “reimagination of city land, a radical collaboration in the service of empowering Black and brown communities in North Central Philly,” said the farm manager.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Life on the farm: How one Washington school district is restoring in-person learning

Joy Resmovits

November 14, 2020 |

The Seattle Times |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Langley, Washington

Students in South Whidbey Island, off the west coast of Washington State, are getting to know first-hand the process of farm to table meals. During "farm school" kids get a break from e-learning and help tend to the local community garden, where they also get their meals from.

Read More
Go to Original Story