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In a world drowning in trash, these cities have slashed waste by 80 percent

Terrence McCoy

February 13, 2019 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Berkeley, California

What started as a far-out concept in Berkeley, California, the goal of becoming zero-waste has spread to cities across the world. The idea makes individuals, communities, and governments think differently about what they do with their garbage and take responsibility for their environments. In places like Shikoku, an island in Japan, they’ve implemented waste categorization, creating 34 different categories to help residents more effectively recycle and reuse their waste.

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Community Cooperative battles hunger and pollution one plant at a time

Jaylynn West

February 12, 2019 |

Changing Florida |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Lee County, Florida

A soup kitchen in Lee County, Florida, is feeding the community and also educating people about sustainability. Access to urban farming and the resulting fresh produce allows the initiative to teach adults and students about growing food, nutrition and making better lifestyle choices. The urban garden also contributes to reducing air pollution.

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Conversations about Confederate Monuments in the Former Confederate Capital

Emily Nonko

February 12, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, Virginia

In the midst of heated debates surrounding the removal of Confederate monuments in Richmond, Virginia, a partnership between a university design collective and a community nonprofit welcomed student suggestions to keep conversation flowing - and respectful. Students submitted ideas to redesign Monument Avenue, a historical boulevard lined with Confederate statues, in a way that takes into account race, cultural history and the modern community.

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Revised San Diego Law Allows for More Parklets, Pop-Ups

Rachel Kaufman

February 12, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

San Diego residents may be seeing more placemaking projects, like murals or pedestrian plazas, because of a more streamlined permitting process. The city, notorious for making such projects difficult and expense to install, passed legislation and will be reviewing it to assess whether it should be expanded. San Diego has also created a fund that can help offset the costs of permit fees and other expenses.

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How a team of researchers and high school students in California are working together to reduce pesticide exposure in children

Alessandra Bergamin

February 08, 2019 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Berkeley, California

An on-going research study out of UC Berkeley's Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health has partnered with youth from the Salinas Valley for two decades to investigate the influence of pesticides on child development. Their findings have been published more than 150 times; the PSA that they designed is regularly aired on 10 radio stations across California, Oregon and Washington; and the children in the study grew up to form the first Youth Council to lead their own research on the impact of pesticides. As a result, many farmworkers in CA are now more educated about pesticide risks.

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New Platform Gives Black-Led Baltimore Groups a Chance to Shine

Jared Brey

February 07, 2019 |

Next City |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

New grassroots efforts often struggle to get off the ground due to lack of funding. In Baltimore, a group called CLLCTIVLY aims to fix this problem for black-led non-profit organizations by offering a $1,000 prize every month for a year through its Black Futures Micro-Grant program. CLLCTIVLY has also launched an asset map to connect these smaller efforts to each other.

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Punjab's marginalised communities struggle for their right to cultivate common lands

Kundan Pandey

February 07, 2019 |

Down To Earth |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Punjab

Balad Kalan’s Scheduled Castes, popularly called Dalits, collectively bid to win the rights to fertile common lands that big landlords had taken control of. Each family contributed what they could and, after protests due to the lack of transparency in the bidding process, won 53 hectares, or one-third of the common land, which was distributed among 145 families. Fifty other villages have since won collective land rights by replicating the joint bidding process. An 11-member cooperative manages the land in each village, which is distributed to families in proportion to their monetary contribution.

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FGCU's geothermal air conditioner reduces impact on the environment

Jaryd Brady

February 06, 2019 |

Changing Florida |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Fort Myers, Florida

Florida Gulf Coast University utilizes a cooling plant that serves as the primary air-conditioning unit for multiple buildings on campus. This plant uses geothermal energy, which compared with traditional air conditioning units, has less of an impact on the environment and saves the university money on its power bill. FGCU currently has 146 total thermal storage tanks producing over 23,000 tons of cooling capacity for its academic buildings.

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Why your neighborhood school probably doesn't have a playground

Nina Feldman

February 06, 2019 |

WHYY |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Making schoolyards and public spaces green improves the health and wellbeing of communities. But without a way for schools in Philadelphia to allocate more funding toward schoolyard construction, the city’s school district relies largely on philanthropy. In public-private partnerships, the school district contributes a portion of funding to projects lead by nonprofit organizations. Creating greener spaces has many positive second-order effects, acting as an investment the in community.

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San Francisco shares its schoolyards, opening communities to green spaces and one another's lives

Nina Feldman

February 06, 2019 |

WHYY |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Access to green spaces improves the well being of individuals and neighborhoods alike. By turning schoolyards into publicly accessible green spaces, the city of San Francisco’s Shared Schoolyard Program created spaces where not only children, but also urban communities, can interact with and experience nature. The schoolyards provide a vital recreational resource and meeting space for entire neighborhoods and communities.

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