Charlottesville's 10th & Page has fewer trees and higher temperatures than other residential neighborhoods — and it's not by accident

Ohio has more than 50 land banks, which are best known for reducing blight by demolishing old buildings, but several land banks are trying creative ways to enhance their land on a budget. Successful projects include a program for locals to redevelop old lots, a pop-up art gallery in a condemned house, and urban forests to make communities more welcoming. The collective effect of these projects is to revitalize cities all across the state.

Urban gardening initiatives strengthen health and community in Milwaukee. The Victory Garden Initiative offers affordable options for residents to begin gardening—as well as information resources and community events.

To cope with and combat gentrification, residents of Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood created a community garden called the Femme Fairy Garden, founded by Fempower. Community members come together every Sunday to tend to their plants and connect with their neighbors.

Many young TikTok users are sharing videos about environmental issues, like climate change and biodiversity, and it is leading to resource sharing, personal connections, and people reaching out to learn more about environmental topics like gardening, soil restoration, renewable energy, and environmental racism. Some believe the Covid-19 lockdown has increased engagement even further. A subculture called “grass TikTok” emerged to share information about plant species and has nearly 380 million views. The potential ban of TikTok in the US could lead to declining biodiversity engagement online.

A grass blend formulated specifically for northern Utah’s environment uses at least 30 percent less water than typical turf.

A 20-year project by the nonprofit Lomakatsi Restoration Project to restore native plants helped to spare Ashland, Ore., from the worst destruction of a wildfire. Along the Bear Creek greenway in Ashland, the restoration project's work to replace dense thickets of invasive Himalayan blackberries with native shrubs and trees is credited with slowing the speed and severity of the Almeda Fire. Traditional firebreaks and the greenway at other points on the creek failed to slow the fire, and in some ways even sped its destruction.

A gardening program for correctional facilities is introducing incarcerees to vocational gardening and landscaping, but also provides much more than a chance to get their hands dirty. Insight Garden Program provided a “safe space” for introspection and growth, reduced anxiety and depression, and then eventually helped formerly incarcerated people adjust to life after prison with services that include housing.

A startup is making buildings more eco-friendly by converting their energy needs from oil and gas to electric heat pumps. BlocPower is a Black-owned clean tech startup that provides a no money down lease option, making it financially accessible.

The nonprofit Mahila Housing Trust provides women in India who are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and heat-related illness with white solar reflective paint for the roofs of their homes. Painting the roofs white cools the inside of the homes by several degrees.

New Jersey schools are working to make climate education widespread by implementing general education standards that include climate change education in every grade and subject. These new education standards have been inspiring students to brainstorm solutions to climate-related issues like reducing food waste and increasing coastal resiliency. The state has also earmarked $5 million to help local teachers attend professional development sessions to teach them how to create new climate change-focused lesson plans.