How farmers in Earth's least developed country grew 200 million trees

Austria rolled out the KlimaTicket, an annual pass that gives the holder access to all forms of public transportation in the country, to encourage increased use of public transport with an eye toward climate change mitigation. The uptake has exceeded expectations with 134,000 tickets sold within just the first two months, but it's still unclear what effect the program will have on the country's carbon emissions.

The United States has rising childhood obesity and schools deal with kids who are picky. Through innovative school gardens and kid taste testing food, entrepreneurs across the nation are getting children to eat vegetables at school and love it.

Scalesia, is a species of tree native to the Galapagos Islands that is quickly disappearing thanks to human activity. With much of the island's wildlife dependent on this tree, the ecosystem is threatened with the tree's extinction. Conservationists have taken action, however, by planting thousands of the trees as part of a shade-grown coffee operation.

Activists in Berkeley, California, are filling in what they say is a gap in homeless services during the coronavirus outbreak. Volunteers are safely delivering food and other supplies to those without shelter.

The Women’s Collective is a nonprofit that works with more than 10,000 subsistence farmers in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to promote food security using millets, a crop resilient to drought and climate change. For Pavitra, one of those farmers, she began cultivating the ancient grains in 2015 and now has more than enough food to feed her family year-round. However, there’s a lack of public investment in millet production and machinery. And there’s no unified effort to create demand for millets: Some state governments lead the charge and in other states, it’s led by grassroots organizations.

After years of drought and land-clearing that left Niger with few trees left, the country now boasts about 200 million trees, which have mostly been reestablished naturally. While the effects of climate change could threaten the future of these trees, this method has also increased crop yields in villages. This model of letting trees grow back with little human influence could be implemented in other countries.

In Kenya, like other countries in the world, deforestation is the major driver of tree cover loss. To solve this, a local startup called Seedball Kenya has developed the seedball technology whereby seeds of indigenous tree and grass species are coated with charcoal waste mixed with nutritious binders then thrown like balls into the planting grounds.

Want to help fight food insecurity? There’s an app for that. Food Rescue Hero helps connect extra food with those who need it. Volunteers use the app to see if any food is available and when it is, they pickup and deliver the donation to a pre-approved recipient, all through the app.

Beavers and the dams they build have been found to be tools against climate change as the planet’s temperature continues to rise. Dams slow water down and allow it to seep into the Earth, providing groundwater for humans, and also cools down both water and air temperatures. Beaver dams also create wetland ecosystems that are practically resistant to wildfires.

Cornerstone Baptist Church is spearheading the redevelopment of Struggs’ Cornerstone Heights Neighborhood. In 2019, the church opened a laundromat and bike shop and last year the Cornerstone Community Kitchen began serving free hot meals to locals experiencing homelessness. The Church is soon launching a community market where local residents can access fresh, affordable food.