The United States National Park Service is planting giant sequoia tree seedlings in groves that were decimated by extreme wildfires in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The effort aims to preserve the endangered species as the organization doesn’t believe the trees in these areas will regenerate on their own.

The Quinault Indian Nation is building new housing for its community about a mile from its current village on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The goal is to relocate the whole village to a place further above sea level to avoid flooding and sea-level rise.

Marine carbon capture, a term for various methods that trap carbon deep in the ocean, can help mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Startups around the U.S. are advancing helpful technologies.

Elementary, middle, secondary, and alternative schools are partnering with the nonprofit Elev8 Baltimore to provide enrichment programs for students after school. The nonprofit’s aim is to keep students away from danger and crime by keeping them in school buildings, so the programs are tailored to student interests at each school.

By organizing on nights and weekends through their union, Child Care Providers United, home-based child care providers in California were able to secure a landmark contract creating the country’s first retirement fund for unionized child care workers.

As the drought in Kenya drags on, people are collecting water from the air by using plastic to funnel fog off of trees into buckets at night or a machine that pulls water from hot, moisture-filled air like a dehumidifier would.

The concept of “sponge cities” is taking off as a way to prevent flooding. This style of urban design focuses on creating environments that absorb more water with plants and open ground as opposed to pipes and concrete.

Micro apartment communities with rent prices well below the city average are popping up in Sacramento as a way to address the affordable housing crisis. The units in these buildings are often significantly less than 500 square feet, can house no more than two people, and must provide a kitchen and a bathroom. To live there, tenants have to meet specific income requirements.

Students in the Salt Lake City school district advocated for their school board to pass a clean energy resolution and make sustainability renovations. It worked. Now, the district is moving forward with a $29 million dollar project aligned with those goals.

The startup Rapid Radicals uses a chemical process to treat sewage much quicker than the typical biological process. It hopes to use the technology to reduce the sewage released into local lakes and rivers in Milwaukee when the system is overwhelmed by rain or snowmelt.

The Ecosphere Restoration Institute received $5 million from the Florida State Legislature to restore the declining seagrasses on 100 acres of the coast. The organization partnered with experts who have permits to harvest the seeds, grow them in a nursery, and replant them in shallow areas. The project will also help prevent manatee deaths, as the animal depends on seagrass as a food source.

Solar-powered machines called hydropanels draw water vapor from the air to create drinking water for those without access to water from a utility and those living in a drought.

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospitals in Boston found success encouraging staff to eat more plant-based meals by emphasizing the climate benefits and not labeling foods as vegan or vegetarian.

A solar-powered microgrid project brought electricity to Lajolo, Nigeria, which was previously without power.

The Alaska Statewide Mentor Project connects new classroom teachers with retired educators who provide mentorship around lesson planning, grading, classroom management, and other challenges they face early in their careers. Research shows that new teachers who receive high-quality mentorship are more likely to stay in the field.

Volunteers of the PDX Housing Solidarity Project are working to redistribute generational wealth through homeownership in Portland. The project connects people with ample resources to Black and Indigenous homebuyers and helps facilitate cash gifts, no-interest loans, or other ways to assist throughout the process.

Deliveristas Unidos started as a WhatsApp group for local delivery workers to connect, but over time it turned into a mobilized organization of thousands of delivery workers ready to take to the streets to protect their rights as workers. Through their organizing, the group managed to get a legislative package passed that enacted several laws that guaranteed their rights and protections, including access to bathrooms in restaurants across the city, transparent communication with delivery apps about tips, as well as hourly pay.

Families of Nigerian soldiers faced hunger, when the soldiers were deployed longer than expected and unable to send home money. So, they organized and worked together to farm and grow their own food.

A digital marketplace called Trash Coin is increasing the amount of waste that gets recycled in Nigeria. People can find the nearest drop-off location on the company’s mobile app to exchange recyclables for payment vouchers. Payment is based on the weight of the waste and can be transferred to bank accounts or used to pay for services like electricity.

The KNOSK secondary school is working to reduce the number of out-of-school youth in Nigeria by providing students with a quality education for a daily fee much lower than other school options. The school offers various payment plan options and gives the students uniforms, lunch, and sanitary products.

The Women Against Violations and Exploitation (WAVE) Foundation and The Daisy Network provides support for female genital mutilation (FGM) survivors and works to put an end to FGM across the country. The Daisy Network has spread to several states and has reached more than 3,000 people through their advocacy efforts.

New, detailed driver badges, and bus route charts are reducing dangerous crashes involving buses on roads in Uganda. In an attempt to weed out incompetent bus drivers, they are now legally required to have a badge that includes information like their license number, training information, and the company they work for.

People are logging environmental issues on the MyCoast app to help local governments figure out what areas of the municipality to allocate resources and funding to. Eight states in the U.S. use the app to track anything from climate change impacts to abandoned boats to flooding.

Every year, investors who are shareholders in publicly-traded companies have the chance to vote on proposals that shape the way the companies address issues like climate change. Whether or not they pass, climate-related proposals send a clear message about the problems activist investors want to see addressed which can spur action.

A U.S.-based nonprofit is providing access to online IT training courses at an affordable cost to allow those who are interested to learn skills in the IT field, thus helping them get jobs. The nonprofit also helps address barriers those in Nigeria face, like lack of internet access and necessary tools like laptops.