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TENGGER DESERT VEGETATION RESTORATION
In 2021, Pat McElhenny led removal of a dam that had held back water for 100 years. 1 year later, the original Sterry Creek channel resurfaced intact, restoring a natural floodplain on Moosic MountainA 100-year-old dam came down on Moosic Mountain in Pennsylvania, but the real surprise appeared afterward. Sterry Creek’s original channel ...
In 2012, Ray Milewski and students set research plots at Pennsylvania's Tannersville Cranberry Bog. 10 years later, researchers cleared shrubs to help rare native plants return to the bogIn 2012, Ray Milewski and students established research plots at Pennsylvania’s Tannersville Cranberry Bog. A decade later, researchers cle...
How leftover wheat straw stopped China’s shifting desert sands and helped bring vegetation backA simple straw checkerboard system developed at Shapotou in China’s Tengger Desert helped protect the Baotou-Lanzhou railway from shifting ...
Washington state biologists reintroduced beavers on tributaries, and within years their dams slowed stream flow and rebuilt banks that resist erosionWildlife departments are making strides in reintroducing beavers to rejuvenate damaged stream ecosystems. These industrious creatures help ...
UAE turns desert sand into construction bricks using a new method developed by scientists that doesn't need additional heat to harden and could reduce cement importsResearchers in the UAE have developed construction bricks using abundant desert sand and alkali-activated binders instead of conventional P...
In 1963, New York abandoned an island where Typhoid Mary had been quarantined; 63 years later, 25 decaying buildings remain closed to the publicNorth Brother Island ultimately stands as one of New York City’s most unusual historical landscapes because its ruins tell several stories ...
In 1908, a Boston woman donated 140 acres of Maine Beehive and Bowl to protect the natural places. Her gift helped pave the way for Acadia National ParkIn 1908, Eliza Homans made a remarkable contribution by donating 140 acres of land on Mount Desert Island, which included breathtaking feat...
In 1992, Congress authorized the removal of 2 dams that had blocked salmon for a century. 24 years later, the Elwha River once again flowed freely from the Olympic Mountains to the seaElwha River Restoration changed one of America’s most remarkable river recovery stories. Two dams once blocked salmon from reaching upstrea...
In 2003, a businessman bought a 23,000-acre estate to restore it; now it's home to a million trees and red squirrelsBusinessman Paul Lister transformed Scotland's 23,000-acre Alladale estate into a wilderness reserve, planting one million native trees and...
Abandoned since 1989, American buys Spanish village for $363,000 as he plans $7 million tourism revival with 44 homes, church, school and barAbandoned since 1989, Spain’s Salto de Castro village has a new owner after American Jason Lee Beckwith bought the historic settlement for ...
In 2021, Alabama started turning discarded Christmas trees into sand dunes: How old festive trees are now helping protect Gulf Coast beachesChristmas trees that were once the focal point of holiday celebrations are now playing a vital role in rebuilding sand dunes along Alabama'...
In 1997, couple started with 11 farms; decades later, their 67,000-acre reserve is home to more than 60 mammal speciesA South African couple’s nearly three-decade conservation effort has transformed 11 former livestock farms into a 67,000-acre wildlife rese...
In a multi-decade study, engineers used 12-inch coconut-fiber blankets to secure riverbanks. Years later, deep-rooted plants turned them into living barriers that resist erosion and floodsHow a 12-inch coconut fiber roll can hold a failing streambank together is easier to understand than it looks. The simple coir log slows ru...
On August 3, 2026, Ethiopia planted 805.3 million seedlings in 12 hours with 26.2 million participants; years later, survival data will reveal whether that extraordinary national effort actually transformed degraded landscapesEthiopia also says that more than 48 billion seedlings have been planted since the Green Legacy Initiative began. These figures demonstrate...
Satellite researchers studied China’s desert solar farms; vegetation developed across 30.8 square kilometres within and around the installationsSolar farms in the arid deserts of China are transforming barren landscapes into vibrant green spaces. Between 2011 and 2018, researchers n...
Australian couple bought a cattle farm and planted 34,000 trees. Years later, koalas and wildlife are returningIn 2020, Australian couple Brett and Lisa Vercoe bought a 30-hectare former cattle property near Coffs Harbour in New South Wales and began...
In 1970s, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin & his wife Paula bought barren land in Hawaii and turned it into 19-acre forest with 3,000+ palmsW.S. Merwin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, transformed a barren plot of land in Hawaii into a thriving palm sanctuary. Initially focused o...
In 1998, over 1,000 truckloads of orange peels were dumped in a barren Costa Rica pasture, 15 years later it turned into a dense forestIn a groundbreaking initiative in Costa Rica, researchers turned orange waste into a remarkable tool for land restoration. This organic byp...
In 1992, Congress backed a plan to dechannelize Florida's Kissimmee River and restore its watershed. 28 years later, the project had restored 19 of 44 river miles and 6,500 acres of floodplain wetlands, with wildlife returningFlorida's Kissimmee River underwent a significant restoration after decades of channelization. This project aimed to revive its natural flo...
In 1981, China began planting billions of trees to restore degraded land. Decades later, the 78-billion-tree effort produced a surprising outcome: it altered the water cycle, sending more rain to some regions while drying out othersChina’s decades-long reforestation campaign has dramatically expanded vegetation across the country, including through the Three-North Shel...