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The ‘timber detectives' on the front lines of illegal wood trade

Peter Yeung

March 09, 2022 |

National Geographic |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hamburg

At the Thünen Institute in Germany, a team of 15 people are working to identify culprits of the world’s third largest criminal sector: the illegal wood trade. Since 2013, they have been analyzing and identifying the origin of wood products to determine if they were made from endangered or protected tree species. In 2021, they analyzed about 10,000 samples and are working with organizations and authorities around the world to prevent illegal logging.

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Chocpocalypse Now! Quarantine and the Future of Food

Nicola Twilley Cynthia Graber Geoff Manaugh

June 22, 2021 |

Gastropod |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia, Barrow Island, Western Australia

Off the coast of Australia, the energy company Chevron is experimenting with new quarantine management techniques to ensure that any plants and pests don’t hitchhike to new places, which can devastate the global food economy. They’ve redesigned shipping containers to make it harder for insects to tag along and they’ve created a video game to train workers on how to be better at finding these pests in their inspections. Some creatures and plants can slip through the process, but these tools have been successful and could be used in other ways.

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Stranded Aussies mapped in project aimed at removing the cap

Stephanie Capper

September 01, 2020 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia

Stranded overseas for more than half a year by border closings because of the pandemic, Australians flocked to a new mapping tool that tells the story of their plight. Remove the Cap website attracted more than 600 users in more than 30 countries in just its first week online, all of whom posted their photo and the story of their inability to return home. It’s too soon to tell if the site can succeed in easing the government’s cap on the number of returnees, but in the meantime it provides a platform for frustrated citizens who want their stories told.

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How Angela Merkel's great migrant gamble paid off

Philip Oltermann

August 30, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany

Five years after Germany sparked controversy with a welcoming message to the flood of refugees applying for asylum, more than half of those 1.7 million refugees have work and pay taxes, their youth show strong signs of belonging to their German communities, and more than 10,000 have mastered the language enough to enroll in German universities. Refuting anti-immigrant skeptics meant overcoming, or enduring, enormous social and economic challenges. Despite many bumps, the policy now appears to have avoided the nightmare scenarios foreseen by critics, such as inviting even more refugees.

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How Switzerland avoided a coronavirus 'catastrophe' by protecting cross-border workers

Daniel Wighton

June 12, 2020 |

The Local |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Switzerland

Switzerland avoids a total shutdown of borders in order to keep its healthcare system functioning during the covid-19 health crisis. Healthcare workers are vital to border cities such as Geneva, which relies on cross-border workers who commute to and from the country on a daily basis. Health workers were given faster access at border crossings and other employees were encouraged to work from home after tax treaties and agreements were quickly re-written and passed to avoid workers and employers from being penalized.

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Meet the Detectives Solving Crimes Against Trees

Klaus Sieg

February 28, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Germany, Hamburg

The Center of Competence on the Origin of Timber in Germany is using innovative methods to help determine timber products’ origins in order to stop illegal wood trading. Scientists can identify wood’s anatomical features and compare them with microscopic samples in the center’s digital database to determine where a piece of wood originally grew. While the process can sometimes take a while, the center has had some successes in detecting illegal logging from some manufacturers.

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‘If You're Like Me, You Can't Sit By. This Is America.'

Tina Rosenberg

August 20, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Connecting children with volunteer lawyers can greatly assist immigration cases. Nonprofits like the Safe Passage Project and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) work to provide children, often separated from their families, with legal defense. Without a lawyer, many children face immigration hearings alone, adding great trauma to a complicated process. A majority of unrepresented children are deported. Nonprofit legal groups across the US are working to create a safety net of legal counsel.

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‘It's Like an Automatic Deportation if You Don't Have a Lawyer'

Mazin Sidahmed

August 13, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

With the help of legal counsel, immigrants facing deportation are more likely to win their cases and keep their families together. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project is one of several organizations in New York that provides lawyers free of charge to detained immigrants. The program is also a part of the broader Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) network, which includes 18 cities that have set up legal defense funds for immigrants.

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Court Observers Are Shining a Light on the Immigration Court System

Ari Honarvar

August 02, 2019 |

Rewire |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

One way that any ordinary citizen can lend a hand to the plight of those caught in the American immigration system is by being a court observer: someone who sits in immigration court and takes notes by hand. Several organizations are working to develop a standardized way of evaluating judges' treatment of migrants to put it in a central database so that the data can be used to evaluate the human impact by the system as a whole. People who participate testify to the job alleviating despair over the situation as they can mitigate any unfair practices going unnoticed.

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At Detention Camps and Shelters, Art Helps Migrant Youths Find Their Voices

Patricia Leigh Brown

July 19, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, El Paso, Texas

Art therapy allows minors in detention to cope with stress and trauma. In “Uncaged Art: Tronillo Children’s Detention Camp,” an art exhibition housed at the Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at the University of Texas at El Paso, displays works of art created by unaccompanied minors detained at the US-Mexico border. Nonprofits like Annunciation House and the International Rescue Committee are also using art to make migrant shelters more accommodating to the needs—and stresses—of children’s experiences.

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