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Natural Barrier Island Process and the Wilderness Breach Monitoring at Fire Island National Seashore

Natural Barrier Island Process and the Wilderness Breach Monitoring at Fire Island National Seashore

Fire Island is a barrier island and provides some storm risk protection to the mainland communities of Long Island. Fire Island National Seashore encompasses most of Fire Island and has a variety of management areas. A breach was formed in the Fire Island Wilderness by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.  Since then the wilderness breach has remained opened and studied. This opportunity for natural processes to proceed unimpeded allows biologists to extensively monitor the wilderness breach, providing an opportunity to inform future breach management decisions at Fire Island and elsewhere.

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Promoting Satoumi Community Co-Management through Resilience Assessment: A Case Study of Chenglong Wetlands (Nantou, Taiwan)

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Les camps dans la nature « Héroes del Triunfo »

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The challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change are here now, and they’re impacting people and nature across the globe. Educators, parents and caregivers need ways to not only teach young learners about these challenges, but to show how they can be part of the solution the Earth needs. That’s why The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its 1000+ scientists created the award-winning online learning platform, Nature Lab, to leverage technology to bring conservation to life in classrooms, home settings and more. Nature Lab has addressed the education challenges of inequality in access and participation, limited or inaccessible resources, and infrastructure and technology development. Nature Lab helps K-12 students experience the wonders of nature, learn about places and people around the world, and see how they can take action for the challenges facing the planet. High-quality videos transport students to diverse landscapes and interviews with renowned scientists offer youth a chance to see themselves as agents of change. 

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Engineering the Production of Compostable Menstrual Pads Using Plant-Based Fiber as the Main Absorbent Core

This initiative is part of the Sparsa Solution, a Nepali non-profit organization that locally produces and distributes compostable menstrual pads, which have an absorbent core made from banana fiber.,
Conventional fluff pad production machines are either manual-making them labor-intensive and unhygienic-or fully automated, which requires high upfront investment and is often incompatible with eco-friendly materials. To overcome these challenges, engineers from NIDISI, Sparsa, and Grit Engineering developed a semi-automatic, low-cost system tailored to local Made in Nepal.
Built with limited resources, the system produces 3,500–4,000 pads per day and includes:

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  • A modified pad assembly machine that seals different layers using ultrasonic sealing and compostable glue. 

This setup enables safe, small-scale production while reducing plastic waste and supporting menstrual health for the benefit of women and the environment.