Howdunnit

Nigerian Dwarf goats can be a viable livestock option for people who want to engage in urban farming. Cities across the United States — like Phoenix, Austin, Pittsburgh, and San Diego — are making it easier to keep goats, which can provide financial boons for urban farmers through cheesemaking and even enhance the farm’s ecosystem by using its manure as fertilizer.

One school district is taking a creative approach to increase student attendance during the pandemic— care packages. In Rowland Unified School District, kindergarten teachers came up with the idea of sending care packages via the postal services to students twice a month. They hope that by doing so it will increase attendance among kindergarten students, a grade that has nationally seen plummeting enrollment. The packages include paper, pens, and books. “"It's really an opportunity for us as kindergarten teachers to help kids feel seen, and from the start, tell kids that they belong in school."

Pakistan's only church for transgender Christians has given its members the safety, acceptance, and joy they are often denied in the conservative, predominantly Muslim country. Called the First Church of Eunuchs – the name, considered derogatory by some, echoes the term for transgender women in South Asia – was formed by the country's only transgender lawyer, herself a Muslim, as a refuge for transgender Christians, who are often shunned, bullied, and abused by others, including other churches. The government recognized transgender as a third gender, but that has not changed all attitudes.

For those struggling with smartphone addiction, detox and counseling can prove beneficial. In South Korea, the government’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, alongside partners like the National Center for Youth Internet Addiction and the Youth Counseling and Welfare Center provide teens and elementary school students with detox programs to address the issue of internet and smartphone addiction. The students can attend summer camps where they switch off their phones, participate in activities, and attend counseling.

In New York and across eleven other cities in the United States, a non-profit organization called Back On My Feet leads early morning runs (starting at 5:30am) with members overcoming homelessness and the volunteers who choose to join them. In the course of twelve years, the organization helped over 7,500 members transition into permanent jobs and homes, with 83 percent of members maintaining employment and 70 percent maintaining housing. There are also physical health benefits including lower blood pressure, less dependence on nicotine, and a reduced BMI and obesity risk.

Youth experiencing unstable housing in New Haven, Connecticut can build life skills in exchange for gift cards through an app built by a nonprofit. DreamKit incentivizes positive change for disadvantaged young people who have competing priorities. The nonprofit is building a pipeline which will allow them to gauge which skills employers are looking for, provide those skills through the app, and then present a list of trained youth to employers.

As cities in the U.S. are placed under various degrees of lockdown, organizations are working to virtually bring "environmental education and recreation to viewers, from the comfort of their homes." Although virtual walks and live talks with park rangers are not a replacement for the lived experience, studies have shown that this type of contact does offer some benefits to mental health and well-being.

The average cost of childcare in the U.S. has doubled since 1997, leaving many unable or struggling to access care; but in France, lawmakers have found a way to enact affordable, universal childcare. The childcare facilities are government-run and equipped with highly trained and educated employees, including an on-call pediatrician and child psychologist. Since the system has been in place, female labor force participation and the country's birth rate have increased and both are now higher than that of the U.S.

Coronavirus-related loneliness increased demand for groups that help people make personal connections and new friends, even if at a distance. A New York MeetUp, “I wanted to do that … just not alone”, has seen attendance at socially distanced activities increase. “Living Room Conversations,” an online platform where volunteers host discussions on timely topics, saw 1,000 new members since March and a 62% increase in page views. The groups encourage vulnerability and connection, but are not meant to replace professional mental-health counseling for those who are struggling with loneliness and other traumas.

A French startup is turning urine into an environmentally-friendly fertilizer that could replace chemical products. Early tests suggest that the urine mixture created by Toopi Organics can compete with synthetic fertilizers, which end up in waterways and can alter lake and river ecosystems. While the organic fertilizer requires a significant amount of urine to make, it could be a viable alternative to grow crops.