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Land use

Children climb on a construction near a gravestone in the playground of the Sophienkirche day-care center in Berlin, Germany. The day-care is located on the grounds of the Sophienkirche church, and it’s playground occupies a space that was once the parish

Berlin’s graveyards are being converted for use by the living

Culture

Space is at a premium in most big cities — but even then space is usually reserved for the dead. In Berlin, though, many old cemeteries are being converted as public spaces.

Children climb on a construction near a gravestone in the playground of the Sophienkirche day-care center in Berlin, Germany. The day-care is located on the grounds of the Sophienkirche church, and it’s playground occupies a space that was once the parish

Berlin’s graveyards are being converted for use by the living

Culture
A pupil at the Sophienkirche day-care climbs atop a gravestone in the centers playground. The children are encouraged to explore the space, and not discouraged from climbing on some of the stones.

In Germany, some cemeteries are being turned into parks, playgrounds and gardens

Culture
In Ohio, concerned citizens can bring water from their wells to a monthly water monitoring program.

Fearing pollution, some local governments are demanding back zoning control over oil and gas

Environment
Red Poll cattle have been called in to help manage the species-rich meadows around Havering, England that are home to many wildflowers, bees and bird species.

New lawn ‘mooers’ keep the grass trimmed in East London’s parks

Environment
A woman walks into a rice field in northern India where farmers are using the technique known as Systems of Rice Intensification. Local officials claim the system recently produced a record rice harvest while using less fertilizer, water and seed.

Intensive Lunch: Controversial rice growing technique offers hope for bigger yields

Environment

Supporters say a novel way of growing rice and other crops can quadruple yields with less seed, water and fertilizer. It could be an important hedge against climate pressures–if the gains are real.

Environmental activists under increasing attacks as natural resources diminish

Environment

Global Witness says that the number of assassinations of environmental activists has risen around the world. Journalist Fred Pearce says that drawing attention to these cases could help prevent more deaths.

Kansas student researching how plant waste could become building material

Environment

The substance that gives plant cells their rigid nature, the same substance that binds trees together, is typically discarded as waste in the agricultural process. But a Kansas State University student is researching how that waste, lignin, may be used in construction.

Brown Revolution: Preserving soil quality by changing grazing patterns

Environment

The brown revolution is about what the plants are planted in (soil) and not the plants themselves. Ranchers say they can make their land usable longer by mimicking natural livestock patterns.

The World

The Healing Power of Chainsaws

In the Pacific Northwest forest ecologists are using chainsaws to create standing dead timber, or “snags,” to provide nesting spots for birds displaced by the chainsaws of lumberjacks. Living On Earth’s Terry FitzPatrick reports.