All articles from Reasons to be Cheerful

Roots of Resilience: The Women Preserving Asia’s Ancient Mangrove Forest

Straddling the border between India and Bangladesh, where the rivers Ganges, Meghna and Brahmaputra converge and flow into the Bay of Bengal, an ancient forest of mangroves stretches over 3,860 square

The Beauty of Lining a River With Willow

In the Stone Age, Neolithic folks used willow branches and mud to build roundhouses for their families. Jump forward several thousand years and European farmers were fashioning panels of stitched will

The Ecological Havens Flourishing Beneath Power Lines

Power lines zig-zag across North America, strung between towers that rise 100 feet or more into the sky. Beneath lie vast swaths of often barren land up to 100 feet wide and stretching for hundreds of

What We’re Reading: A Movement to Ban Something That Doesn’t Exist

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Hands off

Repair and Rent Out: Creating Affordable Housing in New Mexico

This article was originally published by Shelterforce, an independent newsroom reporting on affordable housing. The apartment complex had been condemned. Nicole Scarpa and her kids were given a week’s

The Spark: Maximize the Mirth, Minimize the Waste

Welcome back to The Spark, our monthly celebration of how people just like you are creating positive change, one meaningful step at a time. The Spark is generously supported by Laura Rice. Sign up to

Depleted Tennessee Farmland Is Now Teeming With Wildlife

In May 2010, extraordinarily heavy rainfall hit Tennessee. In some parts of the state, as much as 20 inches fell over two days. Dams were inundated, waterways overflowed and communities experienced hi

Tiny Island, Big Dreams

This story is published in collaboration with the Local Catch Network.  At the end of a short road that spreads out into a paved spit of working waterfront on the tiny island of Culebra sits a small b

What We’re Reading: The ‘Unstoppable’ Development of a European Subway

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. No turnin