Protecting whales with speed cameras, ghost kitchens, replacing homework with acts of kindness

Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NOAA Research Permit # 665-1652 via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In today’s edition of Squirrel News, we’re talking about a cetacean speed trap ensuring the safety of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, a ghost kitchen scheme helping restaurants survive the COVID-19 pandemic, and how a primary school in Cork has replaced traditional homework with acts of community generosity.

A cetacean speed trap is saving whales by monitoring ships travelling in the North Atlantic

Conservationists say they hope it will help build awareness and strengthen regulations surrounding ship speeds.

Source: Mongabay

Ghost kitchens are helping restaurants survive the COVID-19 pandemic

By having multiple restaurant owners rent space in a commercial kitchen, businesses are able to prepare and sell food to their customers without having a physical location.

Source: Posibl

A Minneapolis clinic is working to narrow racial gaps in healthcare

Central to the innovative approach is tackling the root social problems that contribute to illness, in order to better prevent and treat disease.

Source: NPR

Norway bans hate speech against bisexual & transgender people

The law prohibits language that incites violence against or dehumanises members of these communities.

Source: LGBTQ Nation

Canadian researchers have developed facial recognition AI software for bears

The technology has the potential to reduce human-wildlife conflicts by identifying particular bears, especially those who repeatedly break into residential homes and bins.

Source: ENN

The town of Takikawa has installed red-eyed motion-detecting robot wolves to scare off bears

The Japanese town hopes that the new residents will help to prevent conflict between humans and wildlife, and comes as a result of increased sightings of bears in the local area.

Source: Futurism

California is cultivating forests that are able to stand up to wildfires

Conservationists have employed forest management processes which mimic what nature would do.

Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful

A community in Montana has launched a promotoras de salud scheme to boost care accessibility

Promotoras – Spanish for “health promoters” – provide a bridge between the US health system and undocumented individuals, offering safe access to healthcare without the risk of deportation.

Source: The Solutions Journalism Exchange

A soap recycling initiative is improving basic hygiene access in rural Panama

The scheme provides secure employment for those in isolated communities, in addition to empowering individuals to develop long-term solutions.

Source: The Inkline

A school in Ireland has replaced homework with acts of kindness

The move has resulted in more positive community relationships and reduced loneliness amongst elderly residents of the seaside town.

Source: Goodnet

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