Whooping cranes make a comeback, high school student develops low-cost seismometer, food forests

| Posted on May 10, 2021 |

Photo: Diana Robinson/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In today’s edition of Squirrel News, we’re talking about an explosion in the number of whooping cranes in the US thanks to extensive conservation efforts, a growing number of “food forests” increasing access to healthy vegetables, and a low-cost early earthquake warning device designed by a Californian high school student.

Whooping cranes return to the US thanks to unusual conservation programme

Despite only 20 birds known living in the wild at the end of World War II, efforts to educate local communities and encourage peaceful coexistence have been successful.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

“It’s like a place of healing”: the growth of America’s food forests

More than 70 “food forests” have recently appeared across the US, as part of a growing movement to tackle food insecurity and promote urban agriculture.

Source: The Guardian

US high school student invents a low-cost earthquake warning device

Vivien He’s creation is able to deliver advance warning messages to smartphones, with plans in place to provide vulnerable populations with the device.

Source: Eurekalert

Portable washing machine helps refugees clean their clothes without electricity

The project designed to help people in refugee camps and poorer regions of the world is set to expand after a successful trial in Iraq.

Source: BBC News

First woman of colour elected to the Scottish government

Kaukab Stewart has made history as the first woman of colour to be voted into Holyrood.

Source: Herald Scotland

A new deodorant has been designed for people with limited arm movement

Over 200 people with disabilities in the US are trialling the prototype, which is also designed in order to accommodate visual impairment.

Source: ABC News

Cloud-based emergency communication platform reduces crisis dispatch times

Using video chat geolocation software, Carbyne is able to locate a person in distress within seconds, lowering the number of first responders needed to find the individual in the first place.