Biodiversity for a Livable Climate

African Researchers Mapping Underground Water Supplies as the Climate Crisis Accelerates

Africa holds an estimated 0.66 million cubic kilometres of groundwater, roughly 20 times all the freshwater stored in the continent’s lakes combined, even as 400 million Africans still lack basic drinking water access. Scientists are working to identify hotspots where about 94 million rural Africans live above groundwater that could safely meet their drinking needs.

Seagrass Restoration Is Gaining Scientific Momentum

Seagrass meadows are among the most valuable, and overlooked, ecosystems on Earth. They provide nursery habitat for fish, filter coastal waters, protect shorelines from erosion and flooding, and store significant amounts of blue carbon in their soils and sediments. New momentum is building around seagrass restoration in Europe. In 2026, more than 50 scientists from 17 countries came together to publish the European Seagrass Recommendations, the first continent-wide scientific consensus on how to protect, monitor, and restore seagrass habitats across Europe. The recommendations call for stronger protection of existing meadows, reduction of human pressures, large-scale restoration, long-term monitoring, sustainable donor material supply, community involvement, and better funding.

Soil to Sky Curriculum Brings Biodiversity Learning to Cambridge Students

This spring, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate piloted Soil to Sky Curriculum, a six-week hands-on education program for 20 Cambridge Public School students in Grades 2–5 at East End House.

Through modules on Trees Cool the City, Soil Is Alive, and Pollinator Match Up, students built model mini forests, investigated soil microorganisms, explored fungal networks, and learned how native plants and pollinators support one another.

By the final week, participation increased by 80% among Grades 2–3 and 95% among Grades 4–5, with many students able to explain how trees cool the air, how fungi connect trees, and how soil life supports ecosystems.

Session 2 of Bio4Climate Mini-Conference Series: Forests: Past, Present, Future

Saturday, July 18, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM ET
Free and open to all

Forests have shaped human civilization from its earliest chapters — providing energy, shelter, tools, ships, cultural meaning, and the living foundations of communities. Yet forests have also been depleted, cleared, and overused, sometimes contributing to the decline of entire societies.

In this second session of the Bio4Climate Mini-Conference Series, Forests: Past, Present, Future, we will explore forests across time: historically, culturally, and ecologically. From the role of wood in building civilizations to today’s movements for forest protection, proforestation, restoration, and youth-led tree planting, featured speakers John Perlin, forest historian and author of A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization, and Felix Finkbeiner, founder of Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation, will examine what forest history can teach us about the present ecological moment. The conversation will also explore how renewed forest stewardship can help catalyze a livable future.

Miniforest Summit Registration Is Open

Have you registered for the 2026 Northeast Miniforest yet?

There is so much to choose from including: a documentary film screening, an in-person tour of four Massachusetts miniforests, and two virtual half-days with more than 20 speakers and panelists. Don’t miss our amazing keynote speakers.

Mio Urata, a Miyawaki forester who trained directly under Dr. Miyawaki and has more than two decades of restoration experience in Japan. Urata recently translated Hannah Lewis’s Mini-Forest Revolution into Japanese, helping strengthen connections across the international miniforest community.

Day two keynote speaker, Ethan Tapper, is an internationally recognized forester, ecologist, educator, and bestselling author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World. Here is a sample of his dynamic story telling.

The Summit creates space to share lessons learned, explore emerging questions, and strengthen relationships across a growing movement of people working to bring miniforests to life.

Books for Biodiversity Lovers

The 2nd Annual Bio4Climate Miniforest Summit is rapidly approaching. We’re fortunate to have Ethan Tapper, author of How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World as one of our keynote speakers at our upcoming Miniforest Summit in July. Reading his book now is a great way to prepare for the conversations to be held online and during our miniforest bus tour.

A forest, Tapper writes, is degraded both by those who do too much and by those who do nothing. His book charts a harder path between treating nature as a commodity and leaving it untouched, showing how the bittersweet act of both loving trees and felling them can be a true expression of compassion.

By purchasing this title through the link provided above, you’ll continue to support Bio4Climate. We are an affiliate partner of Bookshop.org and receive a portion of the sales price at no additional cost to you. View the Bio4Climate Bookshop for more books.