A lab for crops, a city climate experiment and busy beavers

The Netherlands: Putting plants through their paces 

How will the world feed 10 billion people with less land, less water and more unpredictable weather? The Netherlands, also known as the “Silicon Valley” of agriculture and seeds, knows a thing or two about it.

It’s already the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural products after the United States, despite being a fraction of the size. 

Now, in some of the country’s greenhouses, scientists are using high-tech means, as well as reams of data, to figure out which crops will be most resilient in a changing climate.

A German city is reinventing itself amid a new climate reality 

In October 2023, the northern German city of Kiel saw the worst storm surge in more than 150 years, which destroyed dikes, collapsed coastal cliffs and devastated marinas.

The storm shocked city officials into reimagining infrastructure to cope with more frequent and intense weather extremes linked to human-caused climate change.

Ideas range from cool city corridors and green facades to flooding soccer pitches at certain times of the year and adapting daily schedules to heat. Find out more about what Kiel is doing, alongside other cities worldwide.

Turtles getting ready for their close-up

Ever dreamed of becoming a wildlife photographer? Destinations in Egypt are getting tourists to snap photos of sea turtles to help with conservation efforts.

These underwater creatures have unique markings on their faces — almost like human fingerprints. Researchers use them to identify individual turtles and even track injuries. If they spot a turtle that’s recovering, they can alert authorities to steer boat traffic away from that area.

Beavers make a comeback to help fight wildfires, droughts and floods

After being hunted to near extinction for their fur, meat and scent glands in the early 20th century in Europe, beavers are so back.

Thanks to major long-term rewilding efforts across the continent, populations have skyrocketed from about 1,500 wild Eurasian beavers in 1900 to 1.5 million today.

Beavers are the engineers of the animal world. They build dams that help filter water pollutants, reduce the impacts of flooding, wildfire and drought, and recharge underground aquifers. And they’re fixing wetlands and rivers across Europe — from Spain to Russia.

How this animal is fixing our messed-up rivers

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Edited by: Louise Osborne