Opportunity Card

Nature Needs You

Healthy forests, parks, and wildlife make communities stronger. How could your idea help protect and restore the natural world?

1 millionplant and animal species are at risk of extinction

2xtrees can cool city streets by several degrees in summer

SDG 15calls for protecting life on land

75%of the land surface has been significantly altered by people

About this challenge

Healthy forests, parks, rivers, and wildlife make communities stronger, cleaner, and happier. But nature is under pressure almost everywhere.

This challenge asks how your idea could help protect or restore the natural world around your town.

Nature does real work for communities: trees clean the air and cool streets, wetlands soak up floods, and green space keeps people healthy.

Protecting nature isn't just a good deed. Eco-tourism, restoration work, and green design are growing industries.

Watch

Why is biodiversity so important? (TED-Ed)

Tap to play · loads from YouTube

Think about

Question 1What natural places matter most to your town?

Question 2What is threatening nature where you live?

Question 3Could a business make money by protecting nature instead of using it up?

Question 4Could your idea bring nature back into town: on roofs, walls, or empty lots?

Question 5Who in your town cares most about nature, and would they be customers?

Question 6How could your town's quirks make protecting nature easier or harder?

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