Find uplifting stories about heroes, innovations, and solutions
5177 results for "dam restoration"
Queensland is putting $545 million toward water security, restoring two major dams to full capacity and creating the equivalent of a brand new mega-dam. The investment will secure drinking water for hundreds of thousands of residents while supporting agriculture across the region.
Engineers at Ghana's largest hydroelectric dam successfully brought a fourth turbine back online Tuesday night, delivering critical relief to a strained national power grid. The breakthrough at 9:09 pm marks a turning point for households and businesses facing recent blackouts.
Twenty volunteers trekked into New Mexico's Jemez Mountains to build artificial beaver dams that could help keep the Rio Grande flowing year-round. After the river ran dry in Albuquerque from June through September, this grassroots effort aims to change the future.
A new economic analysis challenges decades of assumptions about four controversial dams in Idaho and Washington. Removing them could actually boost local incomes while restoring salmon runs that Indigenous communities have fought to protect for generations.
After explosive demolition removed four dams from the Klamath River, nearly 70,000 salmon returned in 2025—180% more than scientists predicted. The $450 million restoration project turned a dying river into a thriving ecosystem in just two years.
Engineers in Ghana worked three days straight to bring two major power units back online after a devastating fire crippled the nation's largest hydroelectric plant. The recovery is ahead of schedule, immediately easing blackouts that hit millions across three regions.
Kenya's capital is rescuing a historic dam that's protected thousands from floods since 1953 but has been choked by pollution and encroachment. A major restoration will clear debris, strengthen walls, and create a safety buffer to safeguard communities for decades to come.
After a century of denying its dams blocked salmon migration, Seattle just signed the largest utility-to-tribe payout in American history. Three small tribes will receive $1.35 billion to restore the fish that sustained their culture for hundreds of years.
When overgrazing moose drove beavers out of Rocky Mountain National Park, scientists knew they had to act fast. Now a team of "human beavers" is building 29 artificial dams to restore the ecosystem and protect drinking water for over 1 million people.
Just two years after removing four dams from California's Klamath River, over 20,000 chinook salmon have returned to their ancestral spawning grounds. Scientists say the recovery happened much faster than anyone expected.
Villages in India's Ruparail River Basin watched their wells run dry for years until communities joined forces to capture every raindrop. Now check dams, restored ponds, and thousands of trees are bringing water back to farming families.
New York City just took a major step toward bringing river herring back to the Bronx River after decades of decline. State grants and federal plans aim to remove century-old dams that have blocked fish from reaching their spawning grounds.
Every bottle of Sea Change Wine sold now funds ocean restoration through a new partnership with Ocean Conservation Trust. The eco-friendly brand has already donated over €750,000 to marine conservation since 2018.
High school and college volunteers just completed a 15-year mission to restore an Oregon forest stream, planting 1,200 willow trees across three acres. Their work is bringing a Coast Range creek back to life, one sapling at a time.
One hundred Kaiser Permanente staff members spent MLK Day restoring historic Hawaiian fishponds and endangered forests across Hawaii Island. For a decade, they've returned year after year to honor the land and community.
Brazil is transforming massive ecosystem restoration into a thriving new industry that could reshape the global economy. Companies are now restoring forests at unprecedented scales while creating jobs and sustainable products from nature's biodiversity.
After 25 years of planting five million trees in Malaysian Borneo, IKEA is launching a research lab to help restore degraded rainforests worldwide. Pygmy elephants, orangutans, and clouded leopards have already returned to the restored forest.
Ghana has successfully reclaimed 320 hectares of land destroyed by illegal mining, turning devastated sites into restored landscapes ready for reforestation. The government plans aggressive restoration efforts with private partners to recover 5,500 hectares lost across the country.
A massive swamp that developers nearly destroyed in the 1950s has been brought back to life after 20 years of careful restoration work. Picayune Strand in Florida is now 90% restored, bringing endangered species back home.
%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2F19%2F46%2F1946f05e-3a5c-42a0-9045-1dd2aa21d76a%2F15_lesecuzione_delle_riflettografie_allinfrarosso_fotografiche_foto_di_matteo_panciera.jpg)
Visitors to Venice's Gallerie dell'Accademia can now watch conservators restore a massive 15th-century Giovanni Bellini altarpiece right before their eyes. The ambitious public restoration turns art preservation into an educational experience.
Showing 20 of 5177