【推荐2】In October, the wildlife group of Himachal Pradesh reintroduced bred-in-captivity (圈养的) Cheer Pheasants (彩雉) into the wild to increase the falling population of this endangered bird.

It is the first attempt of its kind in India. Already, the HP wildlife group is considering the experiment a success. “Out of the 18 birds set free past October-six adults and 12 young ones-11 are still surviving,” says Dr Savita, Chief Wildlife Warden, HP. “According to international standards, even if 20 percent survive for at least a year, the experiment is considered successful.” The birds have been in the wild for eight months now, still four months short of the critical one year period. But having survived the cold winters, survival now should relatively be a walk in the park for these birds.

Reintroduction of any species into the wild requires painstaking efforts, and this experiment is no exception. The first step of the experiment was setting up a conservation breeding facility (繁殖设施) in Chail. The next step was their pairing. “Before the pairing, the genetic analysis was carried out,” says Dr Savita. “Besides, they were often screened for diseases and infections (感染) before they were set free.” Even one diseased bird could infect the entire population in the habitat.

Eventually, three pairs and their 12 chicks were chosen for a flight into the wild. The site chosen for their release (放飞) was a small hill in village Seri. Throwing them straight into the deep end could have proved a disaster, so soft-release was planned. For a month, the birds were kept in-three enclosed pens at the release site. Each pen mirrored their habitat with branches and bushes inside.

A month later, they were allowed to move out to live the life they were actually supposed to. The surviving 11 birds were closely tracked and they seem to have adapted well to the new surroundings. In another four months, the hill in village Seri could become a striking place on the wildlife map.

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【推荐1】Anyone interested in easy ways to make a positive impact on their communities need look no further than 12-year-old Danykah Muck, a Michigan middle-schooler whose simple learning project is an inspiration to positive thinkers of any age. It all started with her way to school every school day. Every morning she would greet an old man in her neighborhood, who she still doesn’t know his name, smiling or even simply offering a friendly word “hello”. And he would always nod and smile back. “It seems to considerably change the emotional energy around me in the community,” She noticed this in both directions, “That simple act can both change our entire day with how they greet me.”

Last spring, Muck brought an idea to her teachers. She provided them with a pile of sticky notes she had filled with brief—sometimes one-word—positive messages. She then asked the teachers to place the notes on students’ desks before they arrived at school the next day. She also gave pre-filled sticky notes to the lunch staff and to school administrators including the principal. The idea was to make it easy for teachers, staff and students to regularly encounter reminders that they matter and are valued. “You are enough just being you,” reads one favorite note. Muck’s idea could be just the thing in an office, assisted living facility or even at home for a small family.

“Low-cost” positive interactions, like a friendly word offered to the postal worker or coffee shop servant, are shown by psychology researchers to build sympathy and abate loneliness. An anonymous note sent into someone’s inbox or stuck to their front door is perhaps the lowest-cost connection there is, with potential benefits beyond our imagination. Sometimes the smallest encouragements have the biggest impact. What would you say on a sticky note to share with someone in your community?

【推荐2】A gap year in South Africa after high school lit Emily Parfit’s passion for education, which she loved so much that she considered remaining in South Africa and giving up a college education.

Her father talked with her about how she could have an impact on the kids that came to her classroom every year if she stayed. He also told her she could come back, get a college education and have a much broader, systemic impact. That conversation convinced Parfit to return and concentrate on mechanical engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

She loved math classes, computer science classes and physics classes, as what all of those subjects have in common is finding ways of dealing with problems, and that’s been the theme that runs throughout her career. She loved addressing tricky problems, breaking them down into their component pieces, and dealing with them one at a time.

Parfit combined that love and the method to build a career settling some of the most pressing challenges in education. She’s a partner at Education Resource Strategies (ERS), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that helps U.S. school districts promote fairness in education and improved outcomes for all of their students—especially those with the greatest learning needs and those being furthest from the educational opportunity. “I’m so glad I can apply the skills I built in the field of education,” she said.

Parfit doesn’t stop here. She teamed up with local businesses to offer internships (实习岗位) to high school students, and engaged with community partners who can offer enrichment activities. “For so long, schools have been a place where one teacher faces a fixed number of kids,” Parfit said. “Schools and systems were set up as if all students needed the same things. We’re trying to cooperate with communities to broaden available resources to create learning experiences beyond a classroom that unlock every child’s potential.”

【推荐3】“To invent,” Thomas Edison said, “you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”

Colrerd Nkosi had all the junk he needed, and the will to bring electricity to his small village in Malawi. As a result, he not only accomplished his goal, but won an award from the Queen of England.     1    

In the beginning, he put a bicycle in the river and wondered how the current moved the pedals, and how it might be turned into power. Then he used an old refrigerator compressor(压缩机) to power six homes.     2     Finally, using a recycled corn- shelling machine motor and a fast-moving river, Nkosi created an electric turbine(涡轮机) that’s now lighting up homes in the town of Mzimba for free.

In a country where only 11%of the population has access to electricity, having a reliable and renewable source of energy has been a game- changer.     3    

“In the past, we had to study by candlelight, and whenever there was no money to buy candles, we could not study,” student Gift Mfune said. “Now that we have access to electricity, many more of us will pass our exams.”

    4     Indeed, the only charge for his service is a€1- per- month maintenance fee.

Over 2,000 people have benefited from his sustainable and locally generated electricity. And in 2018, Mr Nkosi won a Point of Light Award from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II for his dedication to innovation.

In addition to lighting up his neighbors literally, Nkosi’s dream is to bring light to them as well through education.     5     He also hopes to expand his own skillset with more advanced studies.