Ana Pinheira: Shaping Greener Cities in Guimarães Through Biodiversity Science - environment.ec.europa.eu

A healthy, green lawn can be the envy of any neighborhood, but how does someone cultivate a yard like that? Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Science Amber Churchill has been getting her hands dirty and digging into the science behind it. Through the Pasture and Lawn Enhanced Diversity Global-change Experiment (PLEDGE), Churchill and her team discovered that lavish lawns depend on the environment: The number of species in an ecosystem affects how the system functions. The PLEDGE research initiative is located at Nuthatch Hollow, the outdoor laboratory and wildlife sanctuary gifted to the University by Robert F. Schumann and the Schumann family.

From major festivals and traditional celebrations to guided nature walks, educational events and international scientific gatherings, the recent programme demonstrates how environmental action can be connected with culture, wellbeing, innovation and local identity. Sustainability takes centre stage in a cherished local traditionFor the first time, Guimarães 2026 European Green Capital led the iconic Gualteriana Parade, opening one of the city's most cherished cultural traditions. Watched by thousands of spectators lining the streets, the Guimarães 2026 parade float placed biodiversity, community participation and environmental awareness at the heart of the celebrations. By organising the march, the city showed how its European Green Capital commitments are becoming closely connected to Guimarães' cultural identity and long-term legacy. Culture also provided an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between people and their environment through the 'Memories of the Landscape' exhibition.

A 518-million-year-old ambulacrarian fossil from China suggests that the common ancestor of starfish and their relatives was not a burrowing worm; it was probably a tentacled animal that fed from the water around it. An artist’s impression of Yujingia glutenotunica. Image credit: He et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.053.

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- NASA on Tuesday provided an update on the development of crewed and robotic lunar rovers to support its planned Moon Base initiative, highlighting efforts to develop the surface mobility capabilities needed for future exploration and sustained human operations on the Moon. NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover is scheduled to embark on a mission to the lunar South Pole region in 2027 to explore permanently shadowed craters in search of water and other potentially valuable resources that could support sustainable lunar exploration. The rover will be delivered to the lunar surface by Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 1 lander and is expected to travel more than 30 kilometers, collecting data on local temperatures, lighting conditions and terrain. NASA said the data could help scientists better understand the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and assess how lunar resources might be used to support future exploration.