It wasn’t all bad
■■ The pandemic has turned an increasing number of Americans into citizen scientists. Programs such as NestWatch and SciStarter let amateurs share data on wildlife in areas where universities don’t have funding to send naturalists. With people stuck at home and able to devote more attention to nature, and professionals less able to travel, submissions to these programs have risen as much as 41 percent this year. “More people are seeing the citizen-science approaches and collective effort toward discovery as our best hope toward figuring out how we live together on this planet,” said ecologist Caren Cooper.
■■ The Navajo Nation stretches across 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, but only a handful of polling stations were open for its 174,000 residents this year. Allie Young, 30, and her father, Frank, had an idea to get out the vote. In early October, Young began leading expeditions on horseback—two-hour, 10-mile rides through the desert— to early-voting sites in Kayenta, Ariz. Horses are sacred among the Navajo, so Young’s “Ride to the Polls” was also an opportunity for youth to connect with their cultural heritage. “I am doing this to honor our ancestors who fought for our right to vote,” she said. “Our voices are powerful.”
■■ Four months ago, a family in the Chinese city of Qidong sent their 1-year-old golden retriever mix, Ping An, to live with friends while they remodeled their home. Recently, their friends alerted them that the pup had run away. Little did they know that Ping An had decided to find her way home. For 14 days, the dog walked through traffic and other hazards. Workers found her 62 miles from her starting point and posted a photo on WeChat. The relieved family recognized her and rushed to pick up their four-legged friend, and told reporters they would never separate from Ping An again.