Woods Wrapped 2025 | Research Highlights
This year the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment awarded more than $4 million to 28 research teams seeking innovative solutions to pressing climate and environmental challenges. Click the buttons below for details about 2025 awardees, and read on for more coverage of published research from our previously funded projects, research centers, and programs.
Environmental Venture Project & Realizing Environmental Innovation Awards
Stanford research and expertise help establish first-of-its-kind marine protected area
A new framework informed by Stanford-led research and stakeholder convenings balances conservation with cultural heritage and sustainable resettlement of communities removed from an island chain decades ago.
Reintroducing beavers for watershed reslience
A new Stanford-led study uses high-resolution aerial imagery to map beaver dams and ponds, helping prioritize areas for restoring wetlands and reintroducing beavers.
Corporate reports miss the mark on ocean health
A new paper from Center for Ocean Solutions and Natural Capital Project researchers reveals major gaps in how companies disclose their impact on othe ocean.
A low-cost, low-tech answer to pollution in Bangladesh
Researchers tested a low-cost, low-tech intervention to reduce pollution from brick kilns in Bangladesh.
Researchers and Tule River Indian Reservation address environmental threats
A new study underscores the importance of transformative adaptation to create a more sustainable future for tribal nations.
More accessible urban parks linked with greater physical activity across U.S. cities
Using wearable device data from 53 U.S. cities, Stanford University researchers show that access to nature is linked to increased physical activity in urban communities.
Cleaner, greener floors
Unlike dirt floors common in some rural parts of the world, concrete floors are easily cleaned of disease-carrying pathogens – but they come at a high environmental cost. A lower-carbon flooring mix could provide a solution.
For city dwellers, more nature can improve mental health
A new study clarifies the importance of nature for mental health in urban settings and provides low-cost recommendations for improving public health in cities.
Bridging a gap in carbon removal strategies
The researchers suggest refining how we assess a natural carbon storage strategy to ensure the technology lives up to its potential as a climate change solution.
More scrutiny of domestic fishing fleets at ports could help deter illegal fishing
Domestic vessels account for the majority of port visits globally. Inspecting them in addition to foreign vessels is key to deterring illegal fishing, scientists reported.
Virtual reality and climate sentiment
Direct experiences have powerful effects on perception – a truth at the heart of new Stanford-led research showing how immersive VR can make distant climate impacts feel personally relevant.
How smarter incentives could help save forests
Stanford researchers are developing new ways to curb deforestation while boosting rural incomes.
Sand dredging encroaches on marine protected areas, scientists find
Nearly half of all dredge operators extract sand from protected areas of the ocean, highlighting the need to mitigate demand for the world’s most mined material.
Climate distress: Disasters linked to mental health impacts
Adolescents living in flood-prone areas of Bangladesh face dramatically higher rates of anxiety and depression than their peers in lower-risk regions, according to a Stanford-led study.
Nature accounting in Colombia makes sound economic case for protecting native ecosystems
Paper shares innovative natural capital accounting approach to valuing the benefits of ecosystems in Colombia’s Upper Sinú Basin to key economic sectors.