Welcome back to Monthly Good News, the blog series in which I try to convince you that the world is not a wholly terrible place and not only do people want to do good things, they are doing good things. As unlikely as it may sound to you, humans are inherently good and want to make the world around them a better place; compassion for one another is a driving motivator for good and people, by design, love people and want them to have a good life on a healthy planet.

So here’s a round up of all the good, life-affirming news I could find from this month. Please, sit back, relax, and feel good about the world for a few minutes.

Many things are not terrible.

• Previously undiscovered extensive coral reefs have been found in the Galápagos
• During work to restore the UK’s marine seagrass meadows, a new one has been found, the largest yet
• A new study has unravelled the genetic causes for developmental disorders in thousands of children
• According to a new study, US husbands and wives are equal breadwinners in households now
• £12 million has been injected into the lab-grown meat industry by the UK government, a trailblazing research topic
• Book publishing is bigger than ever as more people are reading now than in previous years
• A reforesting project in the Yorkshire Dales has begun
• The Brecon Beacons has changed its name to restore its Welsh heritage – Bannau Brycheiniog – as the first step in a five-year plan to ‘halt and reverse’ the ravages of climate change across the mountains
• World’s first rewilding centre has opened in Scotland
• A UK community rewilding fund, Save Our Wild Isles, was launched
• A new study states that rewilding just nine species could sequester enough carbon to cap the temperature change to 1.5C
• England is on track to become the first country to eliminate hepatitis C
• The BBC has launched a new show to teach Afghani children barred from schools – girls, especially – from home
• NASA’s first lunar expedition in over half a century includes both a woman and a Black man on the crew; all lunar missions before were completed by exclusively white men
• Transport for London has published their cargo bike plan, for more environmentally sustainable travel
• Wild campers have won the right to appeal to be allowed to once again camp at Dartmoor
• Ghana approved a pioneering malaria vaccine
• Britain’s loudest bird has made a comeback after going extinct here
• The Ozone Layer is healing and on track to meet its healing targets
• The US has saved 227 species from extinction
• 40% of America’s energy is now being provided by renewable energy

Ah, positivity.

In case you need some more, here’s a picture of the fox cub that was briefly living in the Wellbeing Garden behind the Johnson Building:

You’re welcome.

By Bethany Climpson, Sustainability Engagement Assistant