Hello! Hi there! Welcome!

If you’ve been here before, welcome back!

If you’re new, then here’s the gist: this is Monthly Good News, in which I round up every piece of good news I can reasonably find from the month and present it to you in a handy list so you can experience joy in a world of seemingly eternal negative headlines and articles. This series is all about reminding you that people are excellent, actually, and always striving for better, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.

So sit back, relax, and feel good for a few minutes. Then try to stay off Twitter to keep that good feeling for as long as possible.

• The first Tasmanian Devil to return to the wild gave birth to three babies
• An Indian company is making biodegradable packaging from crop waste
• A High Seas Treaty could help protect 30% of our oceans
• We Play Green is trying to kick off a climate revolution through football
• Ireland’s native bee sanctuary is a world first
• Honest Burger is creating a new, regenerative way to farm beef
• Blimps could be the way forward for sustainable air travel
• An Estonian city is pioneering clean technologies of the future
• Seaweed is the fastest growing biomass on the planet, and could be the way forward in a number of industries
• Estonian fashion designer is creating clothes out of waste fabrics
• Another new Alzheimer’s drug has been created, this one has been found to slow the disease by a third
• Six Indigenous reserves have been created so far in Brazil, out of a pledged fourteen
• US communities impacted by climate change can now hold fossil fuel firms to account in court
• A window that takes 15 minutes to install is helping Ukrainians repair and insulate their bomb-damaged homes
• The world’s ‘largest’ species reintroduction took place in Tahiti
• Plans to reintroduce sturgeon fish to UK waters have been outlined
• Car companies are racing to create car batteries that can be broken down and reused
• New York State has passed a bill to oblige all state power providers to generate only renewable energy by 2030
• Paris’ River Seine is on track to be swimmable again next year after 100 years
• Updated DNA map reflects human diversity at last
• Microbes that eat plastic have been discovered in Alpine and Arctic soil
• Wind powered the UK more than gas for the first time
• The UN Environment Programme has outlined a roadmap for an 80% cut in plastic pollution by 2040
• A new bill in the UK has been introduced to give a fairer deal to renters
• Vogue published a braille edition of its magazine for the first time
• Plans for Birmingham to double green spaces and active travel routes have been proposed
• Devon is the first place in the UK to gain World Surfing Reserve status; recognised for quality surf and precious ecosystem
• Bournemouth University installed 114 artificial rock pools in 2020 and has confirmed that all became inhabited with a total 65 different species, including a protected native oyster
• “Gamechanging” menopause drug that reduces hot flushes by up to 73% greenlit by US regulators, on track to be greenlit by the UK by the end of the year
• Paralysed man walked again with brain implants that can read thoughts

And that’s all for this month! Take some time to feel pleased about your fellow human and their work that betters the planet around them and have a lovely day!

See you next month!

By Bethany Climpson, Sustainability Engagement Assistant