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OGN Wednesday

Updated: Jun 13, 2022

Smorgasbord of bite sized chunks of good news from around the globe.


Hats Off to Geraint

One man is embarking on the "mammoth" task of cleaning the beaches of Wales as he walks the 700-mile coastline. Geraint John, 51, said he wanted Wales' coastline to be the "envy of the world". As part of his walk he is trying to raise money in order to buy a boat to be able to get to "all the places that you can't get to on foot where all the rubbish likes to hide". He set off on 13 May and has no idea how long it's going to take him.


Grainy image of an otter in the Detroit River
Otters Return

Eric Ste Marie has spotted the first otter to be seen in the Detroit River in over 100 years. Ste Marie double-checked with a biologist friend of his from the University of Windsor, who confirmed - after watching the grainy cell phone video - that it really was a North American river otter. The reaction from some local experts he spoke to was of disbelief, given that it’s been over a century sine one has last been seen here. The feeling was also of hope, as otters are a keystone species that signify good water health.


Iberian lynx coiled up, half asleep
The Life Programme

The Iberian lynx was the world’s most endangered cat 20 years ago, but after a number of EU Life projects, today there are more than 1,000 across Spain and Portugal. Carmen Rueda Rodriguez from the conservation group CBD Habitat, who has been working with the Iberian lynx since 2014, says the EU funding programme has been a gamechanger. In the last 30 years, EU Life has supported 5,500 projects and spent €6.5bn ($7bn) up to 2020, with a further €5.4bn pledged for the period 2021 to 2027.


Which Airport?

Over the weekend, passengers flying into London's Gatwick airport were more than slightly surprised to see a giant sign on the countryside beneath them saying: 'Welcome to Luton.' Which, of course, is a completely different airport, about 60 miles away from Gatwick. Many alarmed passengers double checked with air hostesses or stewards where they were landing. It turns out that it was all just a stunt created by YouTube prankster Max Fosh. Phew!

 

Opsimath - a person who begins to learn or study only late in life.

 
Graphic of an extendable kid's sneaker
Expanding Shoes

The average young child needs new shoes every four months, and Britons buy nearly 80 million pairs a year - and about 85 percent of them end up in landfill. But by 2023, expandable trainers for children could be in stores. Footwear entrepreneur Jeroo Doodhmal, founder of eco-shoe brand Pip & Henry, won backing from the £1m Circular Future Fund to create a shoe for under-sevens that can expand by at least three and half-sizes. What a great idea! Pip & Henry shoes cost £60 but Doodhmal thinks the expandable design will probably cost up to £20 more. The Fund is a project of the John Lewis Partnership, aimed at ending the high street's "throwaway" culture.


Morel mushrooms in trays
Credit: The Danish Morel Project
More Morels

In the world of edible mushrooms, the morel mushroom is one of the most coveted and tasty species. In spring, the highly seasonal mushrooms are found in forests all over the Northern Hemisphere. Despite their popularity, the mushrooms are difficult to cultivate indoors. While some attempts have been made, the yield and quality of the product varies. Now, two Danish biologists Jacob and Karsten Kirk have found a reliable method to cultivate hefty amounts of morels indoors in a climate-controlled environment year-round. The technique is the culmination of four decades of research.

 
Quote of the Day

“The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.”

J.M. Barrie

 
On this Day

25 May 1961: In a speech before Congress, U.S. President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to land a man on the Moon by the end of the decade; the goal was achieved with Apollo 11 in 1969.

 

Dive in Deeper





 
Nature Mood Booster

The Bowerbird puts on a show to impress a female but will it be good enough?




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