OGN Monday

Editor OGN Daily
Sep 29
3 min read

Kick-starting the week with an eclectic selection of upbeat news stories.

Penguin leaping out of the sea — Mat Bell | Grand Prize Winner, Sony Alpha Awards 2025

Look At Me!

An Adélie penguin propels itself out of Antarctic waters to the safety of an iceberg. When swimming, an Adélie penguin can accelerate enough to leap as high as 3m (9.8ft.) out of the water. In this moment, the penguin is captured in a levitational like state, appearing to stand to attention. The winners of this year's Sony Alpha Awards from Australia and New Zealand are truly captivating: from evocative frames of the natural world to dramatic and intimate human stories. For 2025, the competition saw more than 3,000 images from pros and amateurs alike across 13 categories. This year's grand prize winner of a once-in-a-lifetime shot of a penguin striking a pose in mid-air, earned Melbourne, Australia-based Mat Bell a sizeable bundle of Sony camera gear.

The Argyle Street ash tree, in Glasgow — Credit: Douglas Crawford | Woodland Trust

UK's Tree of The Year

An ash tree that stands proud at the side of a busy main road in Scotland has been crowned Britain’s best. The Argyle Street ash, in Glasgow, has won this year’s Tree of the Year contest, the Woodland Trust announced. The tree is thought to be around 175 years old. The mature green ash topped a shortlist of 10 trees chosen for being “rooted in culture”. The tree was described by the author, James Cowan, in his 1951 book From Glasgow’s Treasure Chest, as “quite the most graceful ash I have seen”. The quote hangs framed in The Ben Nevis, a pub across the road from the tree.

An American 'duck stamp' — Conservation mechanism

Power of Duck Stamps

The US Interior Department has approved $54 million to protect 21,737 acres of waterfowl habitat and expand four national wildlife refuges across Utah, Tennessee, and Louisiana. The money comes from the long-running sale of 'Duck Stamps', one of America’s most durable conservation engines. USFWS says that since 1934 they’ve raised $1.3 billion to protect more than six million acres of habitat.

US Charity Donations

In 2024, donations to US charities rose 3.3 percent after inflation to $592.5 billion, says the Associated Press. Individuals contributed two-thirds of the total, with corporate giving up 6 percent and donor-advised funds fuelling growth in public-society benefit groups. Speaking of charity, Melinda French Gates has committed a new $100 million donation to close gaps in women’s health research. This is on top of the $250 million donation she announced last October.

Tree Resilience

Big trees in the Amazon are more climate-resistant than previously believed. The biggest trees in the Amazon are growing larger and more numerous, according to a new study that shows how an intact rainforest can help draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequester it in bark, trunk, branch and root. Scientists said the paper, published in Nature Plants, was welcome confirmation that big trees are proving more climate resilient than previously believed, and undisturbed tropical vegetation continues to act as an effective carbon sink despite rising temperatures and strong droughts.

Child Marriage Ban

Bolivia becomes the 14th Latin American country to outlaw child marriage, reports Save the Children. Parliament has passed a law banning marriages and free unions under 18 after a four-year campaign led by girls and civil-society groups. About 22 percent of Bolivian girls were married before 18; the new measure criminalises adults who marry or cohabit with minors, as well as officials who register such marriages.

India Emissions Drop

According to Carbon Brief, India’s power-sector emissions dropped in the first half of 2025. With vast amounts of clean energy capacity under construction or contracted, analysts say the sector could now peak before 2030. That milestone would mark a decisive shift in the world’s third-largest emitter’s energy trajectory.

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” Willie Nelson

On This Day

29 September 1829: Through the efforts of Robert Peel, England's first professional police force, London's Metropolitan Police (often called Scotland Yard), was founded; it became a model for future police departments in various other countries, including the United States. Peel went on to become British prime minister (1834 - 35 and 1841 - 46).