Australian wildlife park celebrates first koala birth since bushfires
The wildfires in Australia took a devastating toll on native wildlife, specifically koalas. In a sign of hope for the future of these species, the Australian Reptile Park has reported the first birth of a baby koala, also called a joey, since the fires in early 2020. The park made the Read More...
This is Bear, the Australian Koolie dog who saves koalas after bushfires
It wasn’t long ago that bushfires overwhelmed Australia, leaving an estimated 18.6 million hectares (46 million acres) of land charred. But from the ashes, we have since seen stories of hope emerge from Australia, which we have shared to remind us of nature’s resilience. For instance, Read More...
This teenager made a biodegradable “plastic” out of wasted prawn shells
What were you doing as a teenager? In Australia, a teen by the name of Angelina Arora has created a bioplastic out of discarded prawn shells, a waste product of the fishing industry. Angelina, 17, first came up with the idea to create a plastic alternative a few years ago, when she was just 13. Read More...
These solar windows rival rooftop panels in terms of efficiency
Windows capable of harvesting energy from the sun have been on the horizon for a number of years, but they've yet to help cut down a building's energy costs. A new development from Australian researchers may change that. What the researchers have created are semi-transparent solar cells made of Read More...
Ambitious experiment aims to protect the Great Barrier Reef from bleaching
The Great Barrier Reef is facing its first mass bleaching event in five years as a result of climate change and the record ocean temperatures. In a bid to mitigate the ecosystem’s loss and protect it from warming, scientists from the University of Sydney have recently experimented with a Read More...
Microgrids are restoring power to rural Australians after the bushfires
For years, the Optimist Daily has been a vocal advocate of microgrids for their ability to provide a reliable, low-cost source of clean energy to local areas. On top of that, microgrids are optimal because they don’t rely on a national grid and can function separately even if a national grid Read More...
Scientists use wasp nests to date ancient Australian rock paintings
Gwion style rock paintings in the Kimberley region of Australia are twice as old as the Giza pyramids, but until recently, scientists had a hard time telling exactly how old they were. Now, they are able to date the paintings to 12,000 years ago with the help of an unlikely ally: wasps. Using Read More...
Wombats are accidentally saving other animals from drought by digging waterholes
Alongside wildfires, the drought in Australia has claimed vast portions of land across the southeast of the country, making it extremely difficult for animals in the region to find water. But in these times of crisis, wombats have come out as accidental heroes, as the marsupials have been Read More...
Sigh of relief: rare fluorescent pink slugs survived the Australian bushfires
At the top of Mount Kaputar in New South Wales, Australia, lives an incredible species of slug that glows a fluorescent pink color. These slugs only exist on that single mountaintop, which is why conservationists had every right to worry about their survival when the Australian bushfires burned Read More...
Firefighters saved an ancient grove of pine trees from Australian bushfires
Amidst the heart-rending wildfires blazing through Australia's vast lands, there is good news coming from the only forest in the world that is home to the Wollemi pine tree--one of the oldest trees in the world. In a covert firefighting mission, this ancient grove of pine trees whose ancestors are Read More...