30 years ago today, Braveheart debuted at the Seattle Film Festival. Featuring Mel Gibson as 13th-century Scottish war hero Sir William Wallace, the film introduced one of Scotland’s seminal figures back into the Western zeitgeist to critical acclaim, picking up 10 Academy Award nominations, and winning five including Best Picture, Director, Score, Cinematography, and Makeup. WATCH the gripping speech Wallace gives before the battle of Stirling, but hide your kids’ ears from the fruity Scottish language… (1995)
Ethiopians Brew Success as Coffee and Cash Pile Up Thanks to Transformational Sustainable Forestry Program
The existence and consumption of coffee has many advantages in human society, but perhaps the lesser reported advantage is what it can offer the environment.
There is arguably no other monocrop so capable of thriving in an intact, natural ecosystem, and in Ethiopia, where coffee is a major export, the adoption of climate-compatible and conservation strategies among coffee growers recently proved a major success, with over 5,000 acres of land reforested, 45% increases in household income, and a 70% increase in exported coffee.
Coffee is a major lifeblood of Ethiopia’s economy (we’re talking about a quarter of the whole), accounting for around half of the livelihood of 15 million people, 95% of whom are small landholding growers.
In the ecologically critical Ilu Ababor Zone of nation’s western region of Oromia, where Coffea arabica is native, Farm Africa led a project on sustainable agriculture among coffee growers inside 19 local forest management cooperatives totaling around 4,000 people between 2021 and 2024.
The results were better than a hot cup of coffee on a cold early morning, as the residents took to the skills, incentives, and even stakeholder meetings with great interest and dedication according to a report on the project entitled Coffee for Conservation.
Of the project aims regarding forest management and conservation, the objective was to instruct the landholders and growers in ways to get everything they needed from their forest homes without felling too many native trees.
For example, locals were shown how to cultivate fast-growing trees optimal for firewood in small plots, as well as methods on how to maximize the growth cycle of these fuel trees. Six tree nurseries were opened and staffed by around 60 people taught to sell seedlings for reforestation of native woodland in the area.
By the end of the project, over 300,000 seedlings had been planted over 5,000 acres of forest, and they enjoyed a five-year survival rate of 85%. Climate-smart practices such as cultivating bamboo for making the mats on which the coffee beans are dried, removed the need to truck in bamboo from other regions, while 66% of homes were able to be convinced to switch to energy-efficient wood stoves to reduce fuel consumption.
Most of the landholders growing coffee or managing the forest had plots for vegetable and fruit production to feed their families and those of their communities through trade. Percentages of these Ethiopians who adopted climate-smart farming techniques increased from 49% to 76%, while 10% more began growing fruit and vegetables. Income generated from the increased production amounted to around 280% more than what was made before the project, adjusted for inflation.
MORE STORIES LIKE THIS FROM AFRICA: African Forest Farming Initiative Making A Difference to Thousands with Tree-Planting and Microlending
Coffee production, marketing, and returns, have all improved. 73% more coffee from the Ilu Ababor region is now export-quality than in 2021, and 44% meets the standards for specialty grade, which is up by 20% from 2021.
Connections with national financing intuitions have allowed some of the co-ops to buy proper equipment for drying and storage, as well as support by city marketing agencies who could work directly on behalf of the Ilu Ababor growers to carve out a space in the national and international markets.
“Prior to the project, our limited knowledge meant we had to sell our coffee to local traders at lower prices,” said Abde Musa, a member of the Abdi Bori forest management cooperative. “Now we’ve taken control and are the ones negotiating and determining the coffee prices.”
ETHIOPIAN NEWS: Ethiopia May Have Just Shattered World Record By Planting 350 Million Tree Saplings in One Day
Co-op leaders received training in business management, quality control, and certification processes, which majorly improved their incomes. One of the 19 co-ops in particular grossed $58,500 on their coffee sales.
Project wide, incomes and access to financial services almost doubled, with the latter now reaching almost 100% of the community.
Lastly, deforestation plummeted in the area to just 0.08 acres a year.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Farmers Use Bees to Deter Elephants from Romping Over Crops–a Win-Win for All
There’s so much good news to read in the report on the project’s success beyond the headline data, like the Abdi Bori co-op’s incredible rise which saw coffee revenue increase by a multiple of 20 from 2018 to 2023, or Solomon Mekonnen’s story of turning his land into a forest farm that produces export-grade coffee, firewood, and organic honey, or the tremendous involvement of women at all levels of the education and participation.
It’s a document that captures the very real phenomenon that African problems are best solved with African solutions.
SHARE This Laudable Work Out In The Green Hills Of Africa…
Perfect Weather Brought Britain’s Longest Wisteria Vine into Picturesque Bloom (LOOK)
A perfect conjunction of timing and weather has seen Britain’s longest wisteria vine explode into a colorful cascade of periwinkle blue, violet, and mauve.
The breathtaking bush at Wickham Place Farm in Witham, Essex, reaches 240 feet along a giant garden wall and stands at 15 feet high.
Proud owner and amateur gardener Judith Wilson, 68, said she spends 60 hours pruning the flowery vine a year and it ‘still takes my breath away.’
Mrs. Wilson started tending to the Chinese wisteria sinensis in 1993 which replaced ivy found growing on the wall when they moved to the farm which she converted into a fabulous garden.
“The wisteria looks better than ever, more so this superb year with few frosts,” she told the Southwest News Service. “Everybody without exception is saying what a fabulous year for wisterias because of the sunshine. It has brought them on a treat.”
“I look at it and think ‘Wow’. It still takes my breath away.”
Wilson has spent years training the vine to grow along the full length of her garden wall, but late frosts often killed the flowers off. Thanks to Wilson’s dedicated care it stands at 15 feet high, and is believed to be Britain’s longest wisteria.
Wilson said that they are comparatively easy to maintain, with major trimmings occurring in January and February and a little trim in July. She actually owns five large wisterias, which proved such a decoration that she used to open her gardens to the public every Friday to raise money for the local hospice.
GARDENS OF PASSION:
- Hobbyist Hedgetrimmer Transforms His Street into Green Sculpture Gallery in Memory of Beloved Wife
- Man Cultivates a Giant Mango Tree with Each Branch Growing a Different Variety of Fruit–and There Are 300
- Millions of Wildflowers Now Delight the Town After Vermont Couple Got Tired of Mowing the Lawn All Day
However, they closed in 2015 which Wilson joked ‘gave her more time to focus on the garden’.
“Vine sounds too gentle—they are trees,” she laughed. “The bases are more than 24 inches across. “They are all probably at their best. The sun over the coming weekend will fade them and cause the flowers to drop.”
SHARE These Incredible Photos with Your Friends Who Love Their Gardens…
Entrepreneur Transforms Olive Waste into Eco-Friendly Fuel That Cuts CO2 Emission by One-Third
A Tunisian entrepreneur has found a way to turn the thousands of tons of fruit waste left over from making olive oil into fuel, reducing deforestation and cutting carbon emissions.
Negotiating a fraught business environment, he found a way to start a flourishing enterprise called Bioheat, which sells briquets of olive waste both at home and abroad.
Sandwiched between the vast nations of Libya and Algeria, the comparative sliver that is Tunisia punches way above its weight in agricultural production.
Olive cultivation goes back to Roman times, and the country’s rural households have traditionally used the olive waste as fuel or as animal feed. Tunisia is the third-largest olive oil producer in the world and the second-largest exporter of dates, and has relied heavily on the agro-economy for development.
With that mass of oil, though, comes mountains and mountains of byproduct. Eventually, the production of olive waste far outgrew the speed at which people used it for feeding their stoves, and 600,000 tons of olive “pomace” were piling up every year.
“I always wondered how this material could burn for so long without going out,” said Yassine Khelifi, an engineer who lives and works in the north of the country. “That’s when I asked myself: ‘Why not turn it into energy?'”
According to France 24, Khelifi visited Europe in 2018 on a mission to see if a machine existed that could turn the olive pomace into fuel of some kind. Locating such equipment and bringing it back to Tunisia, it took another 3 years of tinkering to finally produce briquets with just 8% moisture.
FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD: Indian Startup Uses Rice Crop Waste to Make Biodegradable Foam Packaging–Instead of Burning it
By comparison, seasoned firewood has to be left in the sun for a year or more, while olives can take half the time. At his factory where he employs 10 people, truckloads of olive waste are laid out to dry in the sun before being fed into the machine by workers. Long, hollow rolls are produced and cut into sections, packaged, and sold.
Making pizzas taste better, too
One Tunis pizza shop owner switched to using the briquets to reduce the smoke from his wood-fired oven, which irritated the locals. He said the waste “carries the soul of Tunisian olives and gives the pizza a special flavor,” while other patrons of Khelifi’s said it reduced their home heating costs by one-third.
SIMILIAR INITIATIVES IN SIMLIAR PLACES: Man Revives Iconic Indian Lake by Converting Lake Weed Infestation into Organic Fertilizer Business
About 60% of the briquets are exported, and Khelifi hopes to be producing 600 tons of them by the end of the year, at which point he’d be consuming a whole 1% of the country’s olive waste by himself.
Anyone who’s taken a train around the north or eastern coastline of the country, or stopped on the island of Djerba for a holiday and seen the scope of Tunisian olive production, will have some idea of how big that accomplishment is.
CELEBRATE This Man’s Brilliant Business Achievement In The Developing World…
Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny
Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)
Here is your weekly horoscope…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of May 17, 2025
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
The most successful people aren’t those who merely follow their passion, but those who follow their curiosity. Honoring the guidance of our passions motivates us, but it can also narrow our focus. Heeding the call of our curiosity emboldens our adaptability, exploration, and maximum openness to new possibilities. In that spirit, Taurus, I invite you to celebrate your yearning to know and discover. Instead of aching for total clarity about your life’s mission, investigate the subtle threads of what piques your curiosity. Experiment with being an intrigued adventurer.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Gemini author Huston Smith was a religious scholar who wrote 13 books. But he was dedicated to experiencing religions from the inside rather than simply studying them academically. Smith danced with Whirling Dervishes, practiced Zen meditation with a master, and ingested peyote with Native Americans, embodying his view that real understanding requires participation, not just observation. In the spirit of his disciplined devotion, I invite you to seek out opportunities to learn through experience as much as theory. Leave your safety zone, if necessary, to engage with unfamiliar experiences that expand your soul. Be inspired by how Smith immersed himself in wisdom that couldn’t come from books alone.
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
More than 2,000 years ago, people living in what’s now the Peruvian desert began etching huge designs of animals and plants in the earth. The makers moved a lot of dirt! Here’s the mystery: Some of the gigantic images of birds, spiders, and other creatures are still visible today, but can only be deciphered from high above. And there were, of course, no airplanes in ancient times to aid in depicting the figures. Let’s use this as a metaphor for one of your upcoming tasks, Cancerian. I invite you to initiate or intensify work on a labor of love that will motivate you to survey your life from the vantage point of a bird or plane or mountaintop.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
You now have extra power to detect previously veiled patterns and hidden agendas. That’s why I urge you to be alert for zesty revelations that may seem to arrive out of nowhere. They could even arise from situations you have assumed were thoroughly explored and understood. These are blessings, in my opinion. You should expect and welcome the full emergence of truths that have been ripening below the surface of your awareness. Even if they are initially surprising or daunting, you will ultimately be glad they have finally appeared.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Renowned Virgo author Nassim Nicholas Taleb has called for the discontinuation of the Nobel Prize in Economics. He says it rewards economists who express bad ideas that cause great damage. He also delivers ringing critiques of other economists widely regarded as top luminaries. Taleb has a lot of credibility. His book The Black Swan was named one of the most influential books since World War II. I propose we make him your inspirational role model for now, Virgo. May he incite you to question authority to the max. May he rouse you to bypass so-called experts, alleged mavens, and supposed wizards. Be your own masterful authority.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I predict that your usual mental agility will be even more robust than usual in the coming weeks. Although this could possibly lead you to overthink everything, I don’t believe that’s what will happen. Instead, I suspect your extra cognitive flexibility will be highly practical and useful. It will enable you to approach problems from multiple angles simultaneously—and come up with hybrid solutions that are quite ingenious. A possibility that initially seems improbable may become feasible when you reconfigure its elements. PS: Your natural curiosity will serve you best when directed toward making connections between seemingly unrelated people and fields.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
You’re ready to go to the next evolutionary stage of a close alliance. Although you may not feel entirely prepared for the challenge, I believe you will be guided by your deeper wisdom to do what’s necessary. One way I can help is to provide exhilarating words that boost your daring spirit. With that in mind, I offer you a passage from poet William Blake. Say them to your special friend if that feels right, or find other words appropriate to your style. Blake wrote, “You are the fierce angel that carves my soul into brightness, the eternal fire that burns away my dross. You are the golden thread spun by the hand of heaven, weaving me into the fabric of infinite delight. Your love is a furnace of stars, a vision that consumes my mortal sight, leaving me radiant and undone. In your embrace, I find the gates of paradise thrown wide.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
In ancient Egypt, mirrors were composed of polished copper. To remain properly reflective, they required continual maintenance. Let’s take that as a metaphor for one of your key tasks in the coming weeks. It’s high time to do creative upkeep on your relationships with influences that provide you with feedback on how you’re doing. Are your intended effects pretty close to your actual effects? Does your self-image match the way you are perceived by others? Are you getting the right kind of input to help you stay on course?
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Chances to initiate creative transformations will come from unexpected sources in the coming days. I guarantee it. But will you be sufficiently receptive to take maximum advantage? The purpose of this horoscope is to nudge you to shed your expectations so you will be tenderly, curiously open to surprising help and inspiration. What sweet interruptions and graceful detours will flow your way if you are willing to depart from your usual script? I predict that your leadership qualities will generate the greatest good for all concerned if you are willing to relinquish full control and be flexibly eager to entertain intuitive breakthroughs.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
For many Indigenous people of California, acorns were part of every meal. Nuts from oak trees were used to create bread, soups, dumplings, pancakes, gravy, and porridge. But making them edible required strenuous work. In their natural state, they taste bitter and require multiple soakings to leach out the astringent ingredient. Is there a metaphorical equivalent for you, Aquarius? An element that can be important, but needs a lot of work, refinement, and preparation? If so, now is a good time to develop new approaches to making it fully available.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
When Pisces-born Jane Hirshfield was a young poet, she mostly stopped writing poetry for eight years. During that time, she was a full-time student of Zen Buddhism and lived for three years at a monastery. When she resumed her craft, it was infused with what she had learned. Her meditative practice had honed her observational skills, her appreciation of the rich details of daily life, and her understanding that silence could be a form of communication. In the spirit of the wealth she gathered from stillness, calm, and discipline, I invite you to enjoy your own spiritual sabbatical, dear Pisces. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to relax into the most intriguing mysteries.
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
What may appear to be slow or static is actually moving. The developing changes are imperceptible from day to day, but incrementally substantial. So please maintain your faith in the diligent, determined approach. Give yourself pep talks that renew your deeply felt motivation. Ignore the judgments and criticism of people who have no inkling of how hard you have been working. In the long run, you will prove that gradual progress can be the most enduring.
WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com
(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)
SHARE The Wisdom With Friends Who Are Stars in Your Life on Social Media…
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison
Quote of the Day: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison
Photo by: Max Harlynking
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, May 17
125 years ago today, L. Frank Baum’s first children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in the US. The first edition was printed and bound by Baum himself for presentation to his sister, Mary Louise Baum Brewster. The first 10,000 copies sold out fast, and by 1938 over a million were sold. Telling the story of a simple farm girl from Kansas being swept up by a twister and landing in a mysterious fantastical world, it was the first novel in a series that would extend up to 14 entries. READ more… (1900)
UK Dairy Company Reaches 4 Million Meals Donated – Tackling Hunger AND Food Waste with FareShare
A family-run dairy business has reached a significant milestone this week: Müller UK & Ireland donated the equivalent of four million meals through its partnership with FareShare, an ongoing effort to support low-income people across the UK by transforming surplus food into vital meals.
FareShare is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, handing out good-to-eat surplus food and donations from the food industry to a network of over 8,500 charities and community groups.
From hospices to food pantries to homelessness shelters, Müller’s consistent donations of quality dairy products, like milk and yogurts, are helping ensure that no good food goes to waste.
Müller’s relationship with FareShare forms a key part of the company’s Sustainability Action Plan, calculating that their donations reduce environmental impact but also support wellbeing.
“Our purpose goes beyond simply making dairy products: we’re here to play our part in supporting the people and communities who need it most,” said Victoria Bryant of Müller UK & Ireland. “Working with FareShare has enabled us to make a direct impact by providing nutritious dairy products to those who might otherwise go without it.”
“Müller’s ongoing support has helped us deliver millions of meals to people facing hardship (and) their contributions continue to make a real difference in lives across the country,” said Kris Gibbon-Walsh, CEO of FareShare.
The most popular dairy brand in Great Britain, Müller exports to 60 countries and employs over 32,000 workers throughout Europe, creating products with milk from over 1,000 farmers in Britain.
FareShare.org collects food donations every day and sorts them at regional warehouses across the UK.
To give you an idea of their reach, three years ago FareShare redistributed the equivalent of 128 million meals—that’s 4 meals every second. Diverting 55,000 tons of food from landfills resulted in 95,000 tons of CO2 emissions being stopped.
ALSO CHECK OUT:
• 14 Luxury Hotels Are Donating Outdated Furniture to Low-Income Families in Need
• Heinz Spent 185,000 Hours Redesigning Their Ketchup Bottle Cap to Be 100% Recyclable
• 580 Repair Shops Form a Flourishing Subculture Fixing Toasters, Electronics, Coffee Makers and Lamps
They hope the Müller milestone will spark more actions by the food industry to fight hunger and reduce waste.
GET BRITS INVOLVED By Sharing These Good Works On Social Media…
12-Year-old Taught Himself to Bake Fantastic Cakes–by Watching YouTube Videos (LOOK)
Meet the teen baker now selling his masterpieces after he taught himself to make cakes by watching YouTube videos.
Braxton Harst discovered his passion for baking at age 12, and without any formal training, he’s honed his skills by finding recipes online and recreating them.
He now makes custom cakes to order for birthdays and graduations in his community in Toledo, Ohio—selling them for anywhere from $30 to $100 each.
His goal is to raise enough money to attend a baking camp this summer in New York City.
“He’s doing such an excellent job,” said his mother Lisa Harst. “I’m so proud of him.”
Braxton asked his mom to get him a cake mix a year ago—and hasn’t stopped baking since.
“He just started seeing things online he wanted to make and kept asking—and I was, like, ‘Sure, go for it!'”
“One Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of the mixer and he was in the kitchen saying ‘I saw a recipe on YouTube Shorts and just wanted to try it!’”
Hours later he cut open the rainbow cake and was stunned by its beauty, posting the success on YouTube video:
“He says the kitchen is his happy place,” Lisa told SWNS news agency.
Braxton’s cakes have become so popular that Betty Crocker—a brand known for its wide range of cake and baking mixes—reached out and sent him supplies.
He’s now a local celebrity in his community and is scheduled to decorate a cake LIVE on-air in the coming weeks.
He’s interested in attending culinary school and dreams of owning his own bakery and baking brand someday.
“We cook a lot in our house, so there’s pride in making good food,” said his mom. “But I don’t think I’d ever baked a real cake before Braxton.
“We didn’t even own a stand mixer when he started. Now, I’ve had to rearrange our kitchen just to fit all his baking supplies and pans!”
In the video below, you can see the 13-year-old decorating a cake for a local mom celebrating her daughter’s college graduation. She gave him an inspirational photo and said her daughter’s favorite colors were pink and gold and asked him ‘make it girly’.
See all his new impressive cakes on Instagram, here. instagram.com/braxton_bakes – and watch him make his Pokemon cake below…
SHARE THE INSPIRATION With Baking Families on Social Media…
Well-Designed Gardens Help People Relax Immediately by Provoking a Wandering Gaze
Well-designed gardens help people relax straight away, as they cause viewers to look at them differently, suggests new research.
Our gaze shifts quicker and more often in such green spaces, say scientists, who believe their findings could ultimately help people affected by neurodegenerative diseases.
The international research team thinks they may have found “the key” to understanding the relaxing effects gardens can have on viewers, explaining that such gardens are specifically designed to let the viewer’s gaze wander.
To investigate what it is about those gardens that makes people feel more relaxed when viewing them, they went to the Murin-an garden in Kyoto, Japan, where they assessed the impact on the observer compared to a less maintained garden.
“Well-designed Japanese gardens have evocative and abstract sceneries designed in great detail,” said study author Professor Seiko Goto in a media release.
“These sceneries encourage the viewer to observe longer to understand the composition and meaning of the scenery, while the gaze wanders more and faster.”
Study senior author Professor Karl Herrup, a neurobiologist at the University of Pittsburgh in the US, said they found a correlation of rapid gaze shifts and a reduction in heart rate and improved mood, which may also serve as an aid for meditation.
GREAT IDEA: Village Curbs Speeding by Planting Thousands of Flowers Because Drivers Slow Down as They Pass By
“The reduction in stress experienced by viewers of a well-crafted Japanese garden is largely due to the design features that lead the viewer to engage in frequent, rapid horizontal shifts in gaze.”
During a day of maintenance in 2023, the research team was able to get undisturbed access to the Murin-an garden pictured above. Similarly, the second garden, located at Kyoto University, was unpopulated during the time they conducted the experiment there.
A total of 16 students observed both gardens for seven minutes.The researchers recorded eye movements, heart rates before and during the observation, and mood before and after viewing the gardens.
Unlike the university garden, in the Murin-an garden viewers’ fixation points were spread more widely, covering the entirety of the field of view.
Prof. Goto, a researcher at Nagasaki University in Japan who specializes in landscape architecture, said: “To induce such close attention of the viewer, not only quality of design but also quality of the maintenance is important. Viewers’ gaze keeps moving to seek more fascination on the well pruned trees and speckless ground.”
LOOK: Britain’s Best Gardening Couple Outdo Themselves With Spring Spectacular Oasis
All the participants indicated that they felt more relaxed and wanted to revisit the Murin-an garden, which they favored much more than the university garden.
The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, could have some similarities to other therapies that utilize eye movement to reduce stress.
The positioning of design elements is “crucial”. While both gardens incorporated water features, stones, trees, and a bridge, in the Murin-an garden, the viewer’s gaze is guided through horizontally arranged elements. But in the university garden, the objects of greatest interest are in the centre of the visual field.
PLANNING A GARDEN? Download a Free Native-Plant Garden Plan for Your Specific US Region
“The Murin-an garden was designed as a viewing garden that should be appreciated from a specific vantage point relative to the design elements,” said Prof. Herrup. “It is this attention to detail that coaxes the eyes into the patterns that relieve stress.”
Prof. Goto believes their work might help people affected by neurodegenerative diseases, saying it could be used as a form of therapy outside of hospitals, senior homes or women’s shelters.
ANOTHER IDEA: Ditch That Hard-to-Grow Lawn And Start Cultivating Moss, Instead
“I think it would be good if Japanese gardens are built not just as a luxury but as a means of mental care in our aging society,” she concluded.
SPREAD THE CALM By Sharing the Tips With Gardeners on Social Media…
Eating Avocados During Pregnancy is Linked to Lower Food Allergy Risk in Babies
Eating avocado during pregnancy is linked to a significantly lower food allergy risk for the babies, according to new research.
The study involving 2,272 mother-baby pairs in Finland found that tots had 44% lower odds of developing food allergies at 12 months old if their mother consumed fresh avocado while pregnant.
Decades of research have explored the relationship between maternal diet and allergies in infants, but the new study, published in the journal Pediatric Research, is the first to link avocados in the maternal diet to a lower risk of potentially deadly food allergies, which affect around one in 13 children.
“There is no cure for food allergy, but promising prevention and therapeutic strategies are in development as well as emerging research such as this,” said study author Dr. Sari Hantunen, of the University of Eastern Finland.
The research team assessed avocado intake from food questionnaire data collected from 2013 to 2022 during the mothers’ first and third trimesters.
Participants who reported eating any avocado in either trimester were defined as avocado consumers.
Infant allergic outcomes—including rhinitis, paroxysmal wheezing, and eczema—were then evaluated in children when they reached 12-months-old.
After adjusting for factors including gestational age at delivery, education, diet quality, smoking, alcohol consumption and breastfeeding, food allergy was found to be “significantly higher” in infants of non-avocado consumers (4.2%) compared to avocado consumers (2.4%).
THIS IS EXCITING: Special Toothpaste Could End Severe Peanut Reactions for People With Allergies
No associations were found for other allergic conditions when all other factors were considered.
The analysis also showed that moms who ate avocado during pregnancy tended to be older at delivery, be less likely to undergo a caesarean delivery, be a non-smoker, breastfeed for a longer duration, have higher diet quality scores, and have lower BMI levels in the first trimester.
Dr. Hantunen said findings from the study cannot establish causation or be applied to all audiences, but they “underscore” the value of avocados—even though more research is needed to understand the exact mechanism.
“Based on these findings, it’s encouraging to know that eating avocados may provide even more value to maternal and children’s health,” she said, “beyond the benefits that have already been established through scientific research.”
ALSO CHECK OUT: Healthy Gut Bacteria Can Reduce Risk of Asthma and Food Allergies in Children, Experts Discover
Avocados are known to be a nutrient-dense food, high in beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids. New research indicates that daily intake could lower bad cholesterol and is a sure way to improve gut health. Eating them twice weekly is linked with lowering heart disease by 16-22%.
In one case, a 5-year-old girl was having as many as 60 seizures per day, but now, after incorporating avocados into her diet, she now only suffers through about 4 seizures per year—after eating roughly 2 of the big-pitted fruits every day.
SPREAD THE VITAL NEWS By Sharing Pregnant Moms on Social Media…
“An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves.” – Lydia M. Child
Quote of the Day: “An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves.” – Lydia M. Child
Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, May 16
307 years ago today, Maria Agnesei was born in Milan. She is the first woman in the Western World ever to be appointed as a professor of mathematics at a university. She is credited with writing the first book discussing both differential and integral calculus. Her name is remembered most often today through her mathematical curve called the Witch of Agnesi, defined from two diametrically opposite points of a circle. READ more about the “Seven Tongued Orator”… (1718)
Woman Rescues Shark Entangled in Fishing Line With Her Bare Hands as Friend Shoots Incredible Video
Without hesitation, a woman rescued a shark tangled up in fishing rope, using her bare hands.
Charity Clark was paddle-boarding with her friends near Big Pine Key off the coast of Florida, on March 26, when they noticed a crab trap buoy behaving unusually before spotting the white outline of a shark.
The shark was upside down and motionless in the water with its body tightly wrapped—from tail to mouth—in the thick line, so Charity jumped into action.
She gently lifted the shark and began untangling yards of rope from its body. (Watch the video below…)
“It was just instinct,” said the 43-year-old photographer from Big Pine Key. “I didn’t even think twice.
“I saw this animal in distress and just knew I had to help.”
Charity believes the shark was in a tonic state, a natural, trance-like condition that makes the animal temporarily immobile—a state that allowed her to work on the rope unhindered.
She said she wasn’t scared, but let out a loud scream when the shark suddenly came to life, starting to wrestle with the rope.
LOOK AT THESE:
• Watch This Massive Ocean Sunfish Swim With Paddle Boarders Off the California Coast
• Diver Fulfills Dream to Photograph Cutest Sea Creature Ever–Discovered 30 Years Ago
• Fishermen Sacrifice Daily Catch to Rescue Huge Whale Shark Found in Their Net (WATCH)
• See the Moment a Shark Appears to Pose for a Selfie With a Diver, and Crack the Same Huge Smile
“I was so relieved when it started moving,” she said.
“We were all smiles watching it swim away. It was such a relief.”
Watch the video…
SHARE THE HEROICS With Paddle-Boarding Friends On Social Media…
Coral Reef Production is Boosted by 20 Times With Special Ink From Pink Algae That Attracts Colonies
Endangered coral reefs could be saved by a special ‘ink’, according to new research.
The bio-ink coating, called SNAP-X, was engineered by University of California scientists to help promote coral larvae settlement and restore threatened underwater ecosystems.
The new study, published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology, shows that the coating derived from algae could boost coral settlement by more than 20 times—and the research team hopes it could contribute to rebuilding coral reefs around the world.
“When people think about a coral reef, they often think about how beautiful it is,” says study author Dr. Daniel Wangpraseurt, of the University of California, San Diego. “What we sometimes forget is that coral reefs are one of the best structures in protecting our coasts.
“We are hoping to develop technologies to restore not just the ecosystem but the natural structures that will buffer shorelines against waves, storms, and floods.”
Scientists have previously tried to restore coral reefs, which have declined around the world since the mid-20th Century, mainly through planting nursery-grown corals. But Dr. Wangpraseurt says those lab-grown corals are “genetically identical” and therefore susceptible to the same threats—a warming event or a disease outbreak—that can wipe out the whole population.
“Ideally, we want to recruit corals naturally, which can introduce genetic diversity to the population and enhance their resilience,” he explained in a media release.
Enter pink algae to save the day
Biologists recently discovered that certain rocky pink algae, called crustose coralline algae (CCA), plays an important role in attracting coral larvae and encouraging them to settle on the reef. It emits metabolites into the surrounding sea, prompting coral larvae to follow those chemical signals.
LOOK: New Technology Lights Up Coral Beds to Speed Reef Restoration By Attracting Food
Inspired by that discovery, Dr. Wangpraseurt and his team developed a transparent ink material infused with metabolites derived from CCA. Dubbed SNAP-X, the ink slowly releases the natural chemical cues into seawater over the course of a month.
By applying SNAP-X to rocks or other surfaces, scientists can create an “inviting” microhabitat that helps coral larvae settle and grow the population.
The UCSD team tested SNAP-X outdoors using natural seawater and continuous water flow to simulate the ocean environment—all with great success.
They found that larvae produced by a major reef-building coral in Hawaii, Montipora capitata, were 20 times more likely to settle on substrates sprayed with SNAP-X, and the settlements became even denser when the team increased the concentration of the metabolites within the SNAP-X.
WOW: Full Recovery for Coral Reef Within 4 Years – The Speed of Restoration They Saw was ‘Incredible’
Given that some species of coral reproduce by releasing their eggs and sperm at the exact same time every year, the researchers recommend syncing SNAP-X deployment with the coral’s spawning cycle to support natural coral recruitment.
Depending on the species of coral, they say the ingredients of SNAP-X can be tweaked to include different metabolites and chemical signals.
The team is now working on methods to scale up the production of SNAP-X—and because the ink contains no living materials, they hope it will soon be approved for application in the real world.
DID YOU KNOW? Pristine Coral Reefs Discovered Are Thousands of Years Old And Teeming With Life
“It’s really exciting,” said Wangpraseurt. “I think a lot of the technologies for restoring and protecting our environment are already there, we just need to look outside the box into other fields of study.”
SHARE THE INCREDIBLE SOLUTION With Ocean Lovers on Social Media…
Giant Harry Potter Dragon Shocks Londoners as it Roars Through the Streets (WATCH)
A giant dragon that fans will recognize from a classic Harry Potter film stunned Londoners as it roared its way through the English streets.
The 25-foot-long animatronic creature appeared ‘captured’ in chains, snarling past iconic landmarks like Westminster Bridge and Big Ben. (Watch the video below…)
The theatrical stunt was staged to mark the launch of ‘Triwizard Tournament–Making of Champions’, a new exhibit at Warner Bros. Studio Tour outside London, where visitors can step into movie sets including the Great Hall, Forbidden Forest, and Diagon Alley.
‘The Making of Harry Potter’ celebrates the 20th anniversary of the cinematic release based on the book Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.
The Hungarian Horntail, which weighs in at a hefty 1.3 tons, recreates the jaw-dropping moment where Harry battles the beast in the first task of the ‘Triwizard Tournament’.
Designed by Harry Potter filmmaker and animatronic designer Joe Scott, the lifelike creature moves its head, mouth, and eyes, with roaring sound effects.
Replicating the drama of the film, the dragon’s chained journey mimicked its on-screen escape, appearing at tourist spots around the city before heading back to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour located in Hertfordshire, outside of Watford, an hour from London.
CHECK OUT: Like Indiana Jones, Archaeologists Find a Tomb with a Grail Underneath the Treasury at Petra
Crafted with a 3D printed head made of fiberglass, and 119 hand-applied spikes, its menacing mouth is lined with 38 resin-printed teeth, recreating the film’s fearsome look in painstaking detail.
Scott used original sketches, CGI mock-ups, and scans of the original movie model to guide the design process.
“Revisiting the creation of the Hungarian Horntail 20 years on from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has been magical,” he said.
“Creating the dragons for the Triwizard Tournament was no mean feat, with engineers, animatronics, designers, and the special effects teams all working together to bring them to life.
“It’s fantastic to see the craftsmanship that went into—inspiring visitors with the magic of our filmmaking secrets.”
WATCH AND GIGGLE: Jedi Student Sneaks Lightsabers Into Graduation and Challenges Principal to Battle
In the Triwizard Tournament exhibit, running from May 15 to September 8th this year, fans will be transported behind the scenes of the iconic Triwizard Tournament, discovering how the thrilling magical challenges were brought to life.
The dedicated indoor space includes a digital screen, tiered seating, and live demonstrations revealing how filmmakers created the magic.
Among the highlights is a reimagining of the arriving magical students from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang, complete with costumes and choreography. Audiences will also discover the techniques used to show Harry holding his breath underwater during the second task.
LOVE THIS: Eddie Vedder’s Quest to Help Cure a Rare Disease Subject of New Documentary
Watch the video from SWNS news agency…
FLY THE FUN Directly to Harry Potter Fans on Social Media…
Designs for Queen Elizabeth’s Memorial Reflect a ‘Quietly Monumental’ Life Close to Nature
In her 1966 Christmas address to the nation, the late Queen Elizabeth II encouraged her countrymen to “breath gentleness and care into the harsh progress of mankind.”
At the heart of the city of London, so often the historical setting for that progress, those words are reflected in the proposed designs for a memorial to honor the departed monarch.
Submitted by five of the UK’s most renowned design studios and architecture firms, the eventual winner will be revealed in 2026 to mark what would have been the Queen’s 100th Birthday.
Organized by the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, the chief aim is to design “an emotionally powerful place” in St. James’ Park that celebrates Elizabeth II’s “extraordinary life.”
One entry features a giant cast-bronze tree; another, a series of Lily pad platforms across the water, while a third consists of two intertwining bridges. A fourth looks to the nation’s past with an equestrian statue set along a tree-lined avenue, and a fifth focuses on her place at the “bedrock of the nation” by connecting a series of glades with a bridge made of literal bedrock.
But the themes are clear—bringing people together, bridging nations and divides, a love of nature.
CNN reports that landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith has proposed to digitally render a centuries-old oak found in Windsor Great Park, once the private hunting grounds of Windsor Castle that the Queen gradually turned into a public park, and cast it in bronze.
Set on a pedestal on the water, it would be visible from a curved bridge made of stones taken from all over the UK.
The centerpiece of the proposal from landscape architecture studio J&L Gibbons is a solitary stone bridge made of bedrock connecting a series of glades for “forest bathing” in the heart of London.
Also featuring bridges is the submission from WilkinsonEyre, wherein two bridges co-mingle as they span the water in St. James’ Park Lake, together representing the threads of Elizabeth II’s life. Seven different positions would feature invitations to visitors to contemplate themes of their lives and those of the Queen’s, namely family, nature and the Commonwealth.
The upper bridge would allow visitors to see some of the London skyline as well as Buckingham Palace, whilst the lower one would place them closer to the water, crowded with ducks and birds as it often is.
OTHER IMPRESSIVE ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS: Gorgeous Suspension Bridge Set for Completion in 2025 Will Make History Immediately – (LOOK)
Heatherwick Studio proposed an ambitious entry it described as “quietly monumental” like the Queen’s life—with a lily-themed bridge at its heart and featuring a lily-themed canopy.
The Queen looks gently out at the water from an equestrian memorial statue in the center of the bridge under the canopies, is surrounded by plants she loved, and 70 limestone Lily pads to represent her 70-year reign.
All photos released by Malcolm Reading Consultants.
SHARE The Nation’s Best Designers And Their Ideas For The Queen’s Memorial…
“It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars, and then back to the tide pool.” – John Steinbeck
Quote of the Day: “It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars, and then back to the tide pool.” – John Steinbeck
Photo by: Intricate Explorer (La Jolla, California)
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Good News in History, May 15
628 years ago today, one of the most august figures in East Asian history was born—Sejong the Great—scientist, reformer, and engineer of the Korean alphabet, Hangul. The historic record indicates he had an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and was extremely effective at translating that knowledge into real-world improvements in the welfare of his people, both rich and poor. Among the inventions and products he either commissioned or himself made a reality, there was a new calendar specifically for Korea, a new printing press, medical and agriculture textbooks to be distributed to average people, one of the world’s first rain gauges, hundreds of musical arrangements, some of which are still performed as repertoire today, 100 days’ maternity leave for mothers and 30 days for fathers, and sophisticated gunpowder weaponry. READ about his crowning achievement… (1397)
Packet of Fungi Inside New Diapers Breaks Them Down in Landfill Turning it to Mycelium
Recent discoveries in microbial digestion of plastic have finally left the lab and entered the real world in the form of HIRO diapers, the world’s first diaper manufactured to be eaten by fungi.
Every year, over 18 billion diapers are discarded into US landfills—and if they aren’t manufactured with natural cellulose, then they’re going to be there for 500 years, leaking microplastics and chemicals into the soil.
With that unfortunate truth out of the way, dig this dirty great news: a pair of serial entrepreneurs have developed diapers designed to be broken down into soil by fungi, and they’re practically flying off the shelves.
Each HIRO MycoDigestible Diaper comes with a small packet of shelf-stable, plastic-eating fungi. Parents simply throw the packet away with the used diaper—no extra steps required.
Once the diaper reaches a landfill, the fungi activate in the presence of moisture and begin to break down the diaper’s materials from the inside out. These fungi secrete enzymes that target and sever the carbon bonds in plastic, transforming the waste into mycelium and nutrient-rich soil over time.
“The response has been nothing short of electric. People are hungry for real solutions, and this one hits home—both literally and globally,” said Tero Isokauppila, co-founder of HIRO Technologies and pioneer in the now-$2.7 billion global mushroom coffee industry.
“If we can break down a diaper, we can break down anything. Once we’ve gained enough market share, we can partner with other brands and bring this technology to the world.”
SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES: New Enzyme Discovery is Another Leap Towards Dissolving Plastic Waste With ‘Amazing Efficiency’
Unlike traditional end-of-life methods that require high energy inputs or create harmful emissions, HIRO’s fungi-powered solution is scalable, sustainable, and truly circular.
While plastic-eating fungi were first discovered by scientists over a decade ago, their potential has remained locked in labs—until now. HIRO has pioneered a commercial, shelf-stable fungi technology that targets plastic at a molecular level, breaking it down into soil and mycelium, the root system of fungi.
BREAKING DOWN BABY WASTE: These Baby Shoes Dissolve In Water After Your Infant Outgrows Them, Saving Space in Landfills
“It’s literally in mushrooms’ DNA to break down complex carbon materials,” explains Isokauppila, saying that when they first evolved on Earth, they broke down rocks long before ever bothering a tree. “They already break down lignin which has a similar carbon backbone to plastics. We’ve simply re-trained them to do what they already kind of knew how to do.”
At the moment the diapers are available on a subscription basis that includes a week’s supply, plus wet wipes and the fungal spore packets for $35 per week.
WATCH an explainer video…
SHARE These Biodegradable Diapers The Any Eco-Conscious Parents In Your Life…