[Ammi]

A Dutch nursing home has found a brilliant, mutually beneficial model: free housing for college students in exchange for companionship with elderly residents.

At Humanitas in Deventer, students live rent-free-with one condition: spend at least 30 hours a month connecting with residents through conversation, shared meals, and simply showing up.

This intergenerational living setup doesn’t just tackle loneliness-it boosts mental well-being, breaks down age-related stereotypes, and gives everyone involved a greater sense of purpose.

I will always promote the importance of having a life full of loving relationships of all kinds; platonic relationships feed our souls too

[bots]

Two bears who sparked the evacuation of a wildlife park involving trained firearms staff and police had headed straight for the honey store, the park has said.

Wildwood Devon, a conservation charity near Exeter, said European brown bears Mish and Lucy made their way to the food store after breaking free - and then consumed a "week's worth of honey".

The park was evacuated after the alarm was raised at about 15:00 BST on Monday - 16 people including children were locked into a play barn for their safety.

Mark Habben, director of zoological operations at Wildwood Trust, said emergency procedures were deployed and the public was "not in harm's way".

The trust has now launched an investigation into how the pair of "young bears", weighing about 180kg (397lb) each, escaped as there were no signs of enclosure damage, it said.

Mr Habben said: "Both bears are extremely happy. The team were very, very calm, as were the bears at all points.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrxn4x7yx2o

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by bots

Two bears who sparked the evacuation of a wildlife park involving trained firearms staff and police had headed straight for the honey store, the park has said.

Wildwood Devon, a conservation charity near Exeter, said European brown bears Mish and Lucy made their way to the food store after breaking free - and then consumed a "week's worth of honey".

The park was evacuated after the alarm was raised at about 15:00 BST on Monday - 16 people including children were locked into a play barn for their safety.

Mark Habben, director of zoological operations at Wildwood Trust, said emergency procedures were deployed and the public was "not in harm's way".

The trust has now launched an investigation into how the pair of "young bears", weighing about 180kg (397lb) each, escaped as there were no signs of enclosure damage, it said.

Mr Habben said: "Both bears are extremely happy. The team were very, very calm, as were the bears at all points.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrxn4x7yx2o

….ahhhhh, I read this story yesterday……all’s well that ends well and when honey is in the local area, they should always be pre-beared and ready for the breakout…I’m glad all are safe, though…these stories/events can sometimes end tragically….

[AnnieK]

Please stop discussing other members. Keep it to actual good news

[bots]

I don't think Mish and Lucy are members here yet

[Ammi]

Man left paralysed by shooting takes on marathon…


A Londoner left paralysed from the waist down after being shot in the back and told by doctors he would never walk again is preparing to take on the London Marathon.
Darren Awol was targeted in an unprovoked attack in Anerley, south-east London in 2011. His attacker has never been found.
The former Post Office cashier from Bromley, south-east London, said he had contemplated suicide during long periods of feeling "dark and gloomy" before he "had a conversation with myself" and "built my self confidence".
He said: "Your limitations are as far as you allow them to be: it's not about the medal but being able to do something I never thought I'd be able to."
'Gym is therapy'
He added: "My whole thing is just whatever you're going through, believe in yourself and rely on yourself because ultimately you've only got yourself."
During Sunday's race, the 42-year-old will be supported by his brother and a physiotherapist he met during his first three months of treatment.
He uses elbow crutches and has splints on each leg to remain balanced but can't feel as much on the left side of his body.

The south-east Londoner plans to walk at the start and end of the race and along the Embankment and Tower Bridge. He will use a wheelchair for the rest of the route.
"It's been daunting because I haven't been in wheelchair for 10 or 11 years so going back to learn how to use a wheelchair has been hard," he said.
"I'll be so happy to cross that line – it's about raising awareness for the next person.
"I want people to think: a guy who defied all the odds did it and they can do it and turn up for themselves."

He revealed his son, who was aged just two at the time he was shot, was his "biggest motivation" to recover.
He said: "It gave me the momentum to see me walking again.
"Going to the gym is therapy for me: movement is a wonderful medicine.
"If we can uplift each other and change someone's life, it's free. No matter what I go through mentally and physically, I show up for life."
The money he raises will go towards opening a unit for people to train with spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis, strokes and cerebral palsy.

Spoiler:

[Ammi]

Tortoise found 2.8 miles from home after 16 days on the run…


A runaway tortoise was found nearly three miles from home, 16 days after escaping from its pen in Devon.

Shelly the leopard tortoise vanished from Shillingford Abbot, near Exeter on July 9.

The 40lb reptile was then discovered near The Orange Elephant ice cream parlour, close to the A379 near Kennford, some 2.8 miles away as the crow flies.

Nick Phillips, Shelly’s owner, said: “She was spotted by the farmer, who thought she was a big rock. Luckily, he realised rocks don’t usually move and gave us a call.”

The family had looked for the tortoise in verges, undergrowth and local woods, and used thermal imaging to try and spot her.

Mr Phillips said Shelley’s appetite had diminished after returning home, adding: “We tried runner beans, cabbage, cucumber, the full monty. She wasn’t interested. I’ve no idea what she’s been eating, but clearly it wasn’t salad.”

Mr Phillips’s daughter Becky said: “She’s quite big and can travel nearly a mile a day. It seems people don’t know what to do when they see a tortoise on the loose, because she was just left there.

“We think she escaped by clawing under the chicken wire of her pen.”

Spoiler:

[Mystic Mock]

At least she's safe now.
@Ammi

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Mystic Mock

At least she's safe now.
@Ammi

……yes, her days on the run are over for now…which is the story in a shell, Mock…

[Mystic Mock]

Originally Posted by Ammi

……yes, her days on the run are over for now…which is the story in a shell, Mock…

I like the pun.

[Mystic Mock]

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/a-po...-about-soccer/

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Mystic Mock

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/a-po...-about-soccer/

…so sweet…..thank you for that, Mock…..

[bots]

A wasp riding a broomstick

[Mystic Mock]

Originally Posted by Ammi

…so sweet…..thank you for that, Mock…..

We need more genuinely good stories like that one being talked about in the world.

Which is why I do like this thread as it cuts out the fakeness that MSM headlines tend to create.

[Ammi]

[Ammi]

[Ammi]

[Ammi]

In Japan’s Ako City, vending machines have leveled up for emergencies.

When an earthquake or severe disaster strikes, they automatically unlock, giving people free access to food, water, and survival gear.

These machines are packed with drinks, instant meals, masks, and even portable toilets, making sure communities have what they need when disaster hits.

[Benjamin]

Teen’s iPhone Called 911 by Itself After Severe Crash, Saves Her Life


Lindsay’s vehicle after the crash – credit, supplied by the Leskovacs

A tragedy suffered, an even greater tragedy avoided: that’s the narrative on Laura Leskovac’s mind since her daughter was seriously injured in a car crash.

The greater tragedy? What would have almost certainly happened had her daughter Lindsay not had the crash detection feature activated on her iPhone 14.

Falling asleep at the wheel and obliterating her car against two poles and a tree, the phone knew what had happened and immediately called 911 emergency services.

“The person from the fire and rescue told me that 911 said the phone initiated the call, so I looked further into that to find out…” Laura told ABC 21 WFMJ. “And I discovered that iPhones […] have an automatic crash detection on it, if you have the setting on.”

Laura said the phone was connected to 911 for 22 minutes, during which Lindsay, who broke both her femurs, as well as bones in her pelvis, hips, and cervical spinal region, managed to help the paramedics find her location where she lay trapped under the car.

“We’re so blessed that she’s alive; it’s a miracle. We’re also blessed that there’s no paralysis,” Laura said.

The mother added her daughter has a long road to recovery, but that the most important thing was that she had the technology and that it was activated, for otherwise, there may have been no road left at all for the teenager.

If you have an iPhone 14 or newer, you too can activate the detection system by scrolling down to Emergency SOS under the settings menu and activating Crash Detection. From that menu, you can also select which number it is your phone should automatically dial—911 in most cases—although you can change it—for example to an embassy number if you’re traveling out of country.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/this...aves-her-life/

[Benjamin]

Tooth Is Implanted in 34-year-old’s Eye to Restore His Vision After Two Decades

There’s an old Babylonian/Biblical legal maxim that goes, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

For Canadian Brent Chapman, his new maxim is “a tooth for an eye,” because he has become the first in his country ever to receive an osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis.

If your Latin is on point, you’ll realize that translates to a tooth-in-eye prosthetic—literally Chapman’s tooth has been surgically implanted into his eye to act as a lens fixture which has enabled him to see again.

It’s considered a last resort, and after 50 surgical transplants and procedures, that’s where Chapman was alongside his dedicated ophthalmological surgeon Dr. Greg Moloney, who has been putting Chapman under the knife since he was a teenager.

Now 34, Brent suffered a rare reaction to ibuprofen at age 13 that left severe burns on his cornea. The cornea acts like a windscreen, keeping debris and liquids out of the eyeball while allowing light to penetrate and reach the retina and optic nerve, but the burns permanently obscured the vision in his right eye while his left was lost entirely to infection.

The tooth-in-eye surgery is rare; very rare—so rare that despite being pioneered in the 1960s Chapman’s procedure is the very first ever done in Canada. According to Dr. Moloney, it’s turned to when all other options have already been tried and failed, or the initial damage to the cornea is so substantial that ophthalmologists know there’s no chance conventional replacements or grafts will succeed.

The tooth is chosen because it’s made of the hardest material produced by the body. A hole is drilled through the canine tooth and a hi-tech lens is fitted inside. The tooth is then attached to the cheek through the eye, and an aperture to the retina and optic nerve is created so that the light can enter the lens and reach it.

With glasses Chapman has about 20/30 vision, meaning at 20 feet he can see clearly what someone with perfect vision can see at 30.

Dr. Moloney spoke with CNN about the procedure, the bizarre sense in it, and the effect it has on people.

“The tooth is a really ideal structure for holding a focusing element in place. It’s hard, it’s rigid, it survives in poor environments, and the body accepts it because it’s part of its own,” said the corneal surgeon from the University of British Columbia. “It’s like watching people come out of a time capsule and reintroduce themselves to the world, it’s very emotional for us.”

Chapman agreed.

“It’s really indescribable, to be able to see the whole city and how there’s a whole world that’s just intersecting,” said the professional massage therapist, looking out at Vancouver from Moloney’s office on the 16th floor.

He can’t wait to “not make everything about me,” go to Japan, and not have to worry about plans falling through or piling various medications and emergency contacts into his luggage and phone in case his vision fails again.

“It was so unpredictable, I would make these plans, and it would be heartbreaking when I couldn’t do them,” he told CNN.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/toot...r-two-decades/

[Ammi]

Green turtle brought back from brink of extinction…

The green turtle is back from the brink of extinction in a major victory for conservationists.

Populations have recovered so much its status has been downgraded from “endangered” to “least concern” in an update to the official red list compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) .

Numbers have increased by more than a quarter since the 1970s as a result of focused conservation efforts to reduce hunting and egg-harvesting for food.

The species is of vital importance to its native habitat of tropical coral reefs but it almost became extinct after English sailors discovered its meat was delicious and turtle soup became a sought after dish in the UK in the 18th century.

Roderic Mast of the IUCN said: “The ongoing global recovery of the green turtle is a powerful example of what coordinated global conservation, over decades, can achieve to stabilise and even restore populations of long-lived marine species.

“Sea turtles cannot survive without healthy oceans and coasts and humans can’t either. Sustained conservation efforts are key to assuring that this recovery lasts.”

Other positives from the updated list include the tiger showing signs that its decline has been slowed. It is still endangered and extinct in nine of the 24 areas in its traditional range but there are signs that protection efforts are working.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/green-turt...152708807.html

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Ammi

Green turtle brought back from brink of extinction…

The green turtle is back from the brink of extinction in a major victory for conservationists.

Populations have recovered so much its status has been downgraded from “endangered” to “least concern” in an update to the official red list compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) .

Numbers have increased by more than a quarter since the 1970s as a result of focused conservation efforts to reduce hunting and egg-harvesting for food.

The species is of vital importance to its native habitat of tropical coral reefs but it almost became extinct after English sailors discovered its meat was delicious and turtle soup became a sought after dish in the UK in the 18th century.

Roderic Mast of the IUCN said: “The ongoing global recovery of the green turtle is a powerful example of what coordinated global conservation, over decades, can achieve to stabilise and even restore populations of long-lived marine species.

“Sea turtles cannot survive without healthy oceans and coasts and humans can’t either. Sustained conservation efforts are key to assuring that this recovery lasts.”

Other positives from the updated list include the tiger showing signs that its decline has been slowed. It is still endangered and extinct in nine of the 24 areas in its traditional range but there are signs that protection efforts are working.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/green-turt...152708807.html

You know how much I love turtles

[Ammi]

…and what about cats, is there enough love for them also…?…

Amsterdam is building tiny staircases to help cats exit its canals…

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-b2800234.html

[Ammi]

Denmark to abolish tax on books to tackle decline in
reading among young people…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crm48mvl33ro

[Ammi]

A 7-year delayed dam project in czech republic was completed by
beavers in 2 days, saving £1m…

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/a...czech-republic


…some of these stories are a bit earlier in the year but still…good news is good news…