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Category: Interesting Stories/Info

Here We Have Some Interesting Stories For Those Who Love To Hear A Story AND Some Interesting INFO Posts As Well For Those With An Enquiring Mind.

Published on Leave a comment on Outback Sees Biggest Budgie Event In 10 Years – You Should See The Photos And Video!

ABC Alice Springs  By Emma Haskin and Alex Barwick 1st August 2021

Thousands of brilliant budgerigars are flocking to the Australian outback thanks to perfect breeding conditions across the country. Mark Carter, Alice Springs bird watcher and trained zoologist, said that the region has not had a budgie event this big in 10 years.

"There was an event in 2016 which was localised to certain areas," Mr Carter said.

Wonders Of Nature – Show Of Budgies – Australia

"This event involves huge number of birds across the landscape," he said.

Mr Carter said it was hard to comprehend how many birds there were out there at the moment.

"If you do the maths on how many budgies are out there across the landscape, it's mind-boggling,"

He said that there are a few factors as to why the numbers have exploded.

Budgies Love To Flock At Dams Water Holes - 2

"It's a combination of things: We had rain at the perfect time here and they bred up in other parts of Australia and gathered here," he said.

Mr Carter said that those budgies subsequently have stayed and continued to breed resulting in extraordinary numbers across the region.

He said that there was an abundance of food thanks to low cattle numbers and the budgies have "cashed in on that".…

Published on Leave a comment on Hopes WA-First Trial Of Tiny Houses Will Help The Homeless In Bunbury

ABC South West WA / By Jacqueline Lynch May 2021

A WA-first trial of tiny houses for homeless people is being launched in regional West Australia this week, as the state grapples with how to deal with the ongoing issue of people sleeping rough.

Three tiny, transportable houses have been built on a block of land in Bunbury, in the state's South West, to house people who have been homeless for a long time.

See These Beautiful Tiny Houses Made For Homeless People In Bunbury WA

A WA-first trial of tiny houses for homeless people is being launched in regional West Australia this week, as the state grapples with how to deal with the ongoing issue of people sleeping rough.

Three tiny, transportable houses have been built on a block of land in Bunbury, in the state's South West, to house people who have been homeless for a long time.

Accordwest CEO Evan Nunn said the tenants would be able to stay in the units for up to six months while support staff helped them transition to long-term, stable housing.

"Up to 20 people over the next three years will get the benefit of the tiny houses," he said.…

Published on Leave a comment on Iceland’s Four-Day Working Week Trials An ‘Overwhelming Success’ Report Finds

Four Related Articles In This Post For Good Measure!

Trials of a four-day working week in Iceland have been lauded an "overwhelming success", with research revealing the initiative helped increase productivity, and led to an overall improvement in workers' wellbeing.

The trials, run by Reykjavík City Council and the Icelandic government, were held between 2015 and 2019, and ultimately included more than 2,500 workers — or about one per cent of Iceland's working population.

As part of the project, employees from a range of professions — including offices, kindergartens, social service providers and hospitals — moved from a 40-hour working week, to a 35 or 36-hour working week, but received the same pay.

Research into the trials, published this month by researchers from the UK think tank Autonomy and Iceland's Association for Sustainable Democracy (Alda), noted that following the trials' success, trade unions "achieved permanent reductions in working hours for tens of thousands of their members across the country".

In total, roughly 86 per cent of Iceland’s entire working population has "now either moved to working shorter hours or have gained the right to shorten their working hours", the report found, adding that such reductions were won in contracts negotiated between 2019 and 2021.…

Published on Leave a comment on Could Tiny Homes Idea Solve Australia’s Housing Crisis At Same Time As Its Building Skills Shortage?

By David Chen  - ABC Southern Queensland June 2021

The future tradie's gaming console and couch might one day reside in a tiny house, like the one being built from scratch in a training program run by Toowomba-based not-for-profit, DGT Training and Employment.

"It's portable, its useful, you can store things in it, you can use it as second kitchen, second bedroom, back room for gaming, there's many different uses."

DGT Training CEO Kris McCue says the idea of using a tiny house to train students came after talks with local charities. (ABC Southern Qld: David Chen)

DGT CEO Kris McCue said he believed tiny homes could not only train the next generation of tradies but could also provide a short-term solution to regional Australia's housing and skills shortages.

"Rental vacancies are below 1 per cent in many, many areas — things like a tiny home can be a good, you know, shorter-term solution for that," he said.

"Also, young people moving out [for] their first time – it might not be achievable in this market, but putting a tiny home on the back of a block of their parents' home could essentially give people their own independence.

"I guess the ultimate thing for me would be for someone to participate in a training program to build a tiny home to get a job … and then to live in a tiny home that they'd built.…

Published on Leave a comment on An Interesting Love Story Growing For Nearly 100 Years – Citrus Orchard

ABC Wide Bay / By Brad Marsellos  2021

Nearly 100 years ago, an orange tree was planted on the banks of the Burnett River near Gayndah in south-east Queensland that would grow into a story of love. 

Walter Benham planted that tree in 1924, and four generations later the legacy continues with a family partnership and around 70,000 citrus trees.

Rachael Benham started making citrus products after advice from her grandma. (ABC Wide Bay: Brad Marsellos)

Like something from the pages of a Spanish romance novel, rolling plains filled with fruit-heavy trees and the occasional rocky outcrop, the Beyenda Citrus farm remains home to the Benham family.

The family now grows grapefruit, lemons, mandarins as well oranges for export and the Australian market on the picturesque property.

Rachael Benham was not born a citrus farmer like her husband and fourth-generation grower, Matt. She grew up on a western Queensland livestock farm.

The couple met at university and Ms Benham went from animal science to living on an orchard. 

Eleven years and two children later, Ms Benham still feels she has a lot to learn from the family with "orange juice flowing in their veins".

"Trees are a little different, they don't move and they don't kick, run away or need mustering," she says.…

Published on Leave a comment on New Australian Marine Parks Will Protect an Area Twice the Size of the Great Barrier Reef

From Mongabay News Website May 2021

The Australian government has moved to create two new marine protected areas that cover an expanse of ocean twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The two parks will be established around Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean to the northwest of continental Australia. The new parks cover 740,000 square kilometers (286,000 square miles) of ocean.

Lets Protect More Ocean Life In Australia

The decision was immediately welcomed by conservation groups.

“Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are uniquely Australian and globally significant – there’s nowhere like them on Earth,” said Michelle Grady, Director of The Pew Charitable Trusts, in a statement. “Most famous for its annual red crab migration, Christmas Island was referred to as one of the 10 natural wonders of the world by David Attenborough himself. Its thriving rainforests, deserted beaches and fringing reef provide a haven for unique and rare seabirds, land crabs and marine life.”

“Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are recognized as globally significant standout natural wonders,” added Darren Kindleysides, CEO of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, in a statement. “Oceans across the globe are in deep trouble from pollution, overfishing, habitat loss and the very real and immediate impacts of climate change.…

Published on Leave a comment on Indian Man Opens ‘Rice ATM’ For People in Need–Using $75k Life Savings to Help Others

By Judy Cole Jan 2021

Ramu Dosapati earns his living as a corporate HR executive, but it’s the selfless spin he’s put on “human resources” in his private life that makes him truly remarkable.

Ramu Dosapati's Selfless Acts Toward His Fellowman Is So Refreshing To Hear About In A Selfish Generation Today.

In 2020, hardships brought on by heavy flooding and compounded by the added limitations of the COVID-19 lockdown left many migrant workers in the Hyderabad region of India stranded without means of support. Dosapati, who lives with his family there, has made it his mission to ensure the area’s struggling workers won’t go without food and other essential items.

To ease the migrant workers’ burden, Dosapati has spent ₹50 lakh of his own funds (close to $61,000) to establish and run a ‘Rice ATM’, doling out rice and other necessities 24 hours a day, seven days a week to those in need.

His first step along the road to altruism began simply enough, but he had no way of knowing then just how far his journey would take him, and the amount of good he would do along the way.

Dosapati had gone to the store to pick up the makings for his son’s birthday dinner.…

Published on Leave a comment on Scientists in Malaysia: Are Forgotten Crops The Future Of Food? BBC

Just four crops - wheat, maize, rice and soybean - provide two-thirds of the world’s food supply. But scientists in Malaysia are trying to change that by reviving crops that have been relegated to the sidelines.

Malaysian Scientists Intentions To Diversify Main
Food Crops

On a small fruit farm near the Straits of Malacca Lim Kok Ann is down to just one tree growing kedondong, a crunchy, tart berry that Malaysians mostly use in pickles and salads. “It’s not very well-known,” says the 45-year-old, who is instead focusing on longan berries and pineapples, which have bigger markets. For a smallholder like Lim, demand for kedondong would have to grow rapidly to justify scaling up his business. “We have to grow what is profitable,” he says.

But less than an hour away in the Malaysian countryside, inside three giant, sleek and silver domes, scientists are trying to change the future of food. They’re pushing the boundaries of what humans eat by growing and processing so-called ‘alternative’ crops – such as kedondong.

At the headquarters of global research centre Crops For the Future (CFF) this particular under-used fruit has been turned into an effervescent, sugar-free juice, high in vitamin C and getting top marks in sensory evaluations.…

Published on Leave a comment on Bionic Eye As Sensitive As The Human Retina May Give Sight to Millions

By Andy Corbley - May 30, 2020

Almost as sensitive as real human eyes, a recent paper in Nature published the trials of a bionic eye developed by a team of robotics engineers that could restore sight to an estimated 285 million blind people.

Bionic Eye To Restore Vision

Hypothesized to be available in 5 years the EC-EYE—short for ElectroChemical EYE—is inspired by the human retina, which is one of the most sensitive tissues we possess, providing up to 80% of all information about our surroundings. If you have been noticing any issues with you eye health, like dry eyes, then consider making an appointment for dry eye treatment as soon as possible. For those who stare at a computer screen for too long, consider trying out these Felix Gray glasses so you can have better eye care throughout the day.

The visual prosthetic developed by engineers from Hong Kong and the U.S. offers hope to the hundreds of millions of people around the world that have lost their ability to see due to things like age-related macular degeneration and BB gun accidents.

The bionic eye mimics the domed-shape of the human retina which sharpens the focus and reduces the spread of light as it passes through ten million photoreceptive cells per square centimeter.…

Published on Leave a comment on Trailblazing Gardener Discovers How to Grow Vegetables in Winter – Now He’s Helping Others Do The Same

By Andy Corbley -Jun 24, 2020

An Austrian farmer has experienced a trailblazing “eureka moment” on how to grow vegetables throughout the winter—and he is now teaching his technique to other European gardening communities as well.

Winter Gardening Workshops Overseas

According to a recent interview with Reasons to Be Cheerful, horticulturist Wolfgang Palme says he accidentally discovered his “winter farming” technique after a batch of his Asian lettuce was left undamaged by an early frost in the vegetable fields behind his house in Lower Austria.

The temperature had dropped to -11º Celsius (12º Fahrenheit), and although the crop is generally frost-resistant to temperatures of -3 or so, the lettuce—and Palme’s other vegetables—had survived the cold.

Palme, who is head of the Research Institute of Horticulture in Austria, was puzzled by the agricultural phenomenon. Upon doing some digging on why his vegetables may have survived the cold snap, the horticulturist found that the existing scientific literature on the frost-hardiness of Central European vegetables was just wrong… so he started to make it right.

The result is that Zinsenhof, the experimental farm where Palme conducts his research, now grows lettuce, spinach, scallions, red radishes, purslane, lacinato kale, turnips, carrots, celery, herbs, and pea sprouts throughout the winter.…