Welcome to the Good News Roundup for October 19, 2026
A little garden making a big difference for butterflies
A Chicago woman has transformed her family home into a sanctuary for monarch butterflies, planting native milkweed and wildflowers to support them on their nearly 5,000 kilometre migration to Mexico.
Claudia Galeno-Sánchez’s efforts have now grown into eight native planting projects across her neighbourhood and local schools, creating vital habitats for butterflies and other pollinators.
Through her nonprofit ‘Women for Green Spaces’ she is also working to partner with schools across Chicago to teach children about conservation, while providing plants and support to local community gardens.
Learn more about the butterflies here.
Australian solar innovation takes top design award
An innovative Australian technology is opening the door to solar power for more apartment residents, taking out the top honour at the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards.
Developed by Melbourne based Allume Energy, SolShare allows electricity generated by a shared rooftop solar system to be distributed across multiple apartments, removing the need for separate installations.
The clever solution also won the sustainability award, highlighting how thoughtful design can make renewable energy more accessible and help create a greener future.
Read more about this innovation here.
Tortoises make a giant comeback
Once reduced to fewer than 1,000, giant tortoises on the Seychelles’ remote Aldabra Atoll are making an incredible comeback, with new research estimating their population at almost 183,000.
Decades of dedicated conservation efforts have helped protect the species, with the atoll now home to the world’s largest population of free roaming giant tortoises, outnumbering even the human population of the Seychelles!
The latest findings highlight what long term environmental protection can achieve, offering an encouraging conservation success story for one of the world’s most iconic species.
Read more about the tortoises here.
Six-year-old DJ’s her way into the Guiness World Record books
Meet Illumi Maeda from Japan, who has officially become the world’s youngest female club DJ at just 6 years and 99 days old!
Having started DJing at age 6, Illumi earned her Guinness World Records title after performing a set lasting over an hour at a club in Yokohama, Japan.
The young music lover now dreams of performing at festivals around the world, breaking more records and even opening her own ice cream shop where she can DJ.
Watch Illumi perform her set here.
