🌞 Video games for good

Just a heads up, this edition of the Good Newsletter includes several stories about very cute animals.

Proceed with caution.

This week, I wanted to introduce you to Next Level Collaboration (NLC), which is a social start-up that helps neurodivergent kids learn how to navigate the online world safely.

They’ve just launched ‘SafePlay,’ which is a program that helps neurodivergent kids aged 8-15 “experience the joy of play while developing important social and digital skills all within a space designed for their needs”. SafePlay is also created and facilitated by neurodivergent adults.

When explaining the role of the new program, NLC co-founder Dr Matthew Harrison compared the online gaming world, saying: “You can have a fence and a lifeguard… you also need to teach children how to swim,” adding that SafePlay equips children with skills needed to navigate online activities. 

His co-founder, Jess Rowlings, said that SafePlay also gives parents “peace of mind, knowing their child is supported by facilitators who understand neurodivergence”.

Two pandas have food on a table in a zoo in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday as much as these guys!

Tomorrow is Kukur Tihar, the second day of Nepal’s Tihar Festival, their festival of light. 

Kukur Tihar celebrates and worships dogs, pets and strays alike. People adorn the dogs with garlands, and shower them with love and gifts to honour their loyalty and companionship. 

I mean…

The Queensland courts have a new employee, and it’s already everyone’s favourite.

Court Dog Leo was sworn in this week in Brisbane, becoming the first Queensland court dog. Leo and his handler were trained by Guide Dogs Australia and were funded by Queensland Law Society and the Family Law Practitioners Association of Queensland.

Chief Justice of the Federal and Family Court of Australia, William Alstergren said: “Leo’s presence will greatly assist children and vulnerable litigants to feel safer and calmer when at court.”

Court dogs are used to minimise stress in courts, with research saying they help reduce stress and anxiety, while improving the sense of calm.

Parenting’s already a full-time gig – feeding your baby shouldn’t add to the stress

That’s where Little Harvesters comes in. These purees are packed with bone broth, healthy fats, and superfoods (aka all the good stuff for growing brains), without the sugar overload you’ll find in most supermarket pouches. Real food, real nutrition, no guilt required.

One way to combat the Sunday Scaries (apart from reading this newsletter, of course) is to have something to look forward to on Monday.

You’re in luck, because the Aussie Bird Count - Australia’s largest citizen scientist event - starts tomorrow. 

The Aussie Bird Count is a way to spend time in nature, improve your mental health and contribute to science, and the best part? 

It takes only 20 minutes.

All you have to do is spend 20 minutes outside, count the birds you see and report it to the Aussie Bird Count app, which also has a bird-finder tool. 

You can submit as many times as you want, and no, you don’t need to be a professional - anyone can do it!

An image of the world's rarest hyena species (which took a decade to capture) has won the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Organisers received more than 60,000 entries from around the world for this year’s competition.

South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever captured the overall winner with his picture of a rare brown hyena outside an abandoned town in Namibia. van den Heever said the shot took him “10 years to finally get... in the most perfect frame imaginable.”

It’s estimated that fewer than 10,000 brown hyenas are left in southern Africa. The species is listed as “near threatened”.

Without further ado…

Pretty incredible!

This week, Rosa, TDA’s editorial coordinator, told the office about her knitting club, and it was too wholesome not to share.

“I went to my friend's 'Yarn Club' last night, and it was the most wonderful way to spend a weeknight evening. At Yarn Club (as the name implies), we practice our knitting, crocheting or any craft that utilises yarn (the material), and yarn (speak) about anything and everything going on in our lives. It was the perfect way to decompress after a day of work.”

We love to see it.