Did anything go right in September?
Spoiler alert: yes! Here's 10 stories of progress from the month (and some extra bonuses).
Another month has come and gone. Only three left in 2025.
Looking back, it might feel bleak. But even without much of the spotlight or recognition, so many people continue to work relentlessly on planting the seeds that will make the future better.
Here’s the top 10 stories of progress from September that you probably didn’t hear about, but should…
10 - The last captive elephant in Argentina was released into a sanctuary as the nation closes down their zoos.
The 13,000-pound beauty named Kenya is the final one to move from living alone in a zoo to now exploring thousands of wild acres across the Global Sanctuary for Elephants in Brazil. At 40 years old, she marks the end of an era thanks to a law from 2016 which requires zoos across the nation to close or transform into ecoparks, and relocate exotic animals to sanctuaries or rescue centers.
9 - Boston’s program to convert empty offices into affordable homes had its first set of residents move in.
The program started in 2023 and gives big tax deductions for buildings who make this switch. SO far there are about 825 units either completed or in the pipeline, with the goal of housing at least 1,500 people by the end of next year. Seems like a no-brainer to use this empty space to get shelter for those who need it!
8 - A plane powered by wings covered in solar panels broke a record by reaching 9,521 meters on a 5 hour flight over the Swiss Alps.
That’s 31,237 feet high, an unofficial record powered entirely by electricity generated through solar panels on top of the plane’s wings. Maybe this shows what the future of air travel could become... Apparently, they’re working with officials to make the record official too.
7 - A secondhand shopping mall in Sweden with products donated by the public in a circular economy model turned 10 years old.
The experiment to start a mall with nearly everything sold being secondhand was big, bold, and makes total sense. 10 years in, it’s a big sign that circular models, where items continued to be used and re-used over and over again, have a place in this world. And excess waste does not!
6 - The first baby bison calf was born in the White Earth Nation’s program to restore populations to Indigenous Lands.
The little bison’s birth was both historic and unexpected, and they weren’t anticipating any births until next year. But sometimes, nature can’t wait, and this program is bringing some long overdue justice to the native animals and inhabitants to these lands in Minnesota.
5 - Ultra processed foods will be banned in Californian school meals per a new law swapping in natural foods that will still be free for students.
Not only will these foods be banned, but they’ll also finally be defined. Ultra processed has a loose definition currently, but is essentially foods that are full of additives, thickeners, stabilizers, sweeteners, dyes, and fats that all make the food more addictive and satisfying. This encourages us to eat too much of them. Natural foods are healthier, less addictive, and will help these students thrive.
4 - A 97-year-old landlord passed away and donated all of his 20 units to a nonprofit in Wisconsin giving stable housing to those in need.
The man named Richard Reetz chose to dedicate all of the units across his 10 properties to the nonprofit called Pillars, which singlehandedly increased their portfolio by 26% and will help many people stay out of shelters or the streets and in homes instead. Talk about a legendary last move!
3 - The first canal to be covered with solar panels was completed in California generating cheap power without needing more land.
Covering human-made canals with solar panels not only adds clean power without needing to sacrifice any more land, but it also helps the panels be more efficient by keeping them cool, and it helps the canals retain more water. This completion is letting them test the concept and see if they can scale it up around the state.
2 - A Company mining metals with daisies instead of drills raised $45 million to scale up.
One of my favorites stories I’ve reported in a long time! Plants known as “hyperaccumulators” are sucking up metals from the soil and storing them in their leaves and stems, which can then be harvested, dried, and extracted. Genomines is using it to get nickel without needed to blast the earth, and hope to scale it up and expand to other important metals and substances too. What an incredible solarpunk idea that actually works…
1 - And our community took actions in their own lives to help those around them!
Had to save the community wins for last. You all left comments throughout this month saying you built a backyard wildlife pond, started a little library at their work to swap books, made hats for their local hospital, and hundreds or more actions that are giving me a lot of hope. Let’s keep it up, fam!
Bonus - A few more of my favs
A bumpy snailfish that’s pretty darn cute was one of three new species found two miles underwater near Monterey Canyon.
Over 500 events took place on the Sun Day of Action across the world where people celebrated the sun and demanded quicker adoption of solar tech.
A new community science project launched where people with home aquariums send coral samples to researchers to better understand how they can survive unique environments.
After 10,000 years of absence, wild horses returned to central Spain and are helping combat wildfires by eating tall grasses.
But this is just a glimpse of all the amazing people doing amazing things around the world. Not giving up or giving in, but working hard to make the world a better place every day.
What’s your story?
This is a great article Simon! I’m new to Substack and just came across your writing. I agree completely that positivity and action is needed to keep us moving forwards. Thank you for bringing this to the world